Blackberry chamomile ice-cream

Method

1. Preparation

   Chill the ice cream maker bowl pre-freeze according to manufacturer's instructions and a metal loaf pan in freezer until needed.

2. Sauce

   Whisk together sugar and cornstartch in a small bowl, then set aside. Place blackberries into a small saucepan, add lemon juice and cornstartch mixture then stir to combine ingredients. Over medium-low heat cook the blackberry mixture while stirring occasionally until blackberries have broken down and sauce is thick and bubbly, about 10-12 minutes. Then allow the mixture to cool down slightly. Transfer the blackberry mixture in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Once the mixture is smooth using a firm mesh sieve pour through the blackberry sauce discarding the seeds. Then chill the sauce in the mixture until needed.

3. Ice-cream

   Whisk 3 tablespoons of milk with cornstartch in a small bowl until smooth, then set aside. Place cream cheese in a medium bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan, place remaining 3 cups of milk, cream, sugar, honey and salt. Then over medium-high heat bring the mixture to boil for 2-3 minutes while stirring constantly. Once the mixture has been brought to the boil remove the heat. Stir in dried chamomile and cover milk mixture with lid and allow the milk mixture to steep for 20 minutes. Strain the infused milk mixture through a fine mesh strainer lined with a cheesecloth and squeeze cheesecloth firmly to recover all the liquid, then return infused milk mixture to saucepan. Whisk cornstartch mixture until smooth and then add to milk mixture. Cook infused milk mixture over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes and constantly stir until the back of a wooden spoon can be coated by the mixture. Then remove the mixture from heat. Pour 1/3 cup of infused milk mixture of cream cheese and stir cream cheese mixture until smooth. In a saucepan whisk the ice cream based until completely smooth. Stir in vanilla and vodka (if using).

4. Chilling

   Chill ice cream base over ice bath for 30 minutes or chill in the fridge for 2-4 hours. Pour ice cream base into bowl of ice cream maker and churn until frozen according to manufacturer’s instructions. Remove loaf pan from freezer and pour ice cream, scoop to serve.

5. Handy hint

   Adding in a small amount of vodka creates a slightly softer ice cream that’s easier to scoop. Vodka is undetectable in finished ice-cream.