My obsession with figs is a relatively new thing. I probably had never eaten a fresh fig until my friend gave me some from the tree that was growing at a house she was renting. I sliced them, put them on my greek yogurt and drizzled them with honey. I was hooked. It was then that I decided, that I too must have a fig tree.

Here’s my little fig tree

After taking the Arcadia Edible Garden Tour last year and seeing an espaliered fig tree, I knew I must build an espalier for my fig tree. This would help keep the fig tree manageable and make reaching the figs relatively easy.

This is how it will look someday! (Hopefully)

Picture courtesy Landscape Resource

Anyway, on to the Caramelized Fig Ice Cream with mascarpone and candied pecans. Another friend of mine has a giant fig tree at her condo (I know, I pick good friends, right?). She had tons, literally tons of figs, so she gave me half a ton. Okay, maybe I exaggerate a little. She gave me a large quantity of figs so I decided to make fig ice cream. I searched the internet and found this recipe from Happyolks. I used a different ice cream recipe and candied pecans instead of the honey roasted pecans and it was delicious. My niece agreed. I think she was a little disappointed the next time she came over and I told her that I had eaten it all.

First I made the caramelized fig mixture. I could have just eaten it with a spoon, but decided I should save most of it for the ice cream. After I cooked the mixture, I let it cool and refrigerated it overnight.

Then I started the ice cream base. In a sauce pan I combined milk, cream and 1/2 cup of sugar. I cooked it until the sugar was dissolved. While the milk, cream and sugar mixture was heating up, in a separate bowl, I beat the eggs and 1/4 cup of sugar until they become thick and pale yellow. It looked like this-

Next I took a 1/2 cup of the warm milk mixture and beat it into the egg mixture. Then I slowly added the egg mixture into the pan with the milk mixture. I cooked it over low heat until it thickened and the mixture coated the back of a spoon. About 7-10 mins. I poured the mixture through a mesh strainer and then stirred in vanilla extract and cooled it overnight in the refrigerator.

The next day, I froze the ice cream. This is the most exciting part, because I got to finally taste the ice cream. Ice cream is not a good thing to make if you need instant gratification. It is a long project. When the ice cream was almost frozen, I poured in the fig mixture, nuts and mascarpone. I dropped little spoonfuls of mascarpone so it wouldn’t be one giant lump. I froze the ice cream for a few hours. It was worth the wait. I need to make more soon. Hopefully I can use my own figs this time!

Caramelized Fig Ice Cream with mascarpone and candied pecans

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Ingredients

Caramelized Fig Mixture

1 lb of fresh figs sliced in half
1 lemon juiced
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2-4 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt

Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix ins

1 cup candied pecans
1/2 cup mascarpone

Instructions

For carmelized fig mixture-

Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat.
Dissolve brown sugar into melted butter.
Mix in figs, lemon juice and water.
Cook over medium heat breaking up the figs until it's a thick jammy consistency.
Stir in salt.
Let cool and refrigerate until ready to mix into ice cream.

For ice cream

In a sauce pan combine the milk, cream and 1/2 cup of sugar. Cook until sugar dissolves.
In a separate bowl beat the eggs and 1/4 cup of sugar until they become thick and pale yellow.
Next take 1/2 cup of the warm milk mixture and beat it into the egg mixture.
Slowly add the egg mixture into the pan with the milk mixture.
Continue cooking over low heat until thick and the mixture coats the back of a spoon. About 7-10 mins.
Pour mixture through mesh strainer, stir in vanilla extract and cool overnight in the refrigerator.

Freeze ice cream

Follow your manufacturer's instructions for freezing your ice cream.
Once ice cream is almost frozen, mix in caramelized fig mixture, nuts and spoonfuls of mascarpone.
Freeze at least a few hours before serving.