1 cup hazelnuts
2 cups flour
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons superfine sugar
1 tablespoon anise seeds, chopped
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
12 dried figs
2 cups ruby port
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 pound mascarpone cheese (1 cup) at room temperature

Directions:
Heat the oven to 350°F. Put the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven until the skins crack and loosen and the nuts are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Wrap the hot hazelnuts in a kitchen towel and firmly rub them together to loosen most of the skins. Discard the skins. Let the peeled hazelnuts cool and then chop them.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, the 3 tablespoons superfine sugar, the anise seeds, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some pieces of butter still the size of peas. Toss in the hazelnuts.

Pour the 2/3 cup milk into a small bowl and scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk. Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture just until it forms a dough when pressed together.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough gently two or three times. Shape the dough into a 12 inch log and then pat it out into a 12 by 3 inch strip that's 1 inch thick. Using a 3 inch round cutter dipped in flour, stamp our four circles. Gather the scraps, pat them out again to 1 inch thick, and cut out two more rounds. Brush the tops with the remaining 1 tablespoon milk. Put the shortcakes on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Bake the shortcakes until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, cut the stems off the figs. In a medium stainless steel saucepan, combine the port and the remaining 1 cup superfine sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat and let boil to dissolve the sugar, about 3 minutes. Add the figs and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the figs until soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.

Meanwhile in a medium bowl, whisk the cream and the mascarpone until slightly thickened. Remove the figs from the syrup. Cut each fig into quarters. Reserve the syrup.

Shortly before serving, split the shortcakes in half. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the port syrup onto each of six dessert plates. Put the bottom halves of the shortcakes on the plates and spread each with 1/4 cup of the mascarpone cream. Arrange four fig quarters on the cream. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of the syrup over the figs and top with about 3 tablespoons more cream. Put four more fig quarters on the cream and cover each with a shortcake top. Spoon the remaining cream on the shortcakes and drizzle the syrup over the tops.

Serves 6

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