Brevas con Arequipe: Colombian Caramel Stuffed Figs

Not so long ago I'd expressed a desire to cook a recipe from a different part of the world every month. This was of course inspired by some food travel blogs I'd come across thanks to a couple of friends. I started off with Brazil although it felt like it might as well have been South India. I then moved on to Cuba, Tunisia and Afghanistan, in no particular order. What I cook does not follow a strict list but merely depends on what I've got in the kitchen on an inspired day. A few weeks ago I cooked for some friends and decided to do a three course Colombian meal. This was dessert. I must admit that I heavily relied on a fantastic Colombian food blog, My Colombian Recipes. I used local recipes or substitutes where I could as the editor of the blog clearly had access to Colombian style ingredients.

Ingredients:

12 Figs

4 tbsp maple syrup ( the original recipe recommends panela)

1 tbsp lime juice

2 litres whole milk

500g caster sugar

1 tsp baking powder

2 Cinnamon sticks

Method:

Caremel/toffee sauce:
This takes absolutely hours and so its worth preparing first or overnight. Heat the whole milk and sugar in a pan. Add the baking powder and cinnamon stick and continue to simmer for about 3 hours ( sometimes longer) until the sauce starts thickening and it looks toffee coloured. Remove the cinnamon stick and continue to simmer until it reaches a thick caramel like consistency.

Figs:
Slice the figs as shown in the photos and soak in water for a couple of hours. In a saucepan cook the figs in water. Add 4 tbsp maple syrup, lime juice and a Cinnamon stick. Once the figs have softened ( about 60 mins of simmering), drain and set aside.

To serve, warm the figs in an oven and then stuff the figs with toffee sauce and serve with ice cream. Its a shame I forgot to take photos of the final product with ice cream. The photos below are a good indication of what the figs and caramel sauce look like though.

Enjoy cooking. Ann x

 

Brevas con Arequipe: Colombian Caramel Stuffed Figs
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