Finally, an ice cream!

It would be rude not to include an ice cream and so here's the old faithful :

Vanilla ice cream

Prep – 5 minutes

Total time – 5 minutes

plus freezing at least 6-8 hours

or until firm

Gives you 1.6 litres of ice cream is equal

to 18 scoops

1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk

1 x 600ml double cream

2tsp vanilla bean paste

1. Put the condensed milk, cream and vanilla into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk until the mixture is quite thick and stiff, like pipeable whipped cream.**

2. Spoon the mixture into a lidded freezer-proof container and free for at least 6-8 hours or until firm.

** My variation – take a jar of salted caramel sauce (260g) – easily available at most large supermarkets – fold into the mixture to give a marbled effect.

A no-churn ice cream that is delicious and so useful!

Then there's the ice cream ...

There's only one thing wrong with home-made ice cream you need an ice cream maker – or so they say – there are delicious no-churn versions out there and the following recipe is an example – and easy!

No-churn strawberry ice cream

The recipe will give you 960g

750g/1½lb strawberries

juice of two lemons

1 x 397g condensed milk

300g light brown muscovado sugar

Top the strawberries, cut in half or quarters if large then blitz to a purée, add the lemon juice. Tip the blitzed berries into a large sieve and allow the purée to pass through. As you're passing the strawberries there's no need to hull the berries.

Place the condensed milk and brown sugar into a large mixing bowl and whisk on high for 10 minutes. I used a hand whisk. Eventually the sugar is beaten into the condensed milk and will give you a ribbon effect. Set your timer and have patience – it's worth it. You can help your strawberry pulp through the sieve with the back of a metal spoon. Fold into your sugar and condensed milk and mix until combined. I split the mixture into two boxes. Freeze for at least 6 hours. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving – no longer – it softens very quickly.

If you want a perfect scoop dip the scoop into boiling water and pat dry.

As the cook I think you're entitled to taste the ice cream ahead of serving. I confess I'm not a huge fan as a rule but I was intrigued so I took a teaspoonful as I boxed it – one word - “wow” - I ditched the spoon and took another, just to be sure.

Yum!

Bits and pieces & hints and tips

If you're using Sundae pots you want a size of 150ml approximately.

You might think it'll be fiddly filling them – I have a plan!

The neatest and least messy way of decanting the ice cream is to use a disposable piping bag – don't snip the end until it's full. Fold the edge of the bag back over your hand and spoon in the ice cream, when it's full then you can snip the end – it needs to be wide enough to allow the mixture to pass through the opening and then pipe into the Sundae pots!

Alternatively spoon into suitably sized containers with lids of say 4-6 scoops.

Here's a few photos that will help:

If you're interested, the origin of Rocky Road ice cream is said to have been created in March 1929 by William Dreyer … and his partner Joseph Edy with many variations along the way. After the Wall Street Crash of 1929 Dreyer and Edy gave the flavour its current name “to give folks something to smile about in the midst of the Great Depression”. Alternatively Fentons Creamery claims that William Dreyer based his recipe on a Rocky Road-style ice cream flavour invented by his friend, Fentons' George Farren.

Food for thought – there's a certain symmetry me thinks!

Rocky Road ice cream

Here's another idea for a no-churn recipe!

Vanilla ice cream

100g salted, toasted pecans, finely chopped

50g cocoa powder, sieved

50g mini marshmallows

1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk

1 x 600ml double cream

2tsp vanilla bean paste

8 x Sundae pots with lids

or suitably sized containers to split

the ice cream into say 4 – 6 scoops

It's a good idea to salt and toast the pecans the day before – they need to cool!

Heat a small knob of butter, gently, in a pan and when foaming tip in the pecans with a pinch of sea salt flakes. Stir over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until toasted – the delicious aroma will tell you when they are ready – don't leave them! Tip the nuts into a bowl and leave to cool.

On the day – empty the condensed milk into a large mixing bowl and gradually sieve in the cocoa – I use a tiny sieve, tapping the side with a spoon – you have more control - use a manual whisk to combine.

Then add the cream and vanilla bean paste and use an electric hand whisk until you get stiff peaks – i.e. stand on their own when lifting the mixing blades from the mixture.

