This recipe comes from British food writer Diana Henry’s book Roast Figs, Sugar Snow – food to warm the soul, published in 2023. I’ve already made one recipe for the blog from this cookbook – Salad with Smoked Duck. And I made Chicken with Mushrooms, Pumpkin, and Sage Butter. Both were delicious. And many more are bookmarked.

It’s challenging to describe what this cookbook is all about except to say that it’s simply a celebration of the cold months. In fact, of the book Nigel Slater writes: “Each paragraph is a carol to what makes the cooking of the cold months something to cherish.”

Being a fall-winter gal myself, I absolutely adore this book, which offers everything from smoked food, game and wild mushrooms, squashes and lentils, chestnuts and hazelnuts, and more. There are also some fun desserts, such as this one. If you feel that spring selfishly gets all the recognition for its produce, then this book is for you.

Of this recipe Ms. Henry writes: ”The appearance of their bloody purple bodies (figs) is as much a sign that fall has arrived as are pippin apples and wild mushrooms.”

Roasted Figs and Plums in Vodka
Printable recipe below

16 fresh, firm figs
12 firm plums
2/3 cup red wine
7 tablespoons of vodka
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup crème de cassis
3 cups blackberries

To serve:
4 cardamom pods
Generous 1 cup heavy cream
Confectioner’s sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut the figs in half lengthways, without slicing all the way through. Halve the plums and remove the pits. Put the figs and plums into a shallow, ovenproof dish that will hold the fruit in a single layer.

My plums I knew would be a challenge to de-pit, so I included some fresh prunes.

Mix the wine, vodka, 3/4 cup of the sugar and 1/4 cup of the cassis in a saucepan and heat, stirring to help the sugar dissolve. Simmer until reduced by one-third, then pour it over the fruit. Sprinkle the rest of the sugar on top of the fruit.

Bake in the hot oven for 25-30 minutes. The fruit should be soft, but not collapsing, and slightly caramelized on top.

Let the fruit cool, then add the blackberries. Pour a slug of vodka over the fruit and drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of cassis.

Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods and grind them in a mortar. Put the cream in a bowl, add the crushed cardamom and whip the cream, adding confectioners’ sugar to taste. (I had ground cardamom so I skipped this step.)

Serve with the fruit. Serve chilled. (Or however you wish.)

Ms. Henry mentions that if you don’t want the recipe too boozy, use a little more red wine in place of vodka. The syrup was surprisingly not boozy, but I omitted the last “slug” of vodka!

I liked this dessert slightly warm, and definitely with the lightly sweetened whipped cream.