Italian Christmas strudel

In a pot, cover the figs with water and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and allow the figs to swell and get plump (about 10 minutes). Drain and chop into small pieces. Put into a bowl with the marsala. Add the raisins, walnuts, almonds and lemon zest. Combine with the cinnamon, cloves or allspice and chocolate. In a pot, warm the honey and pour into the fig mixture. Use a wooden spoon to combine ingredients.

Melt the butter. Lay out one pastry sheet and brush with melted butter. Lay another pastry sheet over the top and brush again with butter. Continue this until you have five layers of pastry. Spread half the mixture over the sheet and roll into a long log shape. Place on a large, greased baking tray and bend into a half-circle. Do the same with the rest of the pastry sheets and mixture and bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 20 mins.

Serve either hot or cold with ice-cream and dusted with icing sugar.