Combine the pecans thoroughly.

Fold in the mini marshmallows gently so that they are covered in the ice cream.

Bits and pieces and hints and tips coming up!

No-churn strawberry ice cream

There's only one thing wrong with home-made ice cream you need an ice cream maker – or so they say – there are delicious no-churn versions out there and the following recipe is easy!

No-churn strawberry ice cream

The recipe will give you 960g

750g/1½lb strawberries

juice of two lemons

1 x 397g condensed milk

300g light brown muscovado sugar

Top the strawberries, cut in half or quarters if large then blitz to a purée, add the lemon juice. Tip the blitzed berries into a large sieve and allow the purée to pass through. As you're passing the strawberries there's no need to hull the berries.

Place the condensed milk and brown sugar into a large mixing bowl and whisk on high for 10 minutes. I used a hand whisk. Eventually the sugar is beaten into the condensed milk and will give you a ribbon effect. Set your timer and have patience – it's worth it. You can help your strawberry pulp through the sieve with the back of a metal spoon. Fold into your sugar and condensed milk and mix until combined. I split the mixture into two boxes. Freeze for at least 6 hours. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving – no longer – it softens very quickly.

If you want a perfect scoop dip the scoop into boiling water and pat dry.

As the cook I think you're entitled to taste the ice cream ahead of serving. I confess I'm not a huge fan as a rule but I was intrigued so I took a teaspoonful as I boxed it – one word - “wow” - I ditched the spoon and took another, just to be sure.

Yum!

Plant your strawberries!

For those who want a plant based Sticky Toffee Sauce here's a recipe that'll do the trick. It's quick and easy and a perfect combination with strawberries and Swedish Glacé – the vegan and dairy free ice cream alternative.

Sticky Toffee Sauce

200ml Elmlea Plant Double Vegan

Alternative cream

40g Flora unsalted plant butter

100g dark soft brown sugar

Mix the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil, then reducing to a medium heat, stirring until thickened – 2 minutes!

It freezes well.

Swedish Glacé is easily obtainable from supermarkets and in a choice of flavours – vanilla, raspberry and chocolate to name but three!

If you want help identifying here's a photo :

Next up … a no-churn strawberry ice cream!

Speaking of ice cream …

… you don't need an ice cream maker – here's a no-churn recipe that I've used for years – imagine my surprise when it made an appearance in July's edition of Waitrose Food Simply Summer Chic!

Vanilla ice cream

Prep – 5 minutes

Total time – 5 minutes

plus freezing at least 6-8 hours

or until firm

Gives you 1.6 litres of ice cream is equal

to 18 scoops

1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk

1 x 600ml double cream

2tsp vanilla bean paste

1. Put the condensed milk, cream and vanilla into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk until the mixture is quite thick and stiff, like pipeable whipped cream.**

2. Spoon the mixture into a lidded freezer-proof container and free for at least 6-8 hours or until firm – it's a good idea to split the ice cream into say 4 to 6 scoop size of container.

** My variation – make your own Sticky Toffee Sauce or use a jar of shop bought (260g) and fold into the mixture to give a marbled effect.

My tip is take it out of the freezer and let it soften a little before you serve it - with or without the variation it's delicious.

Just in case you should decide to make your own, here's the recipe :

Sticky Toffee Sauce

4oz unsalted butter

8oz soft brown sugar

2oz chopped stem ginger (optional)

10 fl oz double cream (or whipping cream)

Heat together the butter, sugar and ginger. When dissolved add the cream.

Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring.

The stem ginger in this recipe is optional but it makes a good addition when serving the sauce as an accompaniment to nursery puddings and ice cream.

One batch of the recipe produces approximately 539g of the sauce, or, over two portions to fold through ice cream – so it would be a good idea to divide the sauce into two – freeze one portion for next time or for another use. A shop bought sauce is usually 260g per jar.

Another tip - I think you'll find that making your own sauce it is less sweet and really enhances the vanilla ice cream – definitely worth the effort!

Hmm – how about a meringue kiss?

Reflections recipe - A Vegan Dessert Sauce!

Sticky Toffee Sauce

200ml Elmlea Plant Double Vegan

Alternative cream

40g Flora unsalted plant butter

100g dark soft brown sugar

Mix the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil, then reducing to a medium heat, stirring until thickened – 2 minutes!

