Apricot ripple ice cream

Put the whole apricots, sugar, lemon zest and water into a large
saucepan and bring gently to the boil, stirring now and then to turn the
apricots over. Cover, turn down the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes,
or until the apricots have collapsed. Set aside and allow to cool. Stir
in the lemon juice.

To make the custard, put the cream, milk and 2 T (30 ml) of the sugar
into a saucepan and bring gently to just below the boil (watch the
mixture like a hawk). In the meantime, using a whisk, beat the remaining
sugar and the egg yolks in a large bowl until pale and creamy. Stir in
the vanilla. Put the hot cream/milk mixture into a jug and pour it, in a
steady stream, over the eggs, stirring vigorously as you do so. Strain
the mixture back into the pan, turn the temperature right down, and
reheat it very gently, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. The
mixture will begin to thicken slightly within a few minutes. To check
whether it is done, coat the back of your wooden spoon with the custard
and draw your finger across it. If the channel created by your fingertip
remains open, or closes reluctantly, the custard is ready.

Do not, whatever you do, allow the custard to come anywhere near boiling
point, as it will instantly curdle and you’ll have to turf out the lot.

Remove the custard from the heat, cover its surface with a piece of
clingfilm to prevent a skin forming, and allow to cool to room
temperature.

Place a metal or glass dish in the freezer. Set a large sieve over
another bowl and into it tip the apricot mixture. Using the back of a
soup ladle, stir and press down on the mixture, until all you have left
in the sieve is the pips and bits of skin. (This is a little laborious,
so turn on the music and take your time about it!).

Measure out half a cup (125 ml) of the apricot purée and set aside. Stir
the remaining purée into the cooled custard and mix well. Place in the
fridge to chill.

If you’re using an ice cream maker, churn the mixture until firm and
creamy. Tip into the bowl you placed in the freezer earlier and swirl
the purée you set aside over the surface. Now gently ‘ripple’ it into
the icecream, using a metal spoons, so it forms little seams of apricot.
Cover and freeze until quite firm.

If you’re using the freeze and beat method, ripple
the reserved purée into the ice cream, as described above, about
two-thirds of the way through the freezing process, or before the
mixture becomes too stiff to stir easily.

Reprinted with permission of Scrumptious South Africa.
To visit Scrumptious South Africa’s blog click here.