Liquorice and mint ice cream

We ate lots of new (to us, anyway) foods when we were in Sardinia recently. One of the things that was a real taste revelation was a tub of liquorice and mint ice cream we bought in a local supermarket in Palau.

After the first bowl, I knew I’d make it my mission to attempt to recreate it when I got back home to Blighty. I guessed that the bright, mint swirling was just peppermint extract with a bit of food colouring. The liquorice swirl I had to investigate. Should I use powdered root, the salty boiled sweets or the soft, bendy pieces?

I decided on the latter, buying a bag of veggie-friendly Henry Goode’s classic soft liquorice. I simmered them in a little water, but they took ages to melt completely!

The creamy, custard mix then followed – which was completely cooled before being poured into the ice cream maker and churned. The liquorice and mint flavourings were easily folded in at the softly frozen stage.

I’m very happy indeed with the results… it’s gone into the ‘must repeat’ ice cream recipe folder.

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Liquorice and mint ice cream

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Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Servings 8 portions

Ingredients

50 g liquorice
75 ml water
2 tsp peppermint extract
¼ tsp green food colouring I used 1 drop of blue + 2 drops of yellow
300 ml full fat milk
300 ml double cream
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
100 g sugar

Instructions

Slice up the liquorice and put it in a small saucepan.
Add the water and heat over a low flame, stirring to dissolve - stirring often - this can take 10–15 minutes. Add a little more water if the mixture becomes too thick. Set aside to cool
In a small ramekin, combine the peppermint extract and the food colouring. Set aside
Combine the milk and cream in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a slow boil over medium heat, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
Combine the eggs, egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl
Use a hand mixer on medium speed to beat until the mixture is thick, smooth and pale yellow in colour (about 1½ to 2 minutes)
Pour out 250ml of the hot liquid into a heat-proof measuring jug. With the mixer on low speed, add the jug of hot milk/cream to the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream. When thoroughly
combined, pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and stir to combine
Cook, stirring constantly, over medium low heat until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon
Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper placed directly on to the custard, and chill completely
Churn according to your ice cream maker instructions
Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container, swirl in the liquorice syrup then the peppermint and place in the freezer until firm (about 2 hours)

Keyword ice cream, liquorice, mint

Luxury keto vanilla ice cream

I’ve had my lovely new duo ice cream maker for quite a few weeks, yet I’ve not made myself anything in it so far. I made Justin some basic vanilla ice cream which he enjoyed, so I’m making myself a batch of luxury keto vanilla ice cream.

The difference between ‘basic’ and ‘luxury’ – as far as the instruction booklet which came with the ice cream maker is concerned – is that the former is made with milk and cream, and the latter has added whole eggs and extra yolks.

To convert the recipe to keto, I replaced the sugar with Whole Earth Sweetener Co. sweet granules which is a combination of Stevia and Erythritol. You only need about half the amount of sweet granules to sugar; Whole Earth has a handy conversion chart on its website, if you’re unsure of quantities.

I also used almond milk instead of cow’s milk and coconut cream instead of double cream. I know I say it most weeks, but this is the best keto recipe I’ve come up with to date – it’s a learning curve!

There’s a slight coconut flavour – which to me isn’t a bad thing – however, the vanilla bean paste really comes through. I’ve had a couple of portions so far; once fully frozen, it needs to come out of the freezer about half an hour before you need to scoop it into balls as it hardens like rock! To avoid this, you could always add a capful of vodka – I didn’t want to over-indulge. I might sprinkle over a few cacao nibs or chopped almonds or pecans.

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Luxury keto vanilla ice cream

2018-08-28 14:20:16

Serves 8

Ingredients

300ml/10½fl oz almond milk
250ml/8½fl oz coconut cream
2tsp vanilla bean paste
pinch of salt
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
40g/3½oz Whole Earth Sweetener Co. Sweet granules
2tsp vanilla extract

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Instructions

Combine the almond milk and coconut cream in a medium-sized saucepan
Stir the vanilla bean paste and salt into the milk/cream mixture
Bring the mixture to a slow boil over medium heat
Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolks and sweet granules. Use a hand mixer on medium speed to beat until the mixture is thick, smooth, and pale yellow in colour, about 1½ to 2 minutes
With the mixer on low speed, ladle out about 6fl oz of the hot milk/cream/vanilla liquid on to the egg mixture in a slow steady stream
When thoroughly combined, pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and stir to combine
Cook - stirring constantly - over medium low heat until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon
Stir in the vanilla extract
Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover with a sheet of cling film (I used one of my reusable silicone stretch lids) placed directly on the custard (this stops a skin developing), and allow to cool completely
Turn the ice cream maker on, pour the chilled custard into the frozen freezer bowl, and
churn until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes
If desired, transfer the ice cream to a clean, airtight container and place in freezer until firm - about 2 hours to 'ripen'