It freezes well.

Simple, yet it has all the ingredients to be a hit – can't fail – I hope.

Fast forward … in a word “gobsmacked” - they loved it.

It wasn't rocket science as I'm fond of saying, but it was a great success and a recipe that was quick, easy and I'll use again and again.

If you're stuck for a dessert give it a go anytime – it's not just for Christmas! I used it again for New Year for other members of the family and the reaction was the same.

May be I should call it the “Anytime Sundae”!

Reflections - a Vegan dessert idea – hints and tips!

Your sundae dish should be narrow at the base and wide at the top :

Swedish Glacé is an excellent product – it covers all the bases – vegan, dairy free, lactose free and gluten free!

Here's a photo of the raspberry version – available in vanilla as I used in this recipe and chocolate too.

As for the apples I'd got 6 medium eating apples that I didn't want to go to waste so I quartered ad sliced them, added a sprinkle of brown sugar and a drop of water and cooked them gently on the hob (you could use your oven if it's already in use) and used 3 medium pots to freeze since it's more convenient and less wasteful!

Sticky Toffee Sauce recipe coming up ...

Speedy sweets …

Everyone has their own food favourites for the holidays. I find it's the whirlwind leading up to the festivities that can turn an organised person into a gibbering idiot!

On that sobering note my next series of stuff concentrates not on the obvious holiday food but ideas for you to make ahead, or have ingredients in your store cupboard so that you can pull together lovely grub quickly and easily – all the separate elements at your finger tips. It doesn't matter whether you're sober or not!

I always seem to begin with ideas for desserts – if you like the other end of a meal – hey, it's as good a place as any.

There's nothing that will serve you better than a home-made ice cream and all my recipes are of the “no-churn” variety. I use the standard vanilla ice-cream base recipe to begin :

Vanilla ice cream

Prep – 5 minutes

Total time – 5 minutes

plus freezing at least 6-8 hours

or until firm

Gives you 1.6 litres of ice cream is equal

to 18 scoops

1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk

1 x 600ml double cream

2tsp vanilla bean paste

Put the condensed milk, cream and vanilla into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk until the mixture is quite thick and stiff.

Next up … the syrup … to turn into an orange ripple!

I made a double batch of orange syrup – why double? I divided it into half – popped half into the freezer for another day and fridged the other half, ready to turn my basic vanilla ice cream into an orange ripple.

Orange Syrup

400g icing sugar

500ml orange juice (no bits)

Put the sugar and orange juice in a small saucepan and heat gently so that the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes.

You'll achieve approximately 600ml of syrup – divide into two boxes and freeze one of them. Fridge the other, ready to complete your ice cream.

Here's a few photos …

Whisk your ice cream to a stiffer consistency

– thicker ribbons - you're adding syrup which will loosen

the batch

here's the syrup, ready to go

tip the syrup into the ice cream and fold through

gently

here's the orange drizzle ice cream, ready for

the freezer – you can see the vanilla flecks and the

trail of orange syrup running through

Anyone like chocolate sauce with ice cream?

You've made the orange ripple ice cream and it's in the freezer. The following chocolate and orange sauce can be made in minutes. The ingredients are in your fridge and your pantry and it takes only minutes to bring the cream and milk to the boil, add the sugar until dissolved and then tip over the chocolate and orange zest.

Chocolate and orange sauce

120ml double cream

80ml milk

50g caster sugar

225g dark chocolate (70%) broken into small pieces in a large bowl

zest of 1 orange

Put the cream and milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove pan from heat and pour over the chocolate, stir until melted. Add the orange zest, then set aside to cool in serving jug or if you'd prefer it warm, pour over a portion of ice cream.

I'd suggest serving the ice cream and sauce with fresh orange segments. You could add an extra element and crush amaretti biscuits and sprinkle over the top – another excellent store cupboard stand by.

Here it is :

Resourceful and creative desserts

Here's my antedote to trifle! For me it's up there with sago and semolina – horrid! I appreciate that trifle has “grown up” since the 1950s – back then it was tinned fruit immersed in jelly from a box, the inevitable Birds Custard topped off with synthetic cream – and decorated with hundreds and thousands – sprinkles I think they are called these days.

