Festive Fig & Rum Bars

Here is the recipe for these chocolate covered bars made from dried figs and chopped walnuts. Happy festive season! :)

Ingredients

500g Dried figs

150ml Dark rum

100g Walnuts

Zest of 1 Lemon

Zest of 1 Orange

250g Dark chocolate

Method

Chop the dried figs into small pieces, cut off the hard stem and discard if it’s still attached. I found that there were ‘soft’ figs for eating and actual ‘dried’ figs available in the shops, and the ‘dried’ ones were much more suitable, as they will need to absorb the rum.

Place the chopped figs in a jar and pour over the rum.

Press the figs down so they are mostly covered by the liquid, place a weight on top and cover the jar. Leave it for a few days in a cool place.

Weigh the walnuts and blend until they have a texture similar to breadcrumbs.

Place the walnuts in a bowl and add the soaked figs. Mix well.

Add the zest of a lemon and an orange.

Mash the mixture really well, something like a potato masher is good for this.

Spread the paste in a baking tray, making it about 1 inch thick.

Put this in the freezer for a few hours. (This helps the chocolate set more quickly)

Break the chocolate into pieces and melt it over a bath of hot water.

Slice the chilled mixture into bars.

Dip each bar into the melted chocolate, one side at a time.

Once one side has set, dip the other side. Two layers of chocolate is best :)