Nice ice: easy home-made ice-creams

You don't need an ice-cream maker and endless patience to produce your own home-made ices. Terry Farris has four quick and easy suggestions

Who doesn't like ice-cream? Whether bought at the corner shop, from a refrigerated van, or at a fashionable parlour on the Italian Riviera (arguably the best ice-cream in the world) it's one of the true small pleasures in life. But it needn't always come from somewhere else - why not try making your own? Ice-cream makers are wonderful gadgets, but you can make plenty of simple, family-friendly iced desserts without one. Most ice-creams are made using a custard base. This involves whisking raw eggs and sugar over diffused heat to achieve a light, fluffy consistency. The eggs are never cooked, however, so ice-creams made this way should be eaten in a day. There are other ice-creams which don't use eggs at all. Simply try mixing your favourite flavours into whisked cream or plain yoghurt. Sorbets and granitas are made by freezing a sugar syrup with puréed fruits. They have more of an icy, crunchy texture and are perfect for cleansing the palate between courses or as a light finish to a summer meal.

Chocolate Ice-Cream
Makes about 1.5 litres and serves 6-8

350g plain chocolate
600ml milk
1 egg
1 egg yolk
50g sugar
568ml tub double cream

  1. Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl with the milk. Heat gently over a pan of simmering water or melt (carefully) in the microwave. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is completely dissolved. Set aside.
  2. Place another bowl over the pan of simmering water and whisk the whole egg and yolk with the sugar until thick and fluffy. This should take between 5 and 7 minutes. Remove from the pan and pour in the chocolate milk, whisking well to blend. Set aside to cool.
  3. Whisk the cream until slightly thickened, then fold into the cooled chocolate mixture. Pour into a shallow plastic container and freeze for 2-3 hours.
  4. Whisk the ice-cream again to incorporate more air and to blend in the frozen bits. Return to the freezer for another 4 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, take out of the freezer until soft enough to scoop. Eat within 1 day.

NB: this recipe contains raw eggs, so the usual precautions should apply.

    Variations
  1. Add 100g toasted, chopped pistachios or almonds after the second whisking.
  2. Add crumbled pieces of your favourite biscuit. The American cookies 'Oreos' are great in this.
  3. Add some chopped after-dinner mints or bits of white chocolate.

Frozen Orange Yoghurt
Makes 600ml; serves 4

450g tub natural yoghurt
325g jar orange curd
grated zest of 1 orange

  1. Simply whisk the yoghurt, curd and zest together until well blended and freeze in a plastic container.
  2. Take out and soften before serving.

Variations
Use lemon or lime curd instead of the orange.

Mascarpone Mocha Ice-cream
Makes about 600ml; serves 4

250g tub mascarpone (soft Italian cream cheese)
284ml tub double cream
2 tbsp finely ground dark roast coffee
4 tbsp icing sugar

  1. Combine the mascarpone and cream and whisk until just blended.
  2. Whisk in the coffee and sugar and freeze in a plastic container.
  3. Allow to soften before serving.

Strawberry Granita
Makes 900ml; serves 4-6

175g sugar
600ml water
juice of 1 lime
450g strawberries

  1. Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and dissolve over a gentle heat. When fully dissolved, simmer for 5 minutes.
  2. Remove from the heat, add the lime juice and leave to cool.
  3. Purée the strawberries in a food processor or blender and slowly pour in the sugar syrup. Pour into a shallow plastic container and freeze until frozen. This may take 4-6 hours.
  4. Loosen the granita with a fork to break up the ice crystals and serve in individual glasses.

Variation
Use raspberries in place of strawberries, sieving out the seeds before blending with the sugar syrup.