Earlier this year we had a glut of blackcurrants. I picked them on a Sunday in the sunshine, cutting whole branches from the bushes and then sitting in the sun on the terrace picking off the juicy black fruit. Over 9lbs of fruit, all topped and tailed (not that they needed any topping, or was it tailing) and stored in plastic tubs in the freezer till I had more time to turn them into loveliness.
Blackcurrant harvest
This weekend was the time. And the loveliness was Blackcurrant Ripple Icecream. Why have I never made this before? It’s amazing and oh so simple. Thanks to Xanthe Clay and the BBC Good Food website for this deliciousness. I’ve slightly altered the recipe, but literally only slightly. You can find the original and a gorgeous picture here http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/11802/blackcurrant-ripple-ice-cream
Blackcurrant ripple icecream
200g blackcurrants (if frozen, leave them out for a while to defrost)
50ml apple juice
100g golden caster sugar
600ml double cream
large tin condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
- Put the currants and the apple juice in a large heavy-bottomed pan and gently heat
- Simmer for about 5 minutes and then add the sugar
- Heat gently again and bring back to a simmer, stirring all the while to ensure the sugar all dissolves
- Simmer for a further 4-5 minutes, till it gets beautifully syrupy. Don’t be too precious about the timings here, but you don’t want to reduce this right down, just make a lovely rich sauce for the ripple
- Now, take it off the heat and let it cool for a while. A long while – it needs to be properly cool.
- Rub the sauce through a sieve to get rid of all the pips
- Now, leave that to one side while you make the icecream
- Pour the cream into a big bowl and whisk up to soft peaks
- Add the condensed milk and vanilla and whisk again to soft peaks
- That’s pretty much it.
- Find a freezer proof tub to put the ice cream in. Pour the creamy ice cream in, then the sauce… swirl it a wee bit with a palette knife, or big spoon. Try to get into the corners, but don’t mix too much – you’re looking for a rippled, or marbled, effect not a homogeneous mixture.
- Freeze.. for at least a couple of hours, but preferably longer. It will probably need to come out of the freezer for a while before you serve it as it’s quite a solid ice cream, so take it out when you start your main course.
Enjoy. Delicious with langues du chat biscuits, or similar. Oh, did I mention I also made the most scrumptious langues du chat this weekend? The Great British Bake Off has been inspiring me!
As an alternative, make up the ice cream mixture and fold in either shop bought or homemade lemon curd. I don’t know why you’d buy it, it’s simple to make and so much tastier when it’s not packed full of preservatives (and when was it ever going to last 6 months in our house anyway?). But as I was saying, this ice cream is just delicious as a lemon ripple instead of blackcurrant ripple. Try it. Next I’m thinking of a butterscotch ripple, but suspect it will be too sweet – you need the sharpness of the lemons or blackcurrants to cut through the soft sweetness of the condensed milk in the ice cream.
Or, if you want to make Blackcurrant Cordial, or an alcoholic Blackcurrant Liqueur, then take a look at how I do it here.
Related articles
- Beautiful blackcurrant recipes (telegraph.co.uk)
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