Meringue ice-cream, sort of...

Since I found a few fabulous ice-cream recipes on Joy The Baker's blog, I've been really inspired to whip some up. And my love of home made ice-cream is growing as a result! Around six years ago, I was given an ice-cream maker as a Christmas giftie. It has had some use, particularly making Nigella's baci ice-cream from Forever Summer. I gave up for a few years though, particularly after one night's failed dinner party dessert. What should have been lush vanilla bean ice-cream turned into very expensive ordinary custard. It was exceptionally disappointing. And then last year during mango madness I experimented with mango sorbet. Again the results left something to be desired.

But thanks to Joy and the Kitchy Kitchen, I'm back into the ice-cream making mode. And loving it. I think I've mentioned this before, but recipes for peanut butter chocolate ice-cream and a cookie no-dough choc chip ice-cream have been winners. The cookie no-dough turned out to be a good butterscotchish/tasty flavour, rather than cookie per se. But the fella woofed it down.

So I've broadened my ice-cream horizons, read too many delicious magazines and made myself some meringue ice-cream. Well sort of. Loving the flavour, not so sure about the texture. I could have whipped it for longer perhaps. Or maybe the mixture needed thickening before churning. I think that's it. But post it I will, as I've got loads of it to eat and think I'll make it again.

I've scanned in the cover of the mag I found the recipe in. No camera. Yet again we have a broken camera, but this time I found the receipt. So it is off in the South being repaired. Hurrah for scanners!

Meringue Ice-Cream a.k.a. Cinnamon and Lemon Ice-Cream
Makes 1 L

2 c milk
150 ml thick cream
160 g white sugar
Peeled rind of 1 lemon
2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 eggwhites – 3 or even 2 would work though

If needed/using, place your ice-cream maker’s bowl into the freezer to chill, ideally overnight.

In a saucepan, combine milk, cream, 100 g sugar, rind and cinnamon. Heat over a medium heat, stirring to combine. Bring almost to the boil, remove from heat and leave to infuse for 1 hour.

Strain this mix, refrigerate until cool – ideally overnight.

Whisk eggwhites until stiff peaks form. Spoon in remaining 60 g sugar, one tablespoon at a time until the sugar dissolves in the whites. Gently fold ¼ of the eggwhite mix into the infused milk mix. Fold in remaining eggwhite mix.

Place mixture into the bowl of your ice-cream maker. Churn until it begins to set, around thirty minutes. Spoon into a freezer container, freeze until set. Alternatively, freeze until setting around the edges, remove from freezer and beat with an electric mixer to break up the crystals and make smooth ice-cream. Re-freeze and repeat two more times.

This would be delicious served with some poached pears or rehydrated dried apricots.

Adapted from Delicious September 2003.