from my orchid kitchen

This ice cream is simple to make at home with just 4 ingredients and without the need to use an ice cream maker and is ideal for complementing desserts in the autumn and winter seasons.

In my house, we enjoy ice cream all year round, whether it's hot or cold outside. 

Of course, store-bought ice creams are often purchased, usually Ben & Jerry's or Haagen-Dazs. However, sometimes I also like to try making ice cream at home because I have to use my ice cream maker. 

Many of the homemade ice cream recipes do not require machines to be made, and are known as no-churn ice cream since the preparation after ready is poured into a container and placed directly in the freezer until solidified. 

Rum and raisin ice cream is an ice cream classic and is usually prepared with a base of egg yolks, sugar, milk, and cream. In this case, I was inspired by the lovely Mary Berry's recipe (from the book and series "Love to cook") but I made some changes to it, namely reducing the condensed milk and increasing the amount of cream. The result was delicious creamy ice cream with just the right amount of sweetness. 

I usually serve it along other desserts such as crumbles, pies or galettes, pancakes, crepes, or waffles.

The Ingredients

• Cream - are the main element that gives body to the ice cream; as always I only use fresh cream (they don't have any additives). I haven't tried making it with vegetable cream (the kind you can whip), I think it's possible but probably the texture won't be the same since they don't have the same fat content as cow's milk cream.
• Condensed milk - in Mary Berry's recipe a whole can of condensed milk was used, but it was too sweet so I reduced it to about half the amount. It can be replaced with condensed coconut milk.
• Raisins - this ice cream is usually called rum and raisins, but in reality sultanas are used since here in Portugal raisins are bigger, they come from the muscatel grape variety and contain seeds. I also reduced the amount of sultanas to use.
• Rum - I like to use rum in various pastry recipes and it is one of the alcoholic drinks I have at home for this purpose. However, it can be replaced by Port Wine or Madeira Wine.

Rum & raisin icecream recipe

Ingredients

400 ml of cream
200 g of condensed milk
100 g of raisins
50 ml of rum

1. In a small pot or casserole, place the raisins and rum and heat them, removing right as it starts to boil.
2. Leave to rest so that the raisins absorb the liquid and cool down in the meantime.
3. Meanwhile, whip the cream well with the mixer.
4. Add the condensed milk.
5. Reserve in the fridge.
6. When the rum and raisins have cooled, fold these into the mixture (including the rum that has not been absorbed by the raisins).
7. Pour the mixture into a container that can go in the freezer.
8. At the very least, it should be freezing for 12 hours, but ideally, it's better to leave it longer.

Notes on how to make

• For those who are concerned about the alcohol content of this recipe, I remind you that the rum (or other drink you use) is heated, but if you want to ensure that there is no alcohol, just let it boil a little before adding the raisins.
• As raisins are heavier, and they absorb the rum, they are more likely to settle to the bottom of the container when freezing. If you want to avoid this, 30 minutes or 1 hour after starting to freeze, you can stir the cream with a spoon so that the raisins are better distributed, and you can repeat this process as long as the texture of the icecream allows.
• Despite having an ice cream machine, I didn't use it in this recipe; however, whoever wants to use it (to speed up the process) I advise adding the sultanas only at the end and it is probably better to add them to the preparation outside the machine because they can interfere with the movement of the blades (it also depends on the format of the machine used).

 

 

 

Here in Portugal, the term sherbet is quite unknown, especially because we have the habit of calling "ice cream" to all frozen creams that we serve along with desserts, or in a cone/bowl shaped in traditional balls.

Differences between sherbet, sorbet, and ice cream

• Sorbet - doesn't contain any type of dairy, just being composed of fruit and sugar (or another sweetener), and sometimes water is also added.
• Sherbet - consists of a dairy product (usually milk or cream) with little fat (between 1% and 2%), fruit, and may also have egg whites and gelatin. It is similar to sorbet but creamier.
• Ice cream - always has some fatty dairy content (except vegan ice cream, which has other ingredients) of at least 4% and sugar, to which are added other elements such as chocolate, caramel, varied fruits, cookies, pieces of cake, etc.

 

The ingredients

Only 2 ingredients are needed to make this fresh dessert:

• Peaches - can be replaced by other fruits, such as strawberries, mango, raspberries, apricots, pineapples, etc. as long as they are ripe, not only because they are sweeter (and therefore less condensed milk is needed) but also because of their creamier pulp.
• Condensed milk - I usually use the variety with low-fat content, but normal condensed milk can be used. The amount to add will depend on the natural sweetness of the fruit and also on each one's liking. I haven't had the opportunity to try it with condensed coconut milk yet, but I think it works too.

How to make

• Start by peeling and removing the stone from the peaches.
• The peaches are cut into thin slices, spread and separated on a baking tray lined with parchment paper (so the fruit doesn't stick to the tray), like that the freezing process is quick and it's equally quick to crush and with less effort for the machine used to make it.
• The resulting sherbet is not very firm, so it is advisable to return it to the freezer in a icebox until it is time to serve.
• If (like me) you make this recipe using an ice cream machine, there's no need to pre-freeze the peach because the machine will do so.
• In this case then, just crush the peeled and pitted peach and add the condensed milk. I preferred not to crush it very finely, so small pieces of fruit are still visible in the sherbet balls.
• After churning in the machine, the texture will be similar to the process without a machine (maybe a little more solid) so it is also recommended that you also return it to the freezer until serving.

Peach sherbet recipe

Ingredients

6 medium peaches
100 gr to 200 gr of low-fat condensed milk

1. Peel the peaches, cut in half and remove the stone.
2. Cut each half of peach into thin slices (the thinner the better).
3. Place the slices spread on a tray lined with parchment paper, without overlapping too much, and place to the freezer.
4. Allow to freeze, and after 3 or 4 hours remove from the cold.
5. Place the peach in a processor, food processor, or blender (with ice crushing mode, otherwise there can be damage) and pour 100gr of condensed milk over it.
6. Crush everything until you get a chilled puree.
7. Taste, and if necessary, add more condensed milk.
8. Pour the mixture into an icebox.
9. Store in the freezer, and remove 10 minutes before serving as any other ice cream.

(in the ice cream machine)

1. Peel the peaches, cut in half and remove the stone.
2. Place the fruit in a processor, food processor, or blender and grind well.
3. Mix the 100 g of condensed milk into the peach puree, and mix well.
4. Taste, and if necessary, add more condensed milk.
5. Assemble the ice cream maker, according to the model used.
6. Turn the machine on, and gradually pour the mixture into the bowl.
7. When the mixture appears the texture of soft ice cream, remove the content and place it into an ice box.
8. Store in the freezer, and remove 10 minutes before serving as any other ice cream.

Adapted from "Peach sherbet"