Fig and date spirals recipe

Great recipe for the children because they are so fruity and don’t contain a huge amount of added sugar either. They are perfect for sharing at a kid’s party as this recipe makes 24 altogether. The sticky date flavour works really well with the soft, spongy texture of each swirl. Serve with fresh cream or even with warm custard for dessert.

Ingredients

• 200g dried dates
• 300g dried figs
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 125ml warm water
• 300g self raising flour
• 75g soft brown sugar
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• 125g cream cheese full fat
• 1 egg
• 1tbsp milk

Method

1. Preheat oven 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6. Remove the hard little stalks from the figs and roughly chop up along with the dates. Put the figs and dates into a saucepan with 125ml warm water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring it occasionally. Using a plunge blender make it into a puree then add cinnamon and vanilla extract and stir to combine the flavours. Set aside to cool down slightly.
2. Place the flour, sugar, nutmeg and additional cinnamon into a bowl. Rub together with the cream cheese to make a mix that resembles breadcrumbs. Now beat the fruit mixture in the saucepan to help it cool a bit quicker then set aside again.
3. In a small separate bowl lightly beat an egg and add to the dry mixture with 1 tbsp of milk. Bring the dough together to form a ball and roll out on a floured surface into a rectangle approximately 40cm by 25cm. Trim the edges to neaten.
4. Spread the flat sheet of dough with the puree leaving 1cm at one long edge but fill to the rest of the edges. Now roll it up Swiss roll style. Using a clean serrated knife slice the roll into 22-24 fairly equal spirals. I didn’t measure mine but if you must go for it!
5. Place them flat onto a greased baking tray. Bake in the oven for 16-18 minutes.