You've gotta roll with it...

As I have mentioned over the last few posts, I was on the Ray D'arcy show on Today FM last thursday having asked for some traditional Irish biscuit recipes for St. Patricks Day. I baked four treats and Ray and the others in the studio decided which one was the winner.
Now while figs are not traditionally Irish, one listener did say that she had three fig trees in her garden and that was enough to swing the vote!
So the winning recipe was Figgy Slices, a variation of the fig roll.
While the original recipe calls for port, I am not one for drinks in food so I just used apple juice.

For the figgy paste, you will need a half a pound of dried figs chopped, 80mls of apple juice, and about 30mls of lemon juice. Place the figs and juice in an airtight jar and soak for at least 12 hours. I use a kilner jar with a rubberised seal.

Pour out most of the juice from the mixture before blitzing to a paste that looks like a tapenade.

For the pastry mix, you will need;

175g plain flour, 100g butter at room temperature, 50g caster sugar

Put the flour in a bowl and add the butter in cubes. Rub together until like bread crumbs. Then add the caster sugar and combine until a thick dough. Wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for at least 30 mins.

Double the pastry you make so that you have one for the top and one for the bottom.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C.

Roll out the pastry to about 5mm thickness. Place on a large baking tray line with silpat or parchment.

Spread the fig mixture out onto the pastry like a thick jam. Roll out the second piece of pastry and place on top of the figgy mixture.

Bake for about 15-20 mins but keep a keen eye on the oven from 15 mins so that it doesn't burn.

Allow to cool before cutting.

When completely cool, cut the edges off to keep straight.

Don't feel that you have to make them into slices. Mess around with the shapes. For one of the batches I made I rolled out some pastry flat, spread the fig mix down the middle and rolled it. I told everyone that now I know just how they get the figs into the fig rolls!!!

When I was in the studio last week, I had a lovely surprise from the team telling me that Ina's Kitchen Desserts, in Dublin were going to make the winning recipe for me. The show are doing their "Feel Good Tour" starting in Carlingford, Co Louth on Friday, March 20th (tomorrow), and the lovely people in Ina's have made over 160 of my figgy slices for the good folks that are attending!

I was very very happy and I am also very very nervous to see how they are going to react to them! I will find out in the morning. Along with the rest of the country!!!

Fingers Crossed!!!

Tune into Today FM and listen online from 9am to see whether they are a hit. Or a miss!!!

I also just want to thank Ray, Jenny, Mairead, Will and Siobhan for letting me visit them with cakes! And thanks to Bernard in Ina's for making my figgy slices!!! It is all very exciting!

Orls xxx