Fig Rolls Recipe

Ingredients

• 175 g wholemeal flour (wheat or spelt)
• 50 g ground almonds
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 125 g butter, chilled and cubed
• 1 egg yolk
• 4 tbsp milk

• 300 g soft dried figs, hard tips snipped off
• 1 orange juice and ½ tsp orange zest

1. First make the pastry. Put the flour, ground almonds and baking powder into a bowl with a pinch of salt. Add the butter and rub it in with your fingertips until you have a mixture that resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and the milk, a tablespoon at a time, mixing until a soft dough forms. Make sure the dough isn’t too crumbly and if it is, add a little more milk. Form the dough into a ball and wrap it in cling film. Chill it in the fridge for up to an hour.
2. Roughly chop the figs and put them in a saucepan with the orange juice and zest and a pinch of salt. Add 150 ml of water. Simmer until the figs start to break down and just about all of the liquid has evaporated – this will take 15–20 minutes. Keep stirring regularly. Remove the pan from the heat and cool down, then blitz the figs to a paste in a food processor. Chill for half an hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle about 32 x 20 cm. Cut the dough in half lengthways, so you have 2 long strips. Divide the fig filling in half, and spread it in a long sausage shape down the centre of each strip of dough, leaving a border on each side. Moisten the uncovered edges with a little water, then bring them together over the filling, sealing them as you go. Roll over and carefully smooth over any cracks with a knife.
4. Cut each strip of dough into 8 pieces, about 4 cm long, and arrange them on a baking tray. Mark lines across each fig roll with a fork if you like. Bake for 20–25 minutes until the pastry is completely cooked through and a lightly speckled golden brown. Remove the fig rolls from the oven and put them on a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.