H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Basic vanilla ice cream

Guess what? I’ve FINALLY got that ice cream maker I’ve been hankering after for YEARS! It arrived two days ago, and I’ve already been putting it through its paces. Well, with this heatwave, it was absolutely necessary!

To start things off, and to get to know my way around my new toy, I made a batch of basic vanilla ice cream. A good vanilla ice cream is both delicious and very flexible – allowing various toppings to provide an extra twist – and combining well with lots of other dishes such as fruit pies, meringues and so on.

The ice cream maker has twin bowls, so it can make two different ones at the same time. This is perfect because Justin and I don’t like the same kind of ice creams. He likes simple vanilla, coffee, strawberry… that type of thing. I like the jazzy, Ben & Jerry’s type of ice cream with lots of added syrups, nuts, chocolate chips, caramel chunks and sprinkles. Another good thing about the ice cream maker is that, with the click of a switch, you can adjust the settings to make just one bowl.

I followed the recipe that is included in the instruction booklet – I’ve just updated the measurements to include metric and imperial measurements. Luckily, as I tend to try out lots of US recipes, I have a trusty aluminium (or should that be aluminum) cup that I rely on.

It couldn’t have been easier – done & dusted in 25 minutes flat. I did have to pre-freeze the water-filled freezer bowl overnight, though; good thing I’m an instruction booklet reader type of person!

Four ingredients, 25 minutes and the resulting simple vanilla ice cream was amazing. Justin had his with a fruit sauce we made earlier this summer… and I sprinkled a few chopped nuts and cacao nibs over mine!

I’m so happy with the first batch – and excited about experimenting with various flavour combinations in the future.

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Basic vanilla ice cream

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Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

180 ml/6 fl oz/¾ cup whole milk well chilled
140 g/5oz/⅔ cup granulated sugar
300 ml/10½ fl oz/1½ cups heavy double cream, well chilled
1 tsp pure vanilla extract to taste

Instructions

In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer or a whisk to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved (about 1 to 2 minutes on a low speed)
Stir in the cream and vanilla to taste
Turn the machine on, pour the mixture into the freezer bowl, and mix until thickened (about 20-25 minutes). The ice cream will have a soft creamy texture

If desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in the freezer until firm. It takes about 2 hours to 'ripen'

Keyword ice cream, vanilla, vanilla ice cream

Strawberry ice cream

I was planning to bake a loaf for this week’s Cakes & Bakes post, but it’s been sooooooo hot that I couldn’t bear the thought of having a hot oven on for hours! I’ve returned to one of my hot summer favourites – no churn ice cream – this time one I’ve not made before, strawberry ice cream.

It may be mid-June and a fortnight before Wimbledon begins, but none of the strawberries in our garden have even begun to ripen yet. That meant that I had to use shop bought ones… but I may make another batch when ours are ready!

I’ve used both fresh and tinned strawberries in my recipe – and the result knocks spots off many shop bought brands. I think the secret is in reducing by half the liquid the tinned strawberries are in and adding it to the mix. It really intensifies the strawberry flavour and the sweetness.

Strawberry is one of the best summer flavours, but what is your favourite ice cream?

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Strawberry ice cream

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Ingredients

1 tin strawberries in syrup
600 ml/21fl oz double cream
1 397g/14oz tin condensed milk
300 g/10½oz fresh strawberries finely chopped

Instructions

Strain the tinned strawberries, putting the liquid into a small saucepan
Simmer the syrup until it's reduced by half. Set aside and allow to cool
Purée the tinned strawberries
In an electric mixer using the whisk attachment, whip the double cream, condensed milk and strawberry purée on high for 5–7 minutes until the mixture thickens
Gently fold in all but a couple of tablespoons of the chopped strawberries until evenly mixed through
Decant into a 2-litre lidded container (or two 1-litre containers) and sprinkle the reserved, chopped strawberries evenly over the top
Freeze for at least 4 hours - better still, overnight

Once fully frozen, remove from the freezer 20 minutes before scooping & serving