Cardamom Baked Figs with Honey Ice Cream and Almond Cake
The ancient combination of honey, figs and almonds. Heady, sun-drenched perfection.
A three component dessert may bit much for everyday, but each step is very simple and it’s worth it for something special. You can make each part of this up to 2 days ahead of time, in fact you will need to start the ice cream at least a day ahead of serving.
Each recipe is also delicious served alone.
Serves 8-10
Cardamom Baked Figs
5 or 6 ripe figs
2 good tablespoons of honey, or to taste
4 cardamom pods
Juice and zest 1/2 a lemon
Crack the cardamom pods in a mortar and pestle to remove the husks then roughly pound the seeds.
Quarter the figs and lay them into a baking dish just large enough to hold them. Drizzle with honey, squeeze over the lemon juice and add the the zest and cardamom and then toss together gently to evenly coat.
Bake 350F (180C) for 10-15 mins until figs are softened but not falling apart
These are also delicious served with a dollop of greek yoghurt, with or without a few chopped pistachios or granola.
If you can’t get figs, plums, cherries or pears would make good substitutions.
See also: poached fruit for poached pears, poached quince, rhubarb and more
Honey Ice Cream
This ice cream feels heady and romantic to me. I like to think I can feel the hot sun and bees buzzing around fields of flowers as I eat it.
2 c cream
1 c milk
2/3 c honey
6 egg yolks
Pinch salt
Place the cream and milk in a saucepan over medium heat and bring almost to a boil. Remove from heat.
Beat the honey, egg yolks and pinch of salt until slightly pale (I do this in my mixer but my hand is fine).
Add a small ladle of cream mixture to the eggs, whisking it in as you go, then repeat until the liquid is all mixed into the yolks.
Return the mixture to the saucepan on medium/ medium low heat and mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon- I like to do a line test, drawing a line with my finger over the back of the spoon, if the line stays it is ready.
Immediately tip the custard into a large bowl to cool. Once cool, refrigerate overnight before churning in an ice cream maker. I always transfer my ice cream to the freezer to set for a further 4 hours or so before serving.
I like the keep the flavors of this ice cream simple for versatility, but it would be very good in the cooler months made with a stick of cinnamon and a strip or two of orange zest. Simply add them to the cream as you warm it and allow to infuse for 10-15 mins after taking the cream off the heat before adding to the egg mixture.
For more ice cream recipes see: rhubarb and vanilla bean ice cream, coffee ice cream; vanilla ice cream; homemade ice cream
For more honey recipes see: Spelt and Honey Muffins with Fig and Lime
Almond Cake
This is a very flat, rich almond cake that is very versatile and quick to make. It is essentially just baked frangipane and is good when you want a tart but don’t want to fuss around with pastry or need something gluten free. It is as delicious in a dessert such as this- with ice cream or thick cream and fruit- as it is eaten alone with a cup of strong coffee.
220g (11/2c) whole skin-on almonds, roasted and cooled
1 stick (115g) unsalted butter, softened
1 c sugar
2 eggs
Zest 1 lemon
1/2 tsp almond extract
Pinch salt
powdered sugar to serve, optional
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C (330/160 fan forced or convection). Grease and line a 10 inch springform pan.
Grind the almonds in a food processor until finely ground (be mindful not to turn them to butter though).
Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer until pale (you can also do this in the food processor for this recipe). Add the eggs one at a time followed by the almonds, lemon zest, almond extract and salt.
Spread into the tin and bake 25-30 minutes until cooked though when tested with a skewer.
To remove from the tin, run a knife around the sides and bottom of the cake before opening the pan. Dust with powdered sugar to serve, optional
Variations:
Instead of lemon zest, make it with orange or lime zest or skip the zest altogether.
Skip the zest and add a pinch of spice such as cinnamon or cardamom or a tablespoon of ground coffee.
You can also top with fruit before baking: cherries, plums or poached prunes are delicious- just add an extra 7-10 minutes to the bake time.
To Serve
Place a slice of cake on a serving plate. Top with a scoop of ice cream and 2 or 3 slices of baked fig and spoon over a little of the fig juices to finish. If you are partial it, a tiny pinch of flakey sea salt is a nice addition too.
For a full list of desserts from Still Life With Lemon, see the Sweets Index here.
