Method

• 1.
  Place yolks, sugar and cornflour in a bowl and whisk until pale and thick. Place the milk, thin cream, cinnamon sticks and ground cinnamon in a saucepan and heat to scalding point. Carefully pour over the egg mixture, whisking, then return mixture to saucepan and cook over a low heat, stirring, until thickened. Do not boil. Remove and pour into a bowl and cover the surface with a piece of plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Cool, then refrigerate until completely cold.
• 2.
  Whip the thickened cream. Strain the refrigerated mixture, then fold the whipped cream into the refrigerated mixture. Pour the mixture into a shallow container and freeze until frozen at the edges. Remove from freezer and beat with an electric beater. Pour back into container and re-freeze. Repeat 2 or 3 times. (Alternatively use an ice-cream machine following manufacturer's directions.)
• 3.
  While the ice-cream is freezing, prepare the figs. Place wine, sugar, cinnamon sticks and cloves in a saucepan over low heat and stir to dissolve sugar. Add the figs and poach gently for 10 minutes. Remove the figs and allow the liquid to cook for a further 5-6 minutes until syrupy. Return the figs to the syrup and allow to cool completely. Discard the cloves.
• 4.
  To serve, scoop ice-cream into serving bowls or cups with figs and drizzle with syrup. Garnish with cinnamon sticks if desired.