Fig Rolls
Sweet and sticky fig encased in a crunchy biscuit, there's no doubt this is a delicious duo. This fig roll recipe has added cinnamon, all spice and cloves.
Introduction
It’s the contrasting textures that make these rolls so appealing: a crisp biscuit exterior wraps around a soft figgy inside. The filling here gets spiced up with the addition of cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. For best results, use soft, semi-dried figs rather than hard, dry fruit.
Ingredients
| Pastry: | |
| 110g | unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing |
| 40g | caster sugar |
| ½ tsp | ground cinnamon |
| A pinch | of ground allspice |
| A pinch | of ground cloves |
| 1 | egg yolk |
| 160g | plain flour, plus extra for rolling |
| 60g | ground almonds |
| Filling: | |
| 175g | soft semi-dried figs, coarsely chopped |
| 60ml | cold water |
| 1 tsp | finely grated lemon zest |
| Juice of ½ lemon | |
| 30g | caster sugar |
Essential kit
You will need a blender.
Method
Butter a baking tray.
Combine the butter, sugar, spices and egg yolk in a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy. Add the flour and ground almonds, bringing the mixture together with your hands to form a stiff dough.
On a floured surface, work the dough for 1 minute. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.
While the dough is chilling, combine the figs with the water in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar, then place over a low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Simmer and stir occasionally for about 10 minutes or until the mixture is thick. Allow the mixture to cool, then transfer to a blender and whiz until smooth.
Preheat the oven to l80°C/gas 4.
Remove the pastry dough from the fridge, divide in half and roll each half into a rectangle about 25cm x 10cm. For each rectangle, spread half of the filling over the pastry, leaving a 1cm border of dough along the long sides. Lift one long side of the pastry and fold it into the centre. Repeat with the other side. Press the seams together to seal them. Carefully lift the pastry and place it, seam-side down, on a baking tray. Repeat with the second rectangle (the tray will hold 2 pastries).
Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes. Transfer to a chopping board and cut each roll into 8 slices about 3cm wide and leave to cool before serving. The fig rolls will keep for up to a week in an airtight container.
Preparation time: 75 mins including chilling
