Honey Ice Cream with Roasted Figs

ByDavid September 8, 2016April 7, 2021

As we ease from Summer into Fall, let’s sit back and relax with a bowl of
Honey Ice Cream with Roasted Figs!

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Oh, figs. Apparently they are quite rare here in upstate New York. Back when we lived in the South, we could pretty much find whatever produce we wanted…and it was usually crazy cheap. So it was a bit of a rude awakening when we moved north and discovered that fruits and veggies cost significantly more. (Well, except for apples. I do love our Honeycrisp apples up here!) But we were still able to find all of the fruits and veggies we wanted. Sometimes it took a trip to a 2nd grocery store (ahem, key limes), but I’ve never had any trouble. Until I wanted to make this Honey Ice Cream with Roasted Figs.

Figs are a key part of Honey Ice Cream with Roasted Figs…imagine that! I know figs are in season in the late summer/early Fall, so I put figs on my grocery list a few weeks back. No dice. So I put figs on the list again the next week. No dice. Notice the trend? Well that continued for several more weeks. In fact, I became buddy-buddy with the produce manager at our local grocery store. He made a number of calls to his suppliers, and it looked like the roasted figs might just have to wait until next year.

And then I called a local gourmet grocery store…and sure enough they had a couple packs of figs left. She said they were going fast, so I asked her to hold me two packs just until that afternoon. When I walked into the store later on, I was hopeful that the figs were still there. And what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a ~~miniature sleigh and 8 tiny reindeer~~ a miniature pack of very expensive figs. Well, by this point, I was on a mission, so I decided to mortgage my house and pick up that pack of figs. And a short time later, I had this Honey Ice Cream with Roasted Figs all ready to serve!

The inspiration for this recipe came from a conversation I had with my buddy Arman. Last summer, he was telling me about a friend who was eating her way through gelato shops all over Italy. And one of the flavors she’d discovered was honey gelato topped with roasted figs. My mind was blown. So I set out to create this awesome dessert here at home. Doesn’t this one sound super gourmet? I added some caramelized walnuts to this ice cream, too…mainly because I love ice cream toppings. And caramelized walnuts just sounded like it deserved a spot in this ice cream!

This Honey Ice Cream with Roasted Figs is a perfect way to welcome the transition from Summer into Fall. Ice cream is the quintessential summer dessert, and the roasted figs + caramelized walnuts remind me of the comforting flavors of Fall. (For the record, ice cream makes for a great dessert even in the winter as evidenced by this Pumpkin Ice Cream…and this Peppermint Ice Cream…and this Eggnog Ice Cream… Hmm. I might have an ice cream problem.)

Funny story: the day after I found the figs at that gourmet grocery store, I happened to be in my regular grocery store grabbing a couple of things. The produce manager spotted me and came over with a huge grin on his face. Yup, he had found fresh figs. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I already found them at another store, so I grabbed another pack. Laura took those and turned ’em into a little appetizer for us. She sliced ’em in half, stuffed ’em with goat cheese and then wrapped ’em with prosciutto. A couple minutes on the grill and we had ourselves one tasty snack. Give that one a shot if you have leftover figs!

I saw a graphic on the weather channel the other day that Fall temperatures are supposed to be significantly above average for most of the country this year. Bah. I love Fall…and 90°F+ days just don’t lend themselves to hoodies and PSLs. But that’s ok, we’ll hang on to the summer a bit longer…especially since ice cream is involved! Enjoy!