Saturday 16 July 2011

Raspberry Pavlova Ice Cream


On Thursday I received some incredible news. I got my degree results and I am the proud recipient of a first class degree! Everything seemed to slot into place in my exams. It feels like such an amazing end to my time at Oxford.

I struggled a lot at times and I have to thank my incredible tutors for pulling me through and believing in me. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to study in such a fantastic academic environment - it has been a true education.

As I mentioned in my post about the Big Feastival, some of the best things I tasted there were ices. One of the ones that particularly made an impression on me was a divine raspberry pavlova ice cream.  I immediately decided I had to try and recreate it. 

The night before I made this we had some friends around to dinner and we made meringues for pudding, two of which I saved to make this. They were really fluffy in the middle and chewy and crisp on the outside. I know there are a lot of people who think meringues should be crisp and dry all the way through but I quite like mine to have a bit of pavlova squish, especially when they're being served with whipped cream, fresh fruit and custard.  Crumbled up they also worked perfectly in this ice cream. 

The contrast of the sharp raspberry sauce, creamy ice cream and crunchy and chewy pieces of meringue is an absolute delight. I think this might be the best ice cream I've made.


Raspberry Pavlova Ice Cream
(base adapted from David Lebovitz's Perfect Scoop)

For the base:
500ml double cream
250ml whole milk
115g caster sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
6 egg yolks

Place 250ml of the cream into a medium bowl and set a fine sieve over the top. Create an ice bath. Put the milk, sugar, vanilla paste, salt and 250ml of the cream into a medium saucepan. Put over a medium heat and bring to a simmer.  In a small bowl whisk the egg yolks together. Pour some of the hot milk into the eggs, whisking constantly. Return to the pan and whisk to combine. Stir until the mixture reaches custard consistency then remove from the heat and pour through the sieve into a bowl. Put the bowl into the ice bath and cool to room temperature. Put into the fridge and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. 

For the additions:
200g raspberries
20g caster sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
2 meringue nests

Place the raspberries in a dish and sprinkle with the sugar and juice. Leave for an hour or so to macerate. Meanwhile break the meringue nests up into small chunks. Optionally then toast these chunks in the oven for five minutes at 150C. Press the raspberries through a fine sieve until only the seeds remain. Churn the base according to your ice cream maker's instructions. Sprinkle a handful of meringue chunks over the bottom of a 1.5ltr tub, followed by a few spoonfuls of the raspberry sauce. Scoop 1/3 of the ice cream into the tub and spread out. Top with more meringue chunks and sauce. Keep layering until you reach the top. Add the final chunks and more sauce then swirl the whole tub briefly with a skewer. Work quickly so it doesn't melt and get into the freezer quickly. Freeze for at least 4 hours before serving. Serve with any remaining raspberry sauce. 

(Makes just over a litre)

20 comments:

  1. Congratulations on such fantastic results fom your exams Emma. So well deserved- and this special ice cream seems like a sure way to celebrate!

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  2. Congratulations Emma! This ice cream is a great idea for me. I love pavlova but my other half doesn't eat fruits, this will be perfect to squeeze it in, frozen ice cream no less.

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  3. Congratulations on your degree!! Great!!
    Delish ice-cream too!
    xx

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  4. Brilliant news - well done! Fabulous ice cream, too.

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  5. Hi Emma, As a frequent reader of your blog (and maker of some of your recipes) as well as an academic, I know all about the importance of a good life balance between study and baking! So many congratulations for managing both so brilliantly! All best wishes, Marina

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  6. Oh gahhddd, i dont even know where to start with this! I love a crisp meringue but when you find one with a bit of a chew in the middle...i agree, perfect :) This ice cream looks like my heaven, i adore pavlovas/eton mess so would definitely shovel away too much of this for my own good im sure :) lovely

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  7. Wow big congratulations on your First!

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  8. Looks gorgeous. Huge congratulations on your degree too - academic skills and a brilliant cook :-)
    Can't wait to start cooking from my copy of The Perfect Scoop - every recipe looks like complete heaven!

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  9. Confrats on the degree and the ice cream looks delicious!

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  10. sorry meant congrats! it's late here!

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  11. I just found your blog and all I can say gorgeous! Congratulations on your degree. What a beautiful combination in this dish!

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  12. Sukaina - thank you! It was a great celebratory dish :)

    pickyin - I'm glad it would work for you. You could even make just pavlova ice cream and then pour the coulis over the top so he could choose to have it or not. Thanks for the congrats :)

    Liz B - thanks, it doesn't really feel real yet! It is delicious, I'm so glad I tried to replicate it

    Harriet - thank you! Glad you like the ice cream too.

    Marina - I remember your lovely good luck comment from before my exams - thank you. It's so bizarre not having to juggle any more, I can't quite get over being able to bake whenever I like!

    The Procrastobaker - Glad you like the idea. I was worried that the meringue might dissolve in the ice cream but thankfully it survived perfectly!

    Emalina - thank you! I think I'm still in shock that it happened.

    thelittleloaf - I'm looking forward to seeing how they go for you too! I love that book - I tried a new flavour the other day. Thank you for your kind words :)

    foodwanderings - thank you, I'm glad you like the ice cream too :)

    Krista - It's a great combination - I wish I had thought it up myself! Thank you for the congrats.

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  13. Emma, Congrats! You must feel terrific.

    And your pavlova raspberry ice cream creation looks divine! We are making ice creams, sherbets, sorbets, etc like crazy these days and yours looks new and different. Must try:)

    -Erin

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  14. Erin - thank you! I adore making iced desserts, they're so much fun. Hope you enjoy this if you try it and do tell me how it goes :)

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  15. I'm totally with you when it comes to the crisp exterior/creamy interior on a pavlova or schaum torte. It's really delicious, and much easier to eat!

    A friend of mine used leftover pavlova as an add-in for ice cream, and I thought it was a fabulous idea. Glad to see you did too!

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  16. Congrats on both your degree and these gorgeous photos. Found you on stumbleupon, glad I did :)

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  17. Lo - it makes for a more interesting texture profile, which is why I think it feels more delicious! Great minds think alike on pavlova add-ins :)

    chefpandita.com - thank you! Glad you found me too.

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