Delicious Homemade Savoury, Interesting & Peculiar Ice Creams

With the weather being so fabulous one’s thoughts, of course, turn to ice cream and having recently made Hot Cross Bun Ice Cream (which incidentally was really good) I was in the mood so decided to make something I have been wondering about since I discovered wonderful black garlic ... 

Black Garlic Ice Cream!

I based this, of course, on my “genius” ice cream recipe (see Genius Recipes tab above) which is so very flexible but other than that I made it up as I went along. I only made a modicum in case it was yuk but it was lovely!

250ml double cream
100g condensed milk
4 of the softest black garlic cloves you can muster
30ml rum

~   Purée the black garlic with 50ml of the cream.
~   Stir in the rest of the cream and the rum and whisk till thick.
~   Fold in the condensed milk.
~   Freeze.

As you will know if you have read Luscious Ice Cream without a Machine the addition of alcohol or a syrup or other sugary addition is very important as makes for good ice cream consistency (although you must use the correct amount, too much will stop it freezing) and it seemed to me that as black garlic has such a wonderful molasses-ish taste rum would be the correct addition.

Well I have to say "yippee", a lovely flavour and just zoom in to have a look at the texture too!

As I’d just made a small portion I thought I’d have another experiment too ...

Roasted Sweet Potato, Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Ice Cream

I love sweet potatoes and was pleased to read in Gym Berry (which, to declare the possibility of nepotism, is a blog written by my niece Holly who I am so very proud of; she has lost loads of weight and become strong and fit and gorgeous all thanks to her very own self!) that they are very healthy too, so using my trusty recipe ...

250g sweet potato
drizzle of light oil
45g soft light brown sugar
45g butter
250ml double cream
30ml cinnamon syrup
100g condensed milk

~   Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/170ºC fan/gas 5 
~   Peel and thickly slice the sweet potato, toss with a very little oil just to stop it sticking and put in one layer in a spacious ovenproof dish, so that the pieces aren't crowded.
~   Roast till tender which takes about 20 minutes.
~   Stir in the soft brown sugar and the butter and return to the oven for 5 minutes to melt and merge together.
~   Allow to cool a little and then purée in the food processor or mash like crazy till smooth.
~   Cool completely.
~   Whisk together the cream and syrup till thick.
~   Fold in the condensed milk.
~   Freeze.

This was good too – next time I might add some nuts, I think, probably pecans. As you can see in this case I added a syrup to enhance not only the flavour but the texture of the ice cream. The flavoured syrups that are sold to augment coffee work well although they are very cheap and easy to make and I give lots of guidance and syrup recipes in my aforementioned ice cream book, Luscious Ice Cream without a Machine.

Other Unusual Ice Cream Flavours

The title of this post is the same as one of the chapters in my book and it’s no coincidence. I love playing with food and a while back made Bacon Jam Ice Cream which worked very well, a great breakfast dish! In the eponymous chapter in my book are recipes for ...

Strawberry Balsamic Ripple

Cracked Black Pepper Ice Cream

Werther's Original Crunch - and beyond!

Popping Candy

Smoky Bacon & Maple Syrup

Salty Liquorice

Goats Cheese & Hazelnut Ice Creams

Butternut Squash & Maple Syrup

Roasted Beetroot & Chocolate
Blue Cheese Ice Cream with several variations

You know, at one time Salted Caramel was considered both interesting and peculiar but is so utterly gorgeous it is now considered Just Perfect. I do, of course, give a recipe for Salted Caramel Ice Cream in Luscious Ice Creams  together with detailed instructions on making caramel AND the recipe for the tuile! 

Should I be more “Out There”?

I first published my ice cream ebook a few years ago now and at that time another ice cream book was also being published. It was called “Tits and Ice Cream” with a synopsis as follows ...

”The book that can't get any better is here and it combines two of God's finest inventions, tits and ice-cream! Firstly, everyone loves tits - women, men, young and old, whether voluptuous or perky, everyone appreciates the wonders of the female form. Then, there is ice-cream - a creamy sweet substance which is impossible not to love. Put these two brilliant things together and hey presto! An exponentially fabulous book. Titty Two-Scoops has combined pictures of tits with recipes for delicious ice cream desserts. Eye-candy has never been so much fun.”

Oddly enough this book is “currently unavailable”.

In a few days’ time another interestingly titled book, “Big Gay Ice Cream” is to be published, at quite a hefty price; £15.76 for the kindle version (mine is £1.99!). The title of this book is not in itself to draw attention as it is written by the owners of the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop in New York who, to be fair are gay, I think!

Unusually for me I couldn't think of anything appropriate yet suggestive to call my book, any ideas?