Warm Roasted Figs with Fresh Thyme and Whipped Vanilla Ricotta
Warm, soft, sweet, roasted figs with hints of orange and fresh thyme, served on a smooth, silky bed of whipped ricotta and mascarpone cheese drizzled with a sweet jus made from cointreau and orange juice. This dessert is right up my alley! Wonderfully quick and simple and not overly sweet, this Italian inspired dessert screams autumn but can be adapted to suit the seasons by using different fruits, such as apricots, plums, peaches and pears.
Serves 2 - 3 but can be scaled up (or down) very easily.
Ingredients
Figs:
- 150g fresh figs – 3 – 5 figs, depending on size
- 1 tablespoon soft brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Cointreau or Grand Marnier
- 1 orange
- 1 tablespoon runny honey
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
Vanilla Ricotta:
- 125g ricotta cheese
- 75g mascarpone cheese
- 50g icing sugar
- vanilla seeds from ½ vanilla pod or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
Instructions
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Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
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Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 (fan 180°C)
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Figs: trim the figs’ stems and slice each fig in half horizontally. Lay, cut side up, in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle over the sugar and the Cointreau.
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Squeeze over the juice from half an orange. Slice the remaining half into 4 wedges and add these to the dish.
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Add the fresh thyme and drizzle with honey. Bake in the centre of a preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the figs are soft and lightly caramelised. Remove the thyme and squeeze the juice from the orange wedges onto the figs.
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Vanilla ricotta: weigh the ricotta, mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla into a mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk, or balloon whisk, until light and fluffy.
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Serve: serve the warm figs on a bed of ricotta cream, drizzled with the orange syrup and sprinkled with fresh thyme. You can either serve it on individual plates/dishes or on a large serving bowl and let everyone help themselves.
Recipe Notes
Equipment:
- kitchen scales and measuring spoons
- chopping board and knife
- baking dish
- mixing bowl and electric or balloon whisk
- serving plate(s)/dish(s)
More details on ingredients and instructions:
Please see the ingredient list and the instructions in the post above, for further information.
Where is this recipe from?
The roasted figs are adapted from a David Lebovitz recipe. I love David’s blog – his recipes and all his tips and recommendations for visiting Paris and France. To learn more about David and his recipe books, please click here.
The whipped vanilla ricotta is adapted from a delicious recipe by Angela Hartnett which can be found in her wonderful cookery book ‘The Weekend Cook’, as well as on the Waitrose website. She serves the whipped ricotta with poached apricots and this recipe is also on my website, see here.