Liquorice ice cream

Our house was always stocked with liquorice straps, twists, sticks and allsorts. Although mum regularly devoured chocolate bullets when I was in the womb, I’ve only recently become a fan of the flavour. Who knew liquorice ice cream would totally float my boat?

Makes 1 litre (35 fl oz)

150 g (5½ oz/1¼ cups) finely chopped liquorice, either store-bought or home-made; store-bought will give a deeper colour

500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) full-cream milk

310 ml (10¾ fl oz/1¼ cups) thin (pouring) cream

¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

8 egg yolks

75 g (2¾ oz/¹/₃ cup) caster (superfine) sugar

a pinch of sea salt

Put the liquorice, milk, cream and vanilla in a saucepan. Stir regularly over medium–high heat until the liquorice has melted; there may still be a few lumps left. Bring almost to the boil, then remove from the heat and allow to infuse for 10 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks sugar and sea salt until thick and creamy. Gradually pour in the infused milk mixture, whisking constantly.

Pour into a clean saucepan and stir over medium–low heat for about 15 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened to a thin custard consistency and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, cool slightly, then pour into a bowl. Cover and chill for 2–3 hours, or until cold.

Strain, then churn and freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (Alternatively you can pour the custard mixture into a large shallow cake tin and freeze for 2–3 hours, or until just frozen around the edges. Whisk to evenly distribute the ice crystals through the mixture. Repeat this every hour until the mixture is frozen and evenly textured.)

Transfer to a 1 litre (35 fl oz/4 cup) plastic container. Smooth the surface over, top with a sheet of baking paper, then pop the lid on. The ice cream will keep in the freezer for up to 1 week, but tastes best if eaten within a few days.

Liquorice allsorts

In a loaf (bar) tin, add a layer of Liquorice ice cream, then a layer of Strawberry ice cream, and finally a layer of Lemon ice cream — leaving 1 hour between each layer for them to set. Slice to serve.

Chocolate bullet bar

Half-fill a loaf (bar) tin with Chocolate ice cream, smooth over, then freeze for 1 hour. Fill to the top with Liquorice ice cream, smooth over, then cover and freeze for 3–4 hours before releasing from the mould. Drizzle melted dark chocolate over, allow it to set, then cut into slices to serve.