Peach Melba Ice Cream

We've had several cans of peaches sat in the cupboard at home for quite a while now and I thought I'd make use of them. Personally, I'm really not fond of peaches at all. the only memory I have of enjoying peaches, is eating a Peach Melba from Gregg's bakery when I was really young. Now, a Peach Melba to me, implies a shortcrust tart base, piled high with a mixture of cream and peaches, coated in a peach icing.

If you have no idea what I'm on about - you're not alone. I think a Peach Melba must be something entirely different in the north of England than in the south because to Boyfriend, a Peach Melba is vanilla ice cream with peaches, raspberry sauce and cream.

This recipe is for an ice cream which combines all the yummy aspects of his Peach Melba into one ice cream. This recipe yields around 1 litre of ice cream.

Ingredients

1 cup of single cream

1 cup of milk

1/2 cup of sugar

3 egg yolks

Pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup of chopped canned peaches

1/2 cup peach syrup

1 cup raspberries

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp sugar

Recipe

1. In a pan over a medium heat, combine the cream, milk, sugar and salt. Continue to stir until dissolved.

2. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks together with the peach syrup (the syrup the peaches were stored in from the can). Pour the warmed mix over the egg yolks, stirring constantly, before pouring back into the pan and replacing on the heat.

3. Continue to stir the custard mix until it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Meanwhile, chop the peaches into small chunks.

4. When the custard is ready, remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature before adding the vanilla and chopped peaches. Stir well and place in the freezer.

5. Combine the raspberries, water and sugar in a pan on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until you have a thick liquid. Strain this to get rid of all the seeds. Leave to cool. 

6. Remove the ice cream from the freezer every hour for at least two hours to stir for a silky texture. When you can feel the ice cream really beginning to take shape, pour the raspberry mix on top and gently swirl into the ice cream. Do not mix the ice cream after this stage or the swirl effect will be lost.