If you're like me then this could be the answer :

Sticky Toffee Orange

Make a cake – a cake that will freeze well – a sticky toffee loaf cake

Use as a cake or slice (1.5cm) and cut into small cubes –

place in a sundae dish – warm the cake if you wish

Make a toffee sauce – one that will freeze

Use the sauce warmed to drizzle over the cake or over ice cream

Chop walnuts, add a knob of butter to a frying

pan, sprinkle with sea salt flakes

Use to sprinkle over the cake and toffee sauce or

add to the sauce poured over ice cream

Segment a large navel orange and reserve the juice too

Stand by for the recipes and the photos!

The cake

200g pitted dates, roughly chopped

1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda

200ml boiling water

80g unsalted butter, softened

150g soft brown sugar

2 large eggs

180g self-raising flour

Pre-heat your oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4. You'll need a loaf tin – 24x10cms/9½x5¼” approximately - you can grease the tin or use a loaf liner – much more convenient!

Place the chopped dates in a mixing bowl, sprinkle over the bicarb and then the boiling water. Leave to stand for 10 minutes then blitz in a food processor to a rough purée.

Using a hand mixer or elbow grease if you prefer, cream the butter and sugar until thick and smooth. Add the eggs one at a time and then follow gradually with the flour, finally add the date mixture. Pour into the loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes or until firm. Allow to cool.

Toffee Sauce

100g soft brown sugar

200ml double cream

½ tsp vanilla bean paste

40g unsalted butter

Mix the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring over a medium heat until thickened – 2 minutes.

Both the cake and the sauce can be frozen.

The Walnuts

100g walnuts, chopped roughly

pinch of sea salt flakes

knob of unsalted butter

Melt the butter in a medium frying pan until it foams. Tip in the walnuts and add the sea salt flakes. Stir them for 3-4 minutes until toasted. Tip the nuts into a bowl and leave to cool.

How to segment an orange …

I really do need to get out more!

In my defence I love oranges – what I don't love is the pith and tough outer membrane around each segment.

There is only one way I can describe this procedure and that is by photo :

You'll need a serrated knife – I use a bread knife. Top and tail your orange and then follow the shape of the orange with the knife and peel away a section at a time. Take your time – you should finish up with this :

Hold the orange in your left hand and using the serrated knife – very carefully – cut along the inside of the white membrane of the segment - I start on the left hand side – you can see the white in the photo - repeat on the right hand side. Repeat until you finish with perfect segments and the discarded membranes, like this :

You should get orange juice too, reserve and then drizzle over the cubed sticky toffee cake.

P.s. You'll get 10 segments from a large orange.

More ice cream ideas!

Remember the fudge … now for the ice cream! Having made the fudge I thought I'd mess about and make a new ice cream.

Here's the recipe for the fudge – I'd make it ahead :

Chocolate Fudge Squares

Takes 1½ hours/ make 50 pieces

400g dark or milk chocolate, broken into small

even sized pieces

25g butter

397 can condensed milk

100g icing sugar

30g cocoa powder, sifted

Line a 20cm square shallow tin with baking parchment.

Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie. In a non-stick saucepan melt the butter and gently warm the condensed milk, then add the melted chocolate and mix until smooth. Beat in the icing sugar until blended and smooth.

Put the mixture into the prepared tin, spread evenly into the corners, smooth over the top and place in the fridge to set for at least 1 hour. Remove and cut into small squares and dust with cocoa.

Coming next - a photo or two and a few hints and tips …

The ice cream on its own is very easy, the only extra prep is to cut your fudge into tiny pieces. Your fudge is already in 2x2cm pieces, cut each piece into four again, preferably on kitchen roll so that you preserve any cocoa dust and you're ready to roll!

Here's the basic recipe again :

Vanilla ice cream

1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk

1 x 600ml double cream

2tsp vanilla bean paste

Put the condensed milk, cream and vanilla into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk until the mixture is quite thick and stiff, like pipeable whipped cream.

You will need 260g of fudge cut into tiny irregular pieces

including the cocoa dust too

Fold the tiny pieces of fudge and the cocoa dust gently through the ice cream so that you achieve a ripple effect with a hidden surprise of fudge!

