Lazing around eating homemade ice cream on a summer's day is true bliss. Forget your preconceptions - making ice cream is easy and fun. Whether you are making a sorbet or a custard-based ice cream, you can capture the essence of summer by trying different flavourings and ingredients.
At its simplest, rustling up an ice cream can be as basic as puréeing some summer fruits, combining them with whipped cream and sticking the result in the freezer until you are ready to eat it - see the last recipe over the page.
PLUM AND STAR-ANISE RIPPLE
Ripples look good and are easy to make. You can mix and match the custard flavouring to the fruit ripple.
Serves 4
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For the plum ripple
225g dark plums
Juice of 1 lemon
50g sugar
2 tbsp kirsch or Miclo Mirabelle (a plum eau de vie, from www.drinkon.com)
For the ice cream
425ml whipping cream
2 star anise
6 large egg yolks
170g caster sugar
Begin by making the ripple. Quarter, stone and slice the plums. Place in a noncorrosive saucepan with the lemon juice. Cover and place over a low heat until the fruit starts to release its juice, then increase the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes or until the plums are meltingly soft. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
Transfer to a covered container and chill. Once the purée is cold, stir in the kirsch or Mirabelle, then freeze for 3 hours or until it forms a frozen slush.
Meanwhile, put the cream and star anise in a saucepan, then place over a low heat. Slowly bring up to scalding point, then remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 30 minutes.
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When you are ready to make the custard, set a bowl over a larger bowl or tray of iced water. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and creamy. Gradually stir in the star-anise cream, then return to the saucepan and place over a low heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, until it forms a thick custard. This will take about 20 minutes. Do not let it boil. If you think the custard is becoming too hot, remove the pan from the heat and stir briskly; once it has cooled slightly, return to the heat. Do not stop stirring or leave the custard unattended during this stage, as it can easily split. The custard should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon liberally, and stay separated when a line is drawn through it.
Once the custard is ready, remove from the heat, strain through a sieve into the iced bowl and stir until the custard has cooled slightly. It will cool faster if you stir it frequently.
If you are using an ice-cream maker, churn the cold custard according to the manufacturer's instructions until it reaches a soft set. Otherwise, pour it into a shallow plastic container, cover and place in the fast-freeze compartment of your freezer. Every 30-40 minutes, rework with a fork until the mixture has set into a smooth, soft ice cream.
At this stage, gently fold the plum-purée slush into the ice cream so that it ripples through the mixture. Cover and freeze for at least 1 hour until ready to serve.