i have been over in darwin for a few days at a conference and when i got home i discovered my new ice cream maker had turned up. it is a small commercial type that has its own inbuilt compressor, meaning you dont have to refrigerate the bowl in advance and it is possible to make back to back batches of ‘i scream’ or sorbet.
so with my usual patience and care i tore the box open, threw the instructions in the bin and made up a batch of vanilla and pineapple ice cream and a lime chilli and coconut sorbet.
the pineapple ice cream is made using a base of my french vanilla ice cream,
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup castor sugar
- 1 cup cream
- i cup milk
- pinch of salt
- finely chopped pineapple, or tin of crushed pineapple (no added sugar)
- vanilla beans, essence etc
basically make a ‘half and half’ mixture of cream & milk (1 cup of each), add vanilla in some form, from fresh bean to paste or as a last resort essence, and a pinch of salt.
bring the half & half mix to just below the boil and add it to 3 eggs that you have whisked for a couple of minutes with the sugar. add mix slowly while whisking to ensure eggs dont scramble.
move bowl of mix onto a saucepan of simmering water to create a double boiler and cook while stirring until a custard starts to form, when its thick enough to ‘back a spoon’ then take off heat and sit in a saucepan of cool water and stir to reduce heat and stop cooking. put mix in fridge and chill until ready to make into ice cream. add in pineapple (or any other fruit to suit) and pour into your ice cream maker.
the finished product, judging by the smile on the boy’s face and the ice cream smeared around his mouth, it is pretty yummy!
the basis for the sorbet is a sugar syrup, i usually keep some in the fridge, 1kg of sugar dissolved in 1lt of water, i boil it for a couple of minutes to make sure the sugar is properly in solution.
- sugar syrup
- 2 egg whites
- kaffir lime leaf
- 2 limes
- fresh chilli
- tin of coconut milk
- pinch of salt
finely chop a couple of kaffir lime leaves and a chilli, add the grated rind of the limes and their juice, fold into the egg whites and salt that have been whisked to stiff peaks, add about 1/4 cup coconut milk and enough sugar syrup to make up a batch of sorbet. load into your ice cream maker and enjoy!
