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)

Tiramisu with Macerated Summer Fruits

Yesterday we took a little day trip down into Italy. My uncle Tim has been staying with us in Verbier recently and he decided to take us for lunch at a little place just over the Grand St Bernard Pass as a thank you. It was such a lovely day. We went on two walks with the dogs - one before lunch up at the top of the pass among all the mountain flowers and rocks and then a second afterwards in the green and grassy valley.

We ate a delicious lunch of local dried meats and a variety of pastas. Afterwards I introduced mum and Tim to affogato, one of my favourite light puddings (it's a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream or gelato drowned in an espresso - the perfect creamy end to a heavy meal).

Our trip to Italy brings me nicely to one of my favourite desserts: tiramisu. I made tiramisu for the Daring Bakers before but the recipe was very complicated and slightly too sweet (though I loved making my own marscarpone and savoiardi). Mum was given this recipe on a piece of paper by a lady in Italy last autumn. It has made tiramisu a regular fixture in our house. My uncle Tim has become a little bit obsessed by it and so mum has been making it on overdrive. It's surprisingly addictive.

I made it for my birthday BBQ a few weeks ago and for the first time paired it with a bowl of macerated strawberries and raspberries. A whole new level. I tried the combination for a second time last weekend for a dinner party we were bringing dessert to and it had great reviews again. It's a fabulous recipe I'm sure I will keep on making it regularly for many years to come.

(On another note, look how much Arthur has grown!)

Tiramisu with Macerated Summer Fruits

(exact recipe source unknown)

For the tiramisu:

4 eggs

150g caster sugar

400g marscarpone

350g spongefingers/savoiardi 

300ml strong coffee such as espresso

cocoa powder for dusting

Separate the eggs and place the yolks and caster sugar into a mixer. Whip until pale and thick - the whisk should leave a trail when lifted. In a separate big mixing bowl, beat the marscarpone until smooth. Add 1/3 of the yolk mix and fold until combined to loosen. Add the rest and fold until smooth. Wash the mixer bowl and dry carefully, then whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold a third into the marscarpone mix, then finally fold the rest in.  Briefly dip each spongefinger into the coffee then place into the bottom of a big serving dish. Keep going until you have a full layer over the bottom. Spoon over half of the marscarpone mix. Make another layer of spongefingers then finally spread the rest of the marscarpone mix over the top. Put in the fridge and chill for at least 4 hours before serving. Just before you serve dust the top liberally with cocoa powder. 

For the macerated summer fruits:

200g raspberries

200g strawberries

1 tbsp caster sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

Place the raspberries in a medium sized serving bowl. Slice the strawberries and add them. Sprinkle over the sugar and lemon juice and lightly stir. Leave for at least an hour, stirring occasionally. 

(Serves 8-10)