2+ hours before baking:

1. Brew the tea, then pour it over the chopped figs, dates, candied orange and raisins. Cover and let it sit to soak up the liquid for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight. 
2. Place butter and shortening in the freezer.

Make puddings:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F/175˚C. Grease 2 mini bundt pan tins or muffin tins. Set aside two 9x13 pans (or any pan that is big enough to fit underneath the bundt pan or muffin tin).
2. In a large bowl, add the eggs and brown sugar and whisk or use an electric hand mixer, mixing until smooth.
3. Add in the grated apple, lemon juice and zest, orange juice and zest, bourbon, vanilla extract, the soaked fruit (and any extra liquid) and walnuts. Mix to combine.
4. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the breadcrumbs, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger and nutmeg.
5. Grate the frozen butter and shortening directly into the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to mix it into the dry ingredients thoroughly and break up any clumps.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until well combined, but be careful not to over-mix. Work quickly – don’t let the batter sit out too long and get too warm.
7. Pour the batter into the bundt pan or muffin tin, leaving about 1/4 inch of room at the top. 
8. Carefully (close to your oven), fill both of the 9x13 baking dishes with 1 inch of very hot water. Set the bundt cake tin or muffin tin directly on top of the baking dish. Cover tightly with aluminum foil to trap in the steam. 
9. Bake for 55-65 minutes. (If using a muffin tin, start checking for doneness at 45 minutes.) You know they are done when the internal temperature reaches between 200-210˚F. Let them cool in the pan until it's cool enough to touch, then run a knife around the edges to loosen before flipping them out on to a cooling rack.

Make Caramel Sauce:

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add both sugars, whisk well and simmer until the sugar is melted.
3. Add the cream and bourbon and continue to simmer for 4-6 minutes, until the caramel is golden brown and thick.
4. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and salt. Serve warm over the figgy puddings with vanilla ice cream (optional).