Spoon the mixture into a lidded freezer-proof containers and freeze for at least 6-8 hours or until firm. You might also want to consider freezing individual portions as well as larger pots, just in case you need an ice cream fix for yourself – as the cook you need to taste!

Bear in mind that you need to take the ice cream out of the freezer at least 15 minutes before serving to allow it to soften.

Photo guide up next …

The ice cream fudge fotos

the tiny pieces of fudge and cocoa

dust, ready to incorporate

the ice cream base and folding in

the fudge and cocoa dust

tiny pots of ice cream – ready for the

freezer

Strawberry Miso Ripple

First, the compote :

A strawberry compote

500g ripe strawberries, hulled

4 tbsp caster sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

Cut the strawberries in half – or quarters if large – place in a large saucepan with the sugar and lemon juice. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved and then simmer. Cover and cook for 3/5 minutes until dark in colour and syrupy. Compote can be store in fridge for up to 2 weeks. I'd suggest you divide in half and freeze one for a rainy day.

If you prefer a smooth compote blitz and pass through a sieve.

As you can see it's not a difficult recipe, hulling the berries, i.e. removing the green leaf on the top and the stalk below, takes a little time but it's worth every second. You can buy a kitchen implement to do the job if you wish but using a paring knife and cutting in a circular motion will do the job just as well.

Instead of keeping the whole fruit or blitzing and passing for a smooth version why not have half and half?

When your compote has cooled :

Gently poor the compote into a large mixing bowl

and weigh the total amount

In my case this was 512g precisely!

Take 256g of the whole fruits and place in

a jar and fridge

Blitz and pass the remaining half and set

aside ready for use

Add the smooth compote to your batch of ice cream and fold gently through creating a ripple effect, then freeze in containers to suit.

Say hello to Strawberry Miso Ripple!

Strawberry Miso Ripple – the photos

the sweet white miso in the mixing bowl

the ice cream whipped, ready to ripple

adding the compote

rippled!

Et voila :

                                                                       one scoop or two?

the ripple topped with the whole fruit compote

Most importantly … the verdict.

Silence is always a good sign, followed by the scraping of the dish, finally two words “beautiful” and “gorgeous” - not words you'd normally associate with strawberries and ice cream but hey I'll take them!

Speaking of seasonal fresh fruit

I don't think there is a more evocative scent of summer than that of a bowl of strawberries, it's just divine and makes your mouth water. Sadly these days shop bought fruit can bring disappointment since a lot of strawberries are forced and taste, quite honestly, of nothing. Buy locally at farm shops or pick your own if you can.

No-churn strawberry ice cream

The recipe will give you 960g

750g/1½lb strawberries

juice of two lemons

1 x 397g condensed milk

300g light brown muscovado sugar

Top the strawberries, cut in half or quarters if large then blitz to a purée, add the lemon juice. Tip the blitzed berries into a large sieve and allow the purée to pass through. As you're passing the strawberries there's no need to hull the berries.

Place the condensed milk and brown sugar into a large mixing bowl and whisk on high for 10 minutes. I used a hand whisk. Eventually the sugar is beaten into the condensed milk and will give you a ribbon effect. Set your timer and have patience – it's worth it. You can help your strawberry pulp through the sieve with the back of a metal spoon. Fold into your sugar and condensed milk and mix until combined. I split the mixture into two boxes. Freeze for at least 6 hours. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving – no longer – it softens very quickly.

If you want a perfect scoop dip the scoop into boiling water and pat dry.

As the cook I think you're entitled to taste the ice cream ahead of serving. I confess I'm not a huge fan as a rule but I was intrigued so I took a teaspoonful as I boxed it – one word - “wow” - I ditched the spoon and took another, just to be sure.

Another ice cream of the no churn variety

I cannot claim the credit for this addition to our ice cream repertoire – it is courtesy of delicious. Magazine – consistently brilliant in my humble opinion!

Mascarpone no-churn ice cream

Whisk 150g mascarpone with 170g condensed

milk and ½ tsp vanilla extract (or bean paste).

Pour into a container suitable for the freezer

fold in 1 tbsp of your favourite fruit purée, then

freeze for an easy ripple ice cream.

