WHITE CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM WITH HOT BLACKBERRY SAUCE

The Ivy restaurant has a star-pudding on its menu which is a plateful of frozen berries with hot white chocolate sauce poured over them. It’s immodest to say it, I know, but I prefer my version: the iced part is the white chocolate; the hot sauce, a tart, beaded river of blackberries. Scoop the ice cream into knickerbocker glory glasses, if you’ve got them, and pour the molten bramble sauce over. Even if you think you don’t like white chocolate, you’ll like this. (And before you start, do read the basic ice cream instructions.)

for the white chocolate ice cream:

500ml milk

4 egg yolks

50g caster sugar

200g white chocolate

Warm the milk. Whisk the yolks with the sugar, then pour – still whisking – the warmed milk over the egg mixture. Pour into a saucepan and cook till a velvety custard. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave – or in a bowl over a pan of boiling water – for 3 or so minutes, then whisk into the cooked custard. Cool, then chill then freeze in the ice-cream machine as normal.

for the sauce:

1 punnet blackberries (approx. 150g)

4 scant tablespoons caster sugar

juice half a lemon

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon arrowroot, slaked in a little cold water

Put the berries, sugar, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and 50ml water in a saucepan and bring to the boil, turn down heat and cook for a few minutes. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the arrowroot paste. Pour into a wide-mouthed jug or bowl with a ladle and take to the table with the ice cream.

Serves 6.