Recipe- Chocolate Fig Bonbons

After having tried two different types of chocolate-covered figs over the Christmas period, I was inspired to try making my own simple version. These are rum-soaked chocolate fig bonbons and delicious they are too.

To make 10:

10 large dried figs
250ml golden rum
125g chocolate

Try and find the biggest, highest-quality dried figs that you can. The juicier they are, the better.








Place the figs into a bowl, preferably wide based enough so they are not all sat on top of each other.

Take the rum and pour over the figs so that they are completely immersed in the liquid.

I used Mount Gay Rum. This golden rum is distilled in Barbados by the Mount Gay Distilleries which has a surviving deed dating from 1703. This makes it the oldest rum brand in the world.

It has a rich, golden colour and has a very clear caramel nose. There is a reasonably sweet flavour on the palate which balances out the high alcohol content (40%, 80 proof) which is standard in rum.

Don't worry if you feel like you're using too much, because you'll be left with a fig-infused rum at the end, which would be perfect for cocktails (a suggestion will follow soon).



It is best, both for the figs and the rum that you will have left behind, to leave them soaking at least over night so that the flavour of the rum can fully infuse into the figs and plump them up nicely. Cover your dish with cling-film to prevent evaporation of the liquid.

Take a pan and a glass bowl that is large enough to sit on top of the pan.

Fill the pan with water, ensuring the water will not touch the bottom of the bowl, and bring to a gentle simmer before switching off the heat. Sit the glass bowl on top.




I used half 40% cacao and half 70% cacao chocolate to create a balance but some people are very purist about using solely chocolate with a very high cacao content and there is no reason not to stick by this. If you're completely averse to dark chocolate, you could feasibly just use milk, but I personally wouldn't recommend anything weaker in cacao than the combination I used.

Break up the chocolate into small pieces and place them in the bowl. Allow the chocolate to melt slowly being careful to not get the water too hot. While the chocolate is melting, drain the rum from the figs and pat the figs dry.

Carefully cover the figs in the melted chocolate. I found the best way was to put a fork through the stem of the fig before dipping it in the chocolate and then pouring more chocolate over the top to ensure full coverage.

Now place the figs onto a greased plate or greased parchment paper and place in the fridge to set.

After a few hours, the figs should be fully set and ready to eat. You should find when you bite into one that the figs are juicy, rehydrated by the rum. They will also have a reasonably strong flavour of the rum meaning that these bonbons are certainly best eaten as an after-dinner treat.

All in all, they make a delicious, boozy chocolate that's really easy to make. Give them a try and tell me what you think.

GastroTom

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