Fig Ice Cream

Making this ice cream with fresh figs is a true luxury, but the fresh taste and texture are worth it. That said, figs can be mighty expensive, so sometimes I use half fresh figs and substitute the rest with good quality fig preserves.

ingredients

2 lbs fresh figs (about 20), or substitute 1 cup fig preserves
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cloves (anise or cardamom also work nicely)
3/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup half-and-half

directions

1
1. Remove the stems from the figs and chop them into small pieces. Place the figs in a saucepan with 1/2 cup of water and the sugar. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally; until the fig mixture is very thick, soft, and jam like, this may take as long as 20-25 minutes. You should have about 1 cup of fresh fig jam.
2
2. Cool the fig mixture slightly, then purée the fig mixture with the cream, half-and-half, cloves, salt, and lemon juice (if you’re substituting fig preserves, simply purée them here and omit the sugar).
3
3. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, at least 3 hours or overnight. Churn in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s directions.
4
Variations:
5
Fig-Vermouth Ice Cream: add a splash of red vermouth to the mixture before churning.
6
Fig Ginger Ice Cream: Add a tablespoon of minced crystallized ginger.