I bought three punnets of local strawberries the other day, put them in my large shopping bag, and forgot about them when I got home. A few hours later they were a little squashed and a bit worse for wear, so I decided to make some ice cream to ensure they would not go to waste.
I used the three-ingredient recipe which is printed here. It is a quick way of making ice cream and a stir every hour or two, while it is beginning to freeze, helps with the final consistency. If you have an ice cream maker it can do this job for you, it stirs and agitates the ice cream as it cools, giving a nice smooth finish.
Strawberry sorbet can also work well for both the sandwich and the heart, especially if you prefer less dairy. It is made by warming lemon juice, vanilla and sugar in a saucepan of water and then adding liquidised strawberries. It can be more
intensely fruity in flavour and will also need some agitation as it cools.
Perhaps I am being ambitious thinking of making ice cream sandwiches this early in summer, but they are delicious.
Baking your own biscuit adds to the finished result, but you can purchase biscuits and use those instead.
I have used Kilbeggan oat cookies before, the toasted oats and slightly salty flavour were lovely with the soft, cool ice cream.
Three ingredient strawberry ice cream
Whisk all of the ingredients together until smooth.
Scoop into a plastic freezer safe container, which has a tight fitting lid. You can use a heart-shaped mould if you are making the shortbread ice cream cake. I use a silicone cake mould that I have and wrap it in clingfilm to seal it.
Place it into the freezer and every hour for the next six hours take out the container and stir the ice cream well. This will break up any large crystals and give you a smoother result.
Strawberry and chocolate ice cream sandwiches
Line two baking trays with parchment and preheat your oven to180 degrees.
Melt the chocolate in a bowl placed over a saucepan of boiling water. Be careful not to let any steam from the water into the chocolate or it will not melt to the correct consistency. Set it aside to cool down a little. In the meantime sieve the flour, cocoa and baking powder into a bowl and set aside.
Mix the butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy then slowly mix in the egg and then the melted chocolate. Reduce speed and mix in flour in two batches alternating with the milk.
Wrap the dough in clingfilm and refrigerate until it is firm.
Divide it into about 14 balls then roll each in granulated sugar to coat, then also in icing sugar to coat.
Space the balls three inches apart on the baking tray. Bake until the surfaces cracks about twenty minutes. Cool on the tray for ten minutes then place on a wire rack to cool completely.
Remove the ice cream from the fridge a half an hour before you want to make your sandwiches.
Scoop the softened ice cream and place on a biscuit, sprinkle with some berries and place the second biscuit on top. You can place back into the freezer to firm up if you wish.
Ice cream from the first recipe set in a heart-shaped mould
Line a baking tray with parchment and pre heat your oven to 160 degrees.
Beat the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. Gently mix in the flour and cornflour and make sure everything is completely combined.
Place the dough into a fridge for about an hour to firm up. Roll the dough just larger than the heart shaped mould you used for the ice cream. Cut a heart shape about an inch larger than the mould. Prick the shortbread heart all over with a fork (you can bake any off cuts as well).
Place the heart onto the baking tray and bake for twenty minutes. It should be a pale golden colour. Allow to cool completely.
Take the ice cream heart out of the freezer a half an hour before serving. Turn it out onto the biscuit heart and top with the berries. Warm chocolate ganache is really nice poured over a slice of the cake.