Master it: How to cook today

‘Regardless of the recipe you are using, there is no doubt in my mind that the flavour, texture and colour of homemade ices are significantly better than the shop bought alternative, so it really is worth the effort involved.’

Most people like ice cream or iced desserts, and whether it is to cool you down on a summer’s day or to serve proudly after dinner at any time of the year, without doubt it is worth trying to make your own. There are various different techniques for making ices, and hundreds, possibly thousands of different flavourings that may be added. Some recipes are entirely simple, just a matter of mixing softly whipped cream through a sweetened fruit purée and freezing it, or flavouring syrup and freezing that; others are more complicated and will involve making custard or an egg mousse. Some ices will involve an ice cream machine for freezing, others can simply be frozen in a domestic freezer. An ice cream machine is indeed a luxury, and whereas I would not be without mine, I can honestly say you could have a lifetime of great ice cream if you don’t have one. Regardless of the recipe you are using, there is no doubt in my mind that the flavour, texture and colour of homemade ices are significantly better than the shop-bought alternative, so it really is worth the effort involved.

Ice creams can be made using several different techniques. A custard-based ice cream is just that, a chilled custard with the addition of cream and sometimes milk, and the flavouring of choice. These ice creams have to be frozen or churned in an ice cream machine. The word ‘churned’ refers to the way the ice cream machine constantly keeps the mixture moving or churning as it freezes. This constant movement, with the aid of the rotating paddle in the machine, breaks down large ice crystals in the mixture and freezes it to an evenly smooth and frozen consistency. This technique makes what is generally regarded as the smoothest and most tender of all ice creams, and the technique offers the cook myriad choices when it comes to flavour additions. A classic.

An egg mousse ice cream is based on a mousse made with syrup and egg yolks. The flavouring and softly whipped cream are carefully folded into this mousse and then the mixture is frozen in a conventional freezer with no further mixing required. These ice creams must not be frozen in an ice cream machine, because due to the high proportion of cream in the mixture, the churning of the machine will give the resulting frozen mixture an unpleasantly heavy and buttery consistency. This ice cream is generally richer than a custard-based one, as it is made with pure cream only and no milk. The texture of this ice cream is firmer than the custard-based ice cream and its consistency has been described as being like ‘crushed velvet’. Slightly old-fashioned but with a timeless texture and flavour, this is a great technique that produces superb ice creams.

Other ice creams can be made by sweetening and flavouring softly whipped cream and freezing it in a conventional freezer. Sometimes the recipes are entirely simple and the results extremely good.

Easy to make, sorbets are light ices made with dairy-free mixtures which are frozen in an ice cream machine to achieve their distinctive and perfectly smooth consistency. Due to their lightness, and willingness to accept and preserve refreshing flavours such as herbs and fruit, they are sometimes served as a refreshing starter or palate-cleansing course as well as being served at the end of a meal. With the aid of the ice cream machine, sorbets can be very quickly frozen and there are few better methods to trap and ice a flavour than a sorbet. Any sorbet recipe can be made into the coarser but still lovely granita.

Granitas, like sorbets, are dairy-free and are also easy. However, they are frozen in a conventional freezer, so an ice cream machine is not required. When the mixture first freezes and sets, it is removed from the freezer, broken up with a fork or a whisk and refrozen. This process is repeated several more times and the resulting texture is considerably coarser than a sorbet, ending up with small shard-like pieces of flavoured ice that, like a sorbet, can be served as a delicious and refreshing course at the beginning, during or at the end of a meal.

A parfait is sweet, smooth, iced and refined, but with a lighter texture than ice cream. Generally, the parfait is set into a mould, either individual serving size or larger ones, before being frozen in a conventional freezer.

Sorbets and granitas should be eaten within a day or two of being made. They will keep safely in a freezer for longer, but will start to lose flavour and texture.

This method makes ice cream with an old-fashioned taste and texture. I love it. Based on a egg mousse, it produces a rich and lovely result with a firmer texture than a custard-based ice cream. This type of ice cream was often used to create extravagant multi-layered iced confections known as ‘bombes’, which are out of fashion now, but still fantastic to eat. A thick syrup, poured on to beaten egg yolks, creates a rich mousse. The vanilla and whipped cream are simply folded into the mousse and the ice cream is placed in a freezer to set. No ice cream machine is required here, as pure cream is used and, because of the richness of that cream, the mixture requires no churning.

Use the best eggs you can get, and that quality will be reflected in the flavour, texture and colour of the ice cream. Save your egg whites for meringues, soufflés or for adding to mashed potatoes to make them light and fluffy.

I like to use both vanilla extract and the seeds extracted from a vanilla pod for this recipe. You can use one or the other if that is what you have.

