I've nothing against purchasing one, but for me I think it'd be a gimmick purchase that would soon gather dust. So, I set about experimenting with some recipes I'd previously come across, and created 3 gorgeous ice-creams/ice-cream style eats. Two of which are almost entirely fruit and are great for those who are on a diet but want something for a dessert.
The first I discovered when I subscribed to Olive magazine. Or perhaps it was my friend's Good Food Magazine - either way, we got pretty excited about the idea of making ice-cream from a banana! It's so easy, and ready immediately!
Banana "ice-cream" (serves 4)
6 bananas (chopped into 1-2 cm rings, and frozen)
4 tbsp milk (* or a soya/almond/coconut milk, for taste or diet specific)
Take the bananas from the freezer, throw them into a blender/food processor and whiz with the milk. The bananas take on the consistency of soft-scoop ice-cream. You could add a little bit of cinnamon, or some honey, or peanut butter - anything that tastes good with bananas. Serve immediately.
EDIT: I've since realised you can do this with virtually any fruit, and to make it suitable for specific diets or intolerances, try using soy milk or an alternative (I've used Alpro Almond Milk). For a quick tropical ice-cream, I used frozen pineapple and some coconut milk. Adding a splash of rum to the mixture, I created an instant pina colada!
Coffee No-Churn Ice-Cream
This is something which caught my eye on Nigella's Nigelissima, and it seemed pretty easy so I thought it was worth a try. Again, simple ingredients and it didn't take long at all...
284ml condensed milk
300m double cream
2 tbsp espresso powder (I used 2 tbsp of Millicano, sieved, instead)
2 tbsp espresso liqueur (I used a 'single serving' sized Tia Maria)
It couldn't have been simpler - simply whisk all the ingredients together until you get soft peaks, and then fill an airtight tuppaware container. Because of the alcohol it doesn't set completely solid, so you can serve it straight from the freezer.
I liked the texture of the ice-cream, but I personally felt it left a slightly strange lining on my tongue, which I think was from the frozen condensed milk. I can't quite explain it. It wouldn't stop me from making it again though!
However, in my bid to find the best ice-cream that didn't require a blender, I stumbled across a Mary Berry recipe which created the best ice-cream I've ever tasted (except for the delicious ice-cream you find in Tuscan gelaterias!). It's a simple recipe, which created the most perfectly light and creamy ice-cream. My parents and brother didn't believe I'd made it (and were only convinced because I served it from a re-used tuppaware container that didn't always contain ice-cream!).
No churn ice-cream
300 mls double cream
4 eggs, separated
100g caster sugar
Optional extras: fruit puree (made from blending the fruit of your choice in a blender/food processor), 3 tbsps of chopped dark chocolate (or melted chocolate to swirl in), 3 tbsp of raisins soaked in 50ml rum, vanilla extract/vanilla pod, a chopped chunk of stem ginger with some of the syrup... the list is endless!)
Whisk the double cream until soft peaks form. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks (as if you're making meringue). Slowly add the caster sugar to the egg whites, so that the mixture retains its stiff peaks but becomes glossy. Once all of the sugar has been added, dollop in the whipped cream and the eggg yolks (I added one at a time) and whisk the ingredients again until they are all combined. The trick with this recipe was to retain as much air as possible, so you don't want to over-whisk it.
I added a tsp of vanilla essence and some chopped cystallised ginger, as I wanted a vanilla ice-cream but with some sweet ginger chunks to complement the theme of my dinner. Pour the mixture into a container and freeze.
To serve, take the ice-cream from the freezer and leave at room temperature for about 5 minutes, then scoop and enjoy! I'll be experimenting further with this recipe to see how I can adapt it to feature other flavours.
Mango Sorbet
If you're not a fan of ice-cream, or you need something with fewer calories (as is often the desire of women like me who want a pudding, but don't want the guilt!) I strongly suggest getting your hands on some kesar mango pulp.
I'm fortunate enough to live in a multi-ethnic area, so tins of mango pulp and coconut milk are in abundance, which is great given my preference for spicy asian cuisine.
For this sorbet, you need:
850g tin of kesar mango pulp (or 2 large mangoes, peeled, stoned and blitzed in a food processor)
90g caster sugar
The process is simple - blend the mango (or pulp) in a food processor with the caster sugar. Once blended, pour into a container and place in the freezer.
I was keen to add a slight kick to mine, so I added one chopped and de-seeded finger chilli, and about 1 tsp of grated root ginger before I blitzed it in the blender - the pieces of chilli and ginger got much smaller and more dispersed. I then grated in some fresh lime zest.
Once frozen, take out of the freezer and spoon it back into a food processor and blitz again until smooth then replace in the freezer. This avoids any ice-crystals forming in the mix and makes for a smoother, tastier sorbet. Because of the chilli, ginger and lime, it served as the perfect dessert after a curry.
The final product of my mango sorbet and ginger ice-cream:
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