Medlar Toffee Ice Cream recipe

This homemade ice cream is made with the fruity, wild flavour of medlars, combined with a caramel sauce to create a delightful dessert. What's not to like?! It even has a rippled, marbled look to it!

If you've ever tasted ripe medlars, you'll know that they have a natural, toffee-like tang to them, as well as something reminiscent to apple sauce in texture and flavour.

I've been thinking of making this ice cream for a while. I imagined a swirl of sweet, medlar puree through a vanilla ice cream. Then I discovered a salted toffee apple ice cream recipe and got inspired! How about using dark sugars and spices too to create something really delicious?

Funnily enough, it didn't turn out quite as I expected, and definitely isn't as photogenic as the one in Good Housekeeping, which inspired me. Though the flavour is utterly scrumptious!

Does that make it a success? It works for me, though I'll let you decide. Oh, and if you want to find out more about medlars, why they're fantastic to eat and more recipe ideas, click here - more medlar inspiration.

Medlar Toffee Ice Cream recipe

A delicious, homemade ice cream recipe combining dark sugars, cream, caramel and the wild, fruity tang of medlars. Complete with a subtle ripple throughout and warming spices.

Ingredients

• 400ml whole milk
• 400ml double cream, plus 3 tbsp
• 5 egg yolks
• 175g dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 1 tbsp corn flour
• 350-400g medlar puree (fresh or defrosted)
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon or mixed spices
• 2 tbsp butter

Add the milk, 400ml of cream and one teaspoon of spices to a medium to large saucepan and heat slowly until steaming. Meanwhile whisk together the egg yolks, 125g of the sugar and one tablespoon of molasses, followed by the corn flour in a large, heatproof bowl. Combine well. Once the milk mixture is steaming, pour into the eggs and stir well before returning the liquid to the saucepan. Continue to stir over a medium heat until the mixture thickens and in the texture of a good custard. Put aside to cool.

In a small saucepan add the butter, the remaining 50g of sugar, the tablespoon of molasses and the 50ml of cream. Heat over a low to medium heat, stirring regularly. Allow to bubble for one minute before adding the rest of the spices and the medlar puree. Simmer for two minutes and put aside to cool.

Once the custard mixture is cool, decant into an ice cream maker. Follow the manufacturer's instructions until the mixture is firm, pour into a 1.5 litre freezer-safe container, then stir in the medlar toffee sauce, just enough to create a swirled effect and freeze. If you don't have an ice cream maker (nor do I!), then add the cream mixture to the freezer-safe container. Freeze for an hour, mash, freeze for another hour and mash. When firm, stir in the medlar mixture, as above, and freeze completely.

Take out the freezer 20 minutes before serving.