This time, in the Bake It Easy 'Cook the Book' series, we're rustling up ice cream from scratch.
On a bakery research trip to San Francisco, we discovered some life-changing soft-serve frozen yogurt from a Greek restaurant called Souvla, where it’s served drizzled with olive oil, honey and a sprinkling of sea salt flakes.
This gives it an incredible balance of sour, bitter, salty, creamy and sweet, taking you on quite the journey of flavours, and perfect if you want to serve something a little different after a summer evening dinner party.
|
This is a cheat’s version that uses crème fraîche and does away with churning or soft-serve machines. It has a different texture to the original, but if you let it soften a little before scooping out of the tin, you’ll get a slightly soft-serve, no-fuss frozen dessert.
You will need:
600g (1lb 5oz) crème fraîche 80g (23/4oz) caster (superfine)
sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla paste
6 egg yolks
50ml (13/4fl oz) runny honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
50ml (13/4fl oz) extra virgin olive oil
extra virgin olive oil and sea salt flakes, to serve (optional)
Line your 20cm (8in) round tin using the scrunch-up method (see page 11).
Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan and whisk together over a low heat. Keep whisking until the mixture is hot all the way through and all the ingredients are smooth and combined. Do not boil! Pay attention to the bottom of the pan – this is where the eggs will start to scramble and become lumpy if the heat is too high. Pour into your lined tin, then chill in the freezer overnight.
To serve, remove from the freezer and leave to soften for a few minutes. Then, using a spoon or an ice-cream scoop, if you have one, dig in and scoop out a few balls, or cut slices like a cake. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a dash of sea salt flakes.
NOTES: If you do start to cook the eggs and things turn lumpy, turn off the heat, place a stick blender in the pan, blend until smooth and then pass through a sieve into your lined tin.
Top this with the sugared almonds on page 135 for a hint of brittle and a satisfying crunch, if you like.
