A couple weeks ago, in the last of the Orchard Cottage summer festivities, friends from near and far gathered for a BBQ / slumber party that will forever remained etched in my memory for its three cheese plates in 24 hours.
The other source of memory burn: this blackcurrant swirl ice cream.
Amongst my my guests that weekend were Rachel Demuth, owner of Demuths Restaurant and Vegetarian Cookery School in Bath, who put in a request for blackcurrant ice cream. Blackcurrants are one of those British fruits that I’ve never quite got my head around (the exception being Cassis, a blackberry liqueur that works wonders with Rosé). I think I associate it with Ribena, which I’m not particularly fond of.
Anyway, I like a challenge. I had some difficulty finding blackcurrants – we’re well past their season – but found some frozen ones at The Organic Farm Shop, where I also acquired the necessary milk, cream and eggs (I’m not sure why, but the farm shop’s dairy makes The Best ice cream – I think it has something to do with their super rich cream that’s almost as thick as yoghurt, and their wonderfully creamy yellow egg yolks).
To make the ice cream, I adapted the recipe for Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream in the forever useful David Lebovitz book, The Perfect Scoop
So I think this ice cream has made me a black currant convert. They’re super tart, which I LOVE, especially when combined with the rich creamy sweetness of the ice cream. This recipe also has me wanting to try more “swirl” ice creams with this season’s found fruit: blackberries and elderberries I’m thinking. Stay tuned.
| Blackcurrant Swirl Ice Cream |
- 250ml whole milk
- 130g sugar
- pinch of salt
- 375ml thick cream
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 160g blackcurrants (fresh or frozen)
- 25g sugar
- To make the ice cream, warm the milk, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Pour the cream into a large bowl. Set a sieve over the top.
- In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks and set aside. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks. Spoon the warm egg/milk mixture back into the saucepan.
- Stir the mixture over medium heat until heated and the custard coats the back of a spoon.
- Pour the warm custard through the sieve into the cream and add the vanilla extract. Gently mix.
- Cool over an ice bath. When cool, chill thoroughly in the fridge.
- To make the blackcurrant swirl, add the sugar and blackcurrants with a dessert spoon of water to a saucepan.
- Cook the blackcurrants on medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the blackcurrants begin to burst.
- Leave to cool.
- To finish, churn the cooled custard in your ice cream maker for about 20-30 minutes. When done, add the blackcurrant, swirl once or twice, then remove to a freezer-proof container (do not overmix!).
- Freeze for several hours before serving.
Yeah, I always associated balckcurrants with Ribena which I detest until a couple of years ago in France when I realised that Ribena tastes nothing like the real thing (it needs to taste more like Cassis!). This summer I baked with them a lot and they are growing on me more and more. This is bookmarked for next summer for me – looks amazing!