Chestnut Ice Cream

You've gathered the chestnuts in Greenwich Park - now make the ice cream. Here's what to do:

......New! Watch the Roasted Chestnuts movie......

• 2 cups chestnuts
• 2 egg yolks
• 1½ cups double cream
• ¾ cup milk
• 1 cup castor sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla paste (or ½ tsp vanilla essence)

 

Start by making a chestnut puree. Bake 2 cupfuls of chestnuts according to our roast chestnut guidelines. Skin them and put them in a small saucepan with enough milk to cover them. Bring to the boil and simmer gently until the chestnuts break apart easily. Add half a cup of castor sugar, blitz into a paste and set aside to cool in a mixing bowl.

Now you need to make a basic custard. Beat together the egg yolks, vanilla paste and ½ cup sugar, and set aside. Warm the cream and the milk in a saucepan until slowly bubbling, but shy of boiling fiercely. Ladle some of the cream into the egg mixture whisk rapidly. Repeat with another ladleful, before pouring the egg mix back into the cream slowly while stirring. Remove from the heat.

Stir ladleful after ladleful of the custard into the puree until thoroughly blended, and allow it to cool in the fridge. From here, follow the instructions on your ice cream maker, or pour into a Tupperware and freeze, stirring as regularly as you can bear to prevent crystals from forming.

This custard plus pureed flavour-agent method can be used to make other ice-creams. For gooseberry and elderflower, add some elderflower cordial to the gooseberry puree.