Layers of crisp brown sugar and almond meringue nestle between clouds of whipped honey cream, fresh dates and soft dried figs, as warm honey cascades down the sides of this beastly yet elegant mountain of texture, colour and soulful flavour. And it’s easy. I’m all for easy recipes lately. Life is flying by way too fast, but I’m still determined to bake wherever I can. So that means I’m turning to recipes that can be planned ahead, prepared in sections and offer a low flop-risk. So voila!
Here’s another decadent I-scream-you-scream-we all scream for ice-cream recipe! More of the good stuff that I can’t and won’t ever get enough of. Just like my Strawberry and White Chocolate Semifreddo, this Fig, Honey and Roasted Almond Semifreddo doesn’t require a fancy machine or any advanced technical kitchen skills. All you need is a sunny day, 45 minutes, and a love of the glorious goodness that is ice cream.
Mother’s Day has just passed, and my dear Ma’s birthday was a few days later, so I created a celebratory dessert that was composed of a few of her favourite things. Remember those extra figs I froze when I made my Honey Roasted Fig, Dark Chocolate and Mascarpone Tart? I couldn’t ignore them anymore, so out they came and the result was this creamy, fragrant, frankly irresistible cheesecake. If you truly love me, you’ll make me a cheesecake. That’s really my only ask. I’m very easy to please and I’ll think you’re the bee’s knees forever and ever. This one is a particularly special cheesecake; a slightly salty almond and pistachio base sets the stage, goats curd offsets the rich cream cheese and gives the filling a soft, crumbly texture, and a baklava-inspired honey, lemon and rosewater syrup drizzled over roasted figs, pistachios and rose petals leaves you sobbing with confusion when you realise you ate your slice before you could truly appreciate what was happening.
Something super exciting happened to me the other day. I was at my local fruit and veg shop, loading up on as many ‘reject’ bargains as I could carry, when a big tray of fat black figs by the counter caught my eye. And they were only $20/kg! Usually figs sell for around $4 each, but now that Autumn has hit, this briefly miraculous time of ripe, affordable figs is upon us. It’s time to take advantage of it! This recipe actually only needs 2 fresh figs, but I bought 6 and froze the other 4, so now I just need to decide what my next fig creation will be!
one perfect mess 