Erika's Christmas Pudding Ice Cream

Photo courtesy of lovefoodhatewaste.com


One of my most popular festive recipes is Christmas Pudding Ice Cream, and at this time of year I make several batches to store in the freezer. It is just as tasty as Christmas Pudding but is a lighter alternative, and kids of all ages seem to love it!

Ingredients

500ml double cream
150ml full cream milk
1 vanilla pod, split
125g caster sugar
5 egg yolks
125g cooked Christmas pudding
Brandy

Method

1. Bring the milk, cream, half of the sugar & the vanilla pod just to the boil, then remove from heat.
2. Whisk the egg yolks with other half of the sugar.
3. Add the egg mixture to the warm cream mixture and whisk.
4. Return to the heat & warm gently until mixture coats the back of a metal spoon - don't let it boil!
5. Remove the vanilla pod and chill until cold.
6. Crumble the Christmas pudding into the cold custard.
7. Stir in a good slug (3-5 tablespoons) of brandy.
8. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and churn for 30 minute before freezing until needed. If you don't have an ice cream maker, beat the mixture before freezing for 2 hours. Remove from freezer, beat well and return to freezer for at least 4 hours, or until needed. The alcohol will prevent the ice cream from becoming brick-hard
9. Enjoy!

Tip 1: If you're short of time, instead of making your own custard you can use a 500ml tub of fresh ready-made custard, or a 500ml tub of fresh ready-made brandy or rum sauce.

Tip 2: I prefer to use my freshly cooked Christmas pudding for each batch of ice cream, but a small good quality shop-bought Christmas pudding will also work well (Tesco Finest is a good choice) cook it in the microwave according to the instructions on the pack). Alternatively, you could also use leftover Christmas pudding or even Christmas cake (with the marzipan and icing removed!)

Tip 3: Replace the brandy with rum or whiskey, or leave out the alcohol completely if you prefer. This ice cream is delicious served with Baileys poured over :)

Tip 4: For a really quick and easy version, simply add crumbled pudding or cake to a 500ml tub of good quality vanilla ice cream, such as Haagen Dazs.

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