Freeze for minimum of 4 hours and allow to soften

for 10/15 minutes before serving

I added 1.5 tbsps of good quality lemon curd and served the ice cream with raspberries and then added a shortbread biscuit or two.

This ice cream is full of flavour and a silky texture, not sickly as with some ice creams. I've already mentioned that my friend is over from the USA – who has become an enthusiastic student. He does not do desserts other than ice cream and so considers himself to be a connoisseur in this field – a perfect taster! The recipe is winging its way to the USA as we speak – enough said I think.

Note to self – you might want to consider doubling the recipe – I think you'll be glad you did.

    

Yum!

Let the summer begin!

Summer is coming and whether al fresco dining or a BBQ is your bag – what do you for dessert? Ice cream! Here's a few ideas from the back catalogue that will suit every occasion and they are all easy peasy.

This ice cream combines my old favourite, the basic vanilla no-churn recipe, with an added surprise folded through.

The vanilla ice cream recipe is repeated for ease of reference later on, but first comes the element that needs to be made ahead - toasted, salted pecans, dipped in dark chocolate.

Toasted, salted pecans

75g unsalted butter

100g pecan halves, blitzed to a crumb

sea salt flakes

Heat a small knob of butter in a pan and when foaming, tip in the pecans with a pinch of sea salt flakes. Stir over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes or till toasted – you will smell them when they are ready. Tip the nuts into a bowl and leave to cool.

Here's a photo of blitzed toasted, salted pecans :

ready for the chocolate!

You'll need :

150g dark chocolate, minimum 50% cocoa solids

¼ tsp measuring spoon

a baking sheet lined with parchment

But first a quick reminder about melting chocolate.

You can melt your chocolate in a microwave – I prefer to create washing up by melting it in a large, squeaky clean glass bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. It's important that the simmering water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. It should be the steam from the water that melts the chocolate.

Resist the urge to prod and stir, leave it be. You can use a heatproof spatula when you can see that the chocolate is melting. Taking care to use oven gloves, lift the bowl onto a heat resistant non-slip mat – you may also find it useful to lay a tea towel on top of the mat so that you can dry the bowl – leave the chocolate to cool slightly.

Your chocolate choices!

Here's my usual tip at this stage – to prevent your baking parchment from sliding on to the floor glue it into place using a tiny blob of the melted chocolate in each corner of the baking sheet.

When your melted chocolate has cooled slightly, add the pecans and fold in.

Using your ¼ tsp measuring spoon place tiny blobs of the mixture onto the parchment and pop the sheet into the fridge to chill. I can hear you saying, that'll take ages – I suppose it depends on your definition of “ages”.

If you'd like to see the result of the laborious task I'm recommending, take a look :

I think it's worth the effort!

There is a “plan B”. Instead of creating the blobs tip the mixture onto your glued parchment. If you're using this plan you may need two baking sheets. As a guide I'd suggest a size 30x30cms/12x12” approximately x 2 sheets and the parchment should be a similar size. Using a palette knife divide the mixture between the two sheets and then spread it, as thinly as you can, over the parchment. It matters not if it's irregular shapes and sizes. Fridge the sheets for at least 2 hours, to cool and set properly.

Lift the parchment from the sheet and place on a large chopping board or similar surface. I used a Chef's knife to cut random shards of the mixture, as small as possible.

Alternatively you could gather up the parchment and crumple into tiny bits and pieces.

I wouldn't recommend using your hands to break up the mixture bearing in mind that the heat from your hands will cause it to warm and bend!

Have a look at the result of plan B :

The world is your ice cream here -

you could combine the blobs and the shards

As promised, here's the basic ice cream recipe :

Vanilla ice cream

Prep – 5 minutes

Total time – 5 minutes

plus freezing at least 6-8 hours

or until firm

Gives you 1.6 litres of ice cream is equal

to 18 scoops

1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk

1 x 600ml double cream

2tsp vanilla bean paste

Put the condensed milk, cream and vanilla into a large mixing bowl and using an electric hand whisk, whisk until the mixture is quite thick and stiff, like pipeable whipped cream. Fold in the chocolate dipped pecans.

