Everyone loves ice cream, and this is a riff on classic brown bread ice cream. The slight crunch of the caramelized breadcrumbs adds texture and extra flavour to what is otherwise an elegant, simple ice cream recipe. If you like the flavour of rum or whisky you could add a couple of tablespoons of either to the custard base for an extra kick.
SERVES 4
PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes, plus cooling and churning COOKING TIME: 30 minutes
3 slices of stale Sharpham Park Farmhouse Loaf (see page 20)
75g/2½oz unsalted butter, melted and cooled
55g/2oz/¼ cup demerara sugar
500ml/17fl oz/2 cups full-fat milk
300ml/10½fl oz/scant 1¼ cups double cream
6 egg yolks
150g/5½oz/heaped ¾ cup light soft brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp sea salt
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4 and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Blitz the bread in a blender until you have coarse breadcrumbs. Add the melted butter and demerara sugar and blitz again. Spread this on the prepared baking tray and bake for 15–20 minutes until the breadcrumbs are crisp and golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely. Store in an airtight container until you are ready to churn the ice cream.
Meanwhile, to make the ice cream custard base, bring the milk and cream just to the boil in a saucepan over a medium-high heat. Allow to cool for a few minutes until tepid. Put the egg yolks and brown sugar in a medium bowl, stir together, then add the vanilla and salt. Rinse out the saucepan in which you scalded the milk and cream, then return the custard base to this pan. Put over a gentle heat and stir continuously with a wooden spoon for 5–8 minutes until the custard coats the back of the wooden spoon. Sieve any scrambled egg bits out of the custard, if need be, and allow to cool completely, ideally overnight, before churning the ice cream.
When you’re ready to churn the ice cream, mix in the crisp spelt breadcrumbs and churn according to the instructions on the ice cream machine. Alternatively, freeze the mixture in a suitable container for 2 hours, then break up the ice crystals with a fork and return it to the freezer. Repeat this twice more, then leave to freeze.