Warm Port and Fig Broth with Cream Cheese Ice-cream

Apicius, the great Roman gourmet, preserved figs in honey, and force-fed figs and mead (a honey wine) to his pigs to fatten them and improve the flavour of the meat. The combination of port and figs here, in a fruit-soup dessert, is a delicious one, the luxury fruit cooked in the imported fortified wine that has become so associated with Britain.

The two work together so well with cream cheese ice-cream to finish the dish that I’m sure you won’t need to be force-fed.