Serves 8 110g caster or granulated sugar

120ml water

4 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract plus the addition of the seeds

from a 4cm piece of vanilla pod

1.2 litres regular, double or whipping cream, softly whipped

Place the sugar and water in a heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir the sugar gently a few times with a wooden spoon to encourage it to dissolve before the water comes to the boil. Once the syrup comes to the boil do not stir it again, as it can cause the syrup to crystallise.

While the syrup is cooking at a gentle boil, whisk up the egg yolks to a light, pale and fluffy mousse. When the syrup reaches the ‘thread’ stage it will look thick and have large bubbles breaking on the surface, and when a metal spoon is dipped into the syrup, it will fall off in a slowish, thick, viscous stream, leaving an obvious thread at the end. If you are using a sugar thermometer the temperature of the syrup will be 106–113°C/223–236°F. Remove the syrup from the heat and immediately pour on to the egg yolks in a quick steady stream, with the whisk running at full speed all of the time. Make sure you do not pour the syrup down on top of the rotating whisk, but allow it to hit the side of the bowl and run down on to the egg yolks. If the syrup hits the whisk first, it tends to fly off and stick to the sides of the bowl and never come in contact with the egg yolks. Continue to whisk to a thick mousse. This can take 15 minutes to happen. You will know it is thick enough when the whisk will almost stand up on its own in the mousse.

Allow the mousse to cool. I put the bowl in the fridge for 20 minutes or so, and then with a rubber spatula fold in the vanilla and cream thoroughly. Place in a covered freezer container and freeze. It will be frozen and ready to eat after 6 hours. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving. Use the ice cream as soon as possible, though it will keep for several months.

4–6 tablespoons coarse almond praline powder

Make as above, adding the praline to the vanilla ice cream when half set and then returning it to the freezer.

This recipe sounds too good to be true, but if you have really ripe peaches, the resulting sorbet is delicious. The sorbet is best frozen in an ice cream machine or sorbetière, but excellent results can be achieved in a normal deep freeze and I include instructions for turning this mixture into a granita or an ice. Serve it just as it is or with Sugared Peaches with Blueberries. I also sometimes like to combine it with a raspberry cream and a crisp, buttery biscuit such as a Sugar Biscuit or a Sacristain. The peaches in this recipe can be successfully replaced with nectarines.

Really ripe peaches are crucial here, so think ahead with your shopping and if necessary have the peaches ripening in your kitchen for a few days before making the sorbet.

Serves 6 700g ripe peaches

175g caster sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Begin by peeling the peaches. With a small sharp knife, make a small cross in the top and bottom of the peaches and place them in a deep bowl. Pour over boiling water and keep them immersed for 10 seconds. Drain immediately and cool in cold water for a minute or two. Drain again, then peel off the skins. Slice the flesh off the stones, and place the flesh in a blender with the sugar and lemon juice. Purée until the fruit is smooth and silky and the sugar has dissolved.

Freeze in an ice cream machine or sorbetière until quite frozen. Place in the chilled container, smooth the top, cover and keep in the freezer until ready to serve.

Serve in neat scoops, with sugared peach and blueberry salad and a few small and tender mint leaves if available.

If you don’t have a machine for freezing the mixture you can proceed as follows and make what is called a granita. This will be coarser in texture than the sorbet, but will still be delicious and refreshing to eat.

Put the puréed mixture from the peach sorbet recipe into a shallow bowl. Cover and freeze. When partially frozen, remove and break up with a fork or a whisk to attain a slushy consistency. Replace in the freezer and repeat the process twice more. Serve as above.

Here is another option for freezing the mixture, failing an ice cream machine or sorbetière.

Freeze the mixture until completely frozen. Remove from the freezer and break up thoroughly with a whisk or in a food processor. Beat 2 egg whites to soft peaks. Add 1 tablespoon of caster sugar and continue beating to stiff peaks, just like stiff meringue. Fold into the mixture and refreeze. The resulting texture will be midway between a sorbet and a granita. Serve as above.

Serves 6–8 225g raspberries

75–120g caster sugar

300ml regular, double or whipping cream, whipped until quite stiff

Sprinkle the raspberries with the caster sugar and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Crush the berries and sugar coarsely, not rendering them into a purée. Fold in the whipped cream to create a streaked effect.

This is a master recipe in that the leaf of choice, lemon verbena in this case, can be successfully replaced by others. The first time I made this recipe, I used blackcurrant leaves, as in the leaves from a blackcurrant bush. For a few weeks in May, the leaves are highly scented and you end up with an ice that is pure white in colour, but tastes intensely of blackcurrants. Fabulous.

