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1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and heat water for the water bath.
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2
Soak apricots for about 10 minutes in hot water. Remove and chopped the apricots and the reserve the water.
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3
Grind biscuits and almonds to a fine powder and with a fork, mix in the butter and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract until it has a meal-like texture. Press the crust into the base of a springform pan. If you like crusty sides as well, make more of the mixture as needed. Bake the crust for 10 to 15 minutes until it is golden.
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4
Meanwhile, mix together the figs (chopped), apricots, honey, rum, and about 3 tablespoons of the apricot water in a small sauce pan. Cook the fruits over low heat till they become very soft and the water reduces to half the original volume. Cool the mixture and puree it.
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5
Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat to incorporate. Blend in the mascarpone, remaining 1/2 teaspoon almond extract and salt. Mix in about a third of a cup of the fig-apricot puree.
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6
Wrap the springform pan tightly in foil. Spoon the cheesecake batter into the pan until half full. Spread about 2 tablespoons (I eyeballed it) of the fig puree over the batter. Fill the rest of the pan with the remaining cheesecake batter.
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7
Place the pan inside a larger ovenproof pan. Pour hot water into the larger pan so it comes up to half the level of the cheesecake filling. Bake for 45 minutes in the water bath until almost done. Turn off the oven and let the cake gradually cool down for an hour inside it so it doesn't crack on top.
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8
Remove the pan from the water bath and cool to room temperature on a rack. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours (overnight is better).
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9
Before serving, lightly warm the port wine sauce and spoon it over the top of the cheesecake. Garnish with a couple of fig halves and serve.
