Smoked-milk ice cream with seasonal berries
This very unusual and intriguing recipe pairs smoky milk with berries of your choice. My particular favourites are blackberries and blueberries. I’m afraid there’s a little trial and error involved when the milk meets the smoke. I tend to aim for a fairly faint background flavour that comes through at the end, as I feel that a strong, in-your-face smokiness can overwhelm sweeter things. Of course, it’s all subjective, so have fun experimenting – just remember to allow time for the smoked milk to rest overnight.
You’ll also need a cold-smoking device and some wood dust
125g (2/3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
400g (14oz) mixed seasonal berries, such as blueberries, blackberries, small strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants
For the smoked-milk ice cream
500ml (generous 2 cups) full-cream (whole) milk
15g (1 Tbsp) caster (superfine) sugar
70ml (5 Tbsp) condensed milk
First make the smoked-milk ice cream. Set up the cold-smoking device in the barbecue with the wood dust and get it going. Pour the milk into a wide heatproof bowl or tray and place in the barbecue, then close the lid and vent and leave to cold-smoke for 1 hour. Cover the bowl of smoked milk, then chill in the fridge overnight to rest and balance.
Next day, place the smoked milk and the sugar in a saucepan over low heat on the stovetop and carefully reduce by half – keep a close eye on it, as it can easily boil over. Pour into a bowl, then whisk in the condensed milk and leave to cool before transferring to an ice-cream machine and churning according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (If you don’t have an ice-cream machine, freeze the ice cream in a shallow container, whisking it every hour to break up the ice crystals until you are happy with the consistency.)
When the ice cream is ready, place the sugar, lemon zest and juice, along with 125ml (½ cup) water, in a non-reactive saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and add all the berries, then cover the pan and leave for 15 minutes to macerate and cool slightly.
Divide the berries between the bowls and serve with a scoop of smoked-milk ice cream on top. Delicious!