Interestingly, the leaves of redcurrant or white currant bushes are not scented at all and not suitable for this recipe. If you have currant bushes in your garden they will not be in fruit when you are making this recipe, in which case you may not be able to remember which bush is which – just pick a leaf off each bush, rub it between your fingers to release its aroma, and if it smells intensely of currant, then that’s it. Many other leaves work brilliantly too, such as spearmint, lemon balm and rose or lemon-scented geranium. Elderflowers, though not a leaf but with a heady Muscat-flavoured scent, also work really well. As this is a granita we are expecting a slightly coarse, flaky and icy texture, so forget about your ice cream scoop here and just spoon it into pretty serving dishes. You will not need an ice cream machine, though if you have one and freeze the mixture in the machine, it will then be a sorbet.

The recipe is simple, but watch out for the subtleties involved, such as using cold water with the sugar when cooking the leaves to draw out their flavour, and allowing the syrup to cool completely before adding the lemon juice. The granita will keep for several weeks in the freezer, but is considerably better when eaten as soon as possible after it has been frozen.

This granita of lemon verbena is good on its own but is even better when served with a splash of dry sparkling wine. Serve as a light and refreshing dessert or as an equally light and refreshing starter on a scorching summer’s day.

Lemon verbena, a wonderful citrus-scented herb, is used to flavour many sweet dishes such as mousses, creams and ices. The sharp pointy leaves are intensely lemony, making an utterly refreshing ice.

Serves 6–8 3 handfuls of lemon verbena leaves

225g caster or granulated sugar

600ml cold water

3 lemons

Put the leaves, sugar and water into a saucepan and place over a moderate heat. Stir occasionally to encourage the sugar to dissolve, and bring it to a simmer. Continue to simmer gently for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to cool until it is completely cold. You will end up with a pale green syrup. Juice the lemons and add to the syrup, and right before your eyes you will see the green tinge leaving your syrup. Strain out the leaves through a sieve – I usually press on the leaves to extract as much flavour as I can. Place the strained syrup in a wide container and freeze until set.

Remove from the freezer and break up the ice with a fork. It will look like a slushy mess. Refreeze and repeat the process twice more, three times if you can bear it, and eventually you will end up with the distinctive shard-like consistency of a granita. Refreeze, covered, until you are ready to serve it.

I serve this in coloured glasses or glass bowls, with a single relevant leaf to decorate and a splash of chilled sparkling wine.

I think this is a brilliant recipe – it’s really simple and tastes great. I use it year round. In autumn and winter I serve it with poached pears or citrus fruit, and in spring and summer I serve it with all of the different fruits as they arrive in season. It works really well with the first rhubarb, then with gooseberries and so on, and it’s heavenly when paired with roast peaches or nectarines in high summer.

Wholemeal bread, lightly processed into coarse crumbs about the size of peas, is ideal here.

Serves 6–8 175g coarse wholemeal breadcrumbs (brown soda breadcrumbs are ideal)

600ml regular, double or whipping cream

125g soft light brown sugar (or icing sugar)

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon dark rum, or whiskey or brandy

2 egg whites

Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas mark 5. Spread the breadcrumbs out on a baking tray and toast in the oven for about 20 minutes. They should become crisp and slightly browned.

Meanwhile, beat the cream with the sugar until softly whipped. Mix the egg yolks with the rum, if using, and add to the cream mixture, beating it in well.

When the breadcrumbs are cool, fold them into the cream mixture gently and thoroughly, so that they are evenly distributed. Lastly, whip the whites of the eggs stiffly and fold into the mixture. Freeze in the usual way, in a covered container. There is no need to stir up this ice cream.

This is a really simple and lovely ice. The sauce is delicious with it and makes the whole combination into a thoroughly refreshing dessert.

Freshly squeezed orange juice comes from an orange and not a man-made container of any description. Passion fruit juice I can only consider if freshly released from nature’s packaging.

Serves 6–8 110g caster sugar

Zest and juice of 1 lime

700g kiwi fruit (about 9 fruit)

THE SAUCE

225ml freshly squeezed orange juice

3 passion fruit, halved and contents sieved to extract

the juice

40–50g caster sugar, or to taste

Put the sugar into a bowl and add the zest and juice of the lime. Peel the kiwi fruit, using a swivel-top peeler, and make sure you remove the woody piece from the stalk end of the fruit. Chop the peeled kiwis coarsely and add to the sugar and lime. Blend briefly until almost smooth in a liquidiser or using a hand-held blender. If you over-blend them the little black seeds may be crushed, in which case the granita may become a bit peppery and the colour will be spoiled.

Place the bowl in the freezer to freeze and set. When the mixture is semi-frozen and slushy-looking, remove and whisk it vigorously to break up the large crystals of kiwi ice. Replace the mixture in the freezer and repeat the process three more times. By then the ice should be a granita and ready to serve when it suits you.

For the sauce, mix the orange juice and passion fruit juice in a bowl and add the sugar. Whisk vigorously to dissolve the sugar completely. Taste and correct the sweetness if necessary. Serve the granita in coarse shards, with some of the sauce poured over.