At this point you need to decide on size of pots and a small individual version would be a really good idea. Here are a couple of examples :

                                       

easy peasy for serving!

the perfect treat in the perfect size pot!

Freeze for at least 6-8 hours or until firm. Remove from the freezer and allow to soften for 10 minutes before serving.

Never let it be said that I don't try to think of everyone and cover every base.

One of my favourite additions to the standard vanilla ice cream is to add salted caramel sauce. Some may say it might be a step too far and they may be right, however I think it's personal choice and after all, it is meant to be a summer treat!

The fast option - use a jar of salted caramel sauce (260g) – easily available at most large supermarkets – fold into the mixture to give a marbled effect.

The “fastish” option. If you'd like to make your own salted caramel sauce here's my recipe :

Salted Caramel Sauce

110g/4oz unsalted butter

225g/8oz soft dark brown sugar

275ml/10 fl oz double cream (or whipping cream)

1½ tsp salt

Heat together the butter and sugar. When dissolved add the salt and whisk in the cream.

Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring.

One batch of the recipe produces approximately 539g of the sauce and you can portion and freeze for convenience. Yippee – more for another time!

Then there's the sprinkles.

My favourite home-made sprinkle is praline – used largely for adding to and flavouring cream, ice cream, butter cream or whatever takes your fancy. You can use it in large pieces or shards or blitzed into a coarse powder. It keeps well so long as you transfer it into an air-tight jar. Should the mood take you it can even be blitzed into a paste.

Praline

75g/3oz almonds, unblanched

75g/3oz caster sugar

Place the sugar into a frying pan (I used a pan measuring 28cms/11” in diameter) and then the almonds on top. Heat the sugar and almonds on as low a heat as possible. Resist the urge to prod/stir/mess with! Patience is eventually rewarded the sugar begins to melt and when the almonds begin to “pop”, and your sugar is a good colour - turn it out onto a non-stick sheet (or oiled slab if you want to be posh). The melting of the sugar takes approximately 20 minutes.

Leave the praline sheet where it is until it is well and truly set. You can then break it up and blitz into a coarse powder or as you wish. It's stating the obvious I know – you'll get 150g/6oz of praline.

Please note that when blitzing you will need ear plugs and warn anyone nearby that isn't totally deaf they soon will be – it's worth the noise – the result - tiny bits of twinkling toffee – the ultimate sprinkle.

For those who like to experiment :

Another miso moment, this time sweet

If you've never used sweet white miso before and want to have a go the following two recipes are a great place to start – they are both easy.

To begin, a no-churn ice cream – using sweet white miso paste – to explain, it's a Japanese seasoning – fermented soybeans with salt and koji, the resulting paste is used in savoury and sweet dishes. There are different types of miso the sweeter white version includes rice, barley and a smaller quantity of soybeans.

Here goes :

Sweet white miso ice cream

Makes 1 litre of ice cream

100g sweet white miso paste

397g tin condensed milk

300ml double cream

Combine the miso paste and condensed milk in a bowl, mix well so that it loosens. A tip – put the paste in the bowl first and then add the condensed milk gradually. If it doesn't comply then use your hand whisk until smooth. Add the cream and whisk until it begins to thicken.

Decant into suitable containers – I'd suggest you decide on portion control that suits you, so a mixture of small and medium pots. Remember you can always take out more if you need it! Freeze overnight.

Allow the ice cream to soften for 10 minutes before serving.

If you're a fan of the salted caramel flavour you'll like that sweet and salty “hit” the miso gives.

Now for the second recipe – Miso Caramel Sauce ...

You might think that there's too much miso going on here but I can assure you it works. Just think salted caramel. This recipe isn't mine but it rang a bell because of the miso ice cream I'd made back in 2019. I like recipes that fit together but that play well with other ingredients too!

Here it is :

Miso Caramel Sauce

260g dark brown sugar

250ml double cream

100g unsalted butter

2 tsp sweet white miso – saikyo

Heat the sugar, cream and butter in a small pan over a medium heat, stirring regularly. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 2/3 minutes until slightly thickened. Take off the heat then stir in the miso.

Make the miso caramel up to a week in advance, chill until needed, then gently warm to a pouring consistency.

I've frozen this sauce too so another candidate for your emergency dessert stash, what's not to love.

There's more!