Perfect caramel figs

The perfect recipe for caramel figs from Jane Grigson's 'Fruit Book' which any good cook should have

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You need figs which can be eaten unpeeled (most varieties can be), three or four per person

Golden caster sugar or vanilla-flavoured sugar

Cream

Almond biscuits

Take a gratin dish big enough to hold the figs tightly together, with their stalks to the top. Dip each fig in water and roll them in the sugar until they're fully covered. Put them back into the dish. Bake them in a hot oven, 220˚C?230˚C, for about 20 minutes but check them after 12 minutes until the sugar has disappeared and turned into a rich brown juice on the bottom of the dish. Cool them, then chill them thoroughly. Serve them with cream and almond biscuits. I have had similar figs at Glin Castle in Co Cork, but these were rolled in honey and quite delicious. Probably stickier for the cook, however.

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