Boozy figs with mascarpone
A quick and easy way to turn excess fruit into a grown-up dessert for dinner parties is to soak it in a bit of leftover booze. Figs work especially well for this. If you don’t have a couple of weeks to let them steep, quarter them and soak overnight, or slice them thinly and leave for at least an hour.
Overview
Prep time
5 mins
Cook time
5 mins
Serves
2
Ingredients
2 x 2cm-thick slices of focaccia, each large enough to sit 3 fig halves on
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp icing sugar
3 figs, cut in half and soaked in about 200ml booze, or enough to cover, for 1-2 weeks (you could use port, sherry, Madeira or a mix)
1 tsp cornflour
mascarpone, to serve
Method
Step 1
Heat the grill to high.
Step 2
Drizzle 2 x 2cm-thick slices of focaccia with 1 tbsp olive oil and dust liberally with around 2 tbsp icing sugar. Toast them under the grill for 30-60 seconds on each side, or until golden.
Step 3
Meanwhile, heat about 100ml of the fig soaking liquor and thicken with 1 tsp cornflour, diluted in a little water. Simmer gently for about 30 seconds.
Step 4
Place the focaccia slices on serving plates, arrange the fig halves on top and spoon over the syrup. Spoon some mascarpone on to the plates and serve.
