1. Preheat the oven to 200C.
2. Tip the figs into a baking dish, sprinkle over the sugar and a small pinch of salt and 5 tablespoons of water. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until softened and sticky, stirring every 10 minutes or so. The liquid should be reduced to a fairly thick syrup; if not either return to the oven for 5 minutes or boil in a pan over high heat for 3-4 minutes to reduce. Remove from the heat, stir in the balsamic and set aside to cool completely.
3. Roughly blitz the cool figs using a stick blender or food processor, so that they are roughly half pureed and half still with some texture. Alternatively mash with a fork for a coarser texture. Stir the figs into the cream.
4. For best results chill in the fridge for an hour before freezing. When ready to freeze churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. *

*If you don’t have an ice cream machine then pour the mixture into a wide, shallow container such as a baking tray and place in the freezer until frozen around the edges but still soft in the middle. Whisk together vigorously  until smooth then return to the freezer and repeat the process twice more.