Delia

Gooseberry and Elderflower Ice Cream

This ice cream is unbelievably good. Perhaps one of the best treats of early summer would be to serve A Very Easy One Crust Gooseberry Pie accompanied by home-made ice cream: what a combination!

Serves 6-8 – makes 2 pints (1.2 litres)

This recipe is from Delia Smith's Summer Collection


Gooseberry and Elderflower Ice Cream
Ingredients
 1½ lb (700 g) young green gooseberries
 8 tablespoons elderflower cordial
 3 oz (75 g) sugar
For the custard:
 10 fl oz (275 ml) whipping cream
 3 large egg yolks
 2 oz (50 g) sugar
 1 rounded teaspoon cornflour
 1 dessertspoon liquid glucose
Equipment
You will also need a 3½ pint (2 litre) polythene freezer box 8 x 8 inches x 2½ inches deep (20 x 20 cm x 6 cm deep).

Method

First place the cream in a saucepan and bring it up to just below simmering point. While it is heating, place the egg yolks, 2 oz (50 g) sugar and the cornflour in a bowl and whisk together till smooth.

Now add the liquid glucose to the hot cream and whisk that too until the glucose has melted down and blended with the cream. Next, pour the whole lot over the egg mixture, then return everything to the saucepan and continue whisking over a medium heat until the mixture thickens to a custard. Now rinse out and dry the bowl, pour the custard back in, cover with clingfilm and allow to cool.

Meanwhile top and tail the gooseberries using kitchen scissors and place them in a saucepan with 3 oz (75 g) sugar. Put a lid on the pan, place over a low heat and let them cook gently till soft – about 5-6 minutes. Then place a large nylon sieve over a bowl and press the gooseberries through to extract all the pips.

Next, stir the elderflower cordial into the gooseberry purée and, as soon as the custard is cool enough, combine the two together. Now you can either freeze-churn the mixture in an ice cream maker till thick, or else pour it into the polythene freezer box, cover with a lid and freeze till half-frozen (about 3-4 hours).

At this stage beat the mixture, still in the box, with an electric hand whisk. Return it to the freezer, then repeat 3 hours later, and after that freeze till solid and store till needed.

Transfer to the main body of the fridge for 30 minutes before serving.
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