Black figs in rough puff pastry with fig leaf ice cream

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Galton Blackiston serves honey-drizzled sous vide figs and fig leaf ice cream in a crispy rough puff pastry shell for this delicious, sweet dessert. By using a water bath to cook the figs the chef ensures that they are perfectly cooked and have a beautifully tender finish.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Rough puff pastry

Fig leaf ice cream

Honey figs

Equipment

  • 7cm round cutter
  • Water bath
  • Chamber sealer
  • Vacuum bags
  • Ice cream maker

Method

1
Begin by making the rough puff pastry. Sift the flour onto a work surface and make a small well in the centre. Break the butter into small pieces and place in the centre of the well with the salt
2
Work the butter with your fingertips, drawing in the flour as you go. Gradually add the water, lemon juice and white wine vinegar and mix well
  • 240ml of ice cold water
  • 1/2 tbsp of white wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp of lemon juice
3
Roll the pastry into a ball, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 20 minutes
4
Remove the pastry from the fridge roll into a long rectangle on a lightly floured work surface. Mark the dough into thirds. Fold the bottom third up and the top third down and give it a quarter turn. Repeat again, then wrap the dough in cling film and return to the fridge for a further 30 minutes
5
Repeat the rolling and folding process 2 more times, then chill for a final 30 minutes. After this time the pastry is ready to be used
6
Place the cream and milk in a pan with the torn fig leaves. Bring to a gentle simmer, remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 1 hour
  • 300ml of full-fat milk
  • 600ml of double cream
  • 12 fig leaves, torn
7
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until pale and smooth. Bring the milk and cream back up to simmering point and pour over the egg mixture, whisking all the time. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Place the pan over a low heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, and cook the custard until it coats the back of the spoon
8
Take the pan off the heat, pass the custard through a fine sieve into a bowl and allow to cool completely. Churn the custard in an ice cream machine and freeze in freezer-proof container
9
When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6
10
Roll out the pastry (not too thinly) and then cut out circles using a 7cm pastry cutter
11
Place the pastry circles onto a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven, allow to cool then cut the pastry in half and scoop out any uncooked pastry. Set aside until ready to serve
12
Preheat a water bath to 62°C
13
Top and tail the figs and score a small cross on the top. Transfer to a tray and drizzle over a little honey. Scrape the seeds out from the vanilla pod and scatter over the figs
14
Place the honey-coated figs into a vacuum bag together with the port and stock syrup. Seal in a chamber sealer and cook in the water bath for 20 minutes
  • 150ml of port
  • 150ml of stock syrup
15
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6
16
To serve, carefully reheat the pastry cases in the oven. Place a pastry case in the centre of each plate and spoon in some figs and honey fig juice. Finish with a generous scoop of fig ice cream and serve immediately
First published in 2015

There can't be many Michelin-starred chefs who started out selling homemade cakes, biscuits and preserves on a market stall in Rye in 1979. Yet, the quietly spoken, endearingly eccentric Galton Blackiston isn't like other chefs.

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