Country Cottage Ice Cream - A Quickie Recipe

Here is something I heard about this week that I just had to share with my Blog Of Ice Cream readers - an ice cream recipe that's quick and easy to make, that doesn't need an ice cream maker and uses just cream, sugar and yoghurt. No eggs, no milk. Interested? Read on!

Ingredients:

• 10 fl oz (300ml) heavy cream (double cream)
• 4.5 oz (140g) caster sugar
• 10fl oz (300ml) good quality, fruit yoghurt (from any store or supermarket)
  

Method:

• Heat the cream and sugar in a small pan, ensuring the sugar dissolves but do NOT boil it.
• Remove the pan from the heat, add the yoghurt and stir into well mixed.
• Pour the mixture into small ramekins and leave to cool.
• When cool, place the ramekins in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Remove from the refrigerator and place into the freezer until it becomes the right consistency.
• Remove from the freezer and allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
  Note: Serves 4

I have yet to try this one myself but John, whose recipe it is, assures me he's made it many times and it's always delicious. In case you're wondering who John is, he is not a professional chef but the owner of some super holiday cottages in a quiet country village on the edge of England's stunning Lake District. Perhaps most famous for being Beatrix Potter country, John tells me that there is a multitude of interesting sights to see and things to do in Cumbria. Follow the link to see the list of just 40 of them that he mentions on his site!

If you fancy making some more easy ice cream recipes you can download some from my website - vanilla ice cream, banana ice cream, chocolate ice cream.

Enjoy!

Halloween Ice Cream

Summer's over, the children are back at school and autumn has arrived. October can be a wonderfully atmospheric month - golden leaves on the trees, a nip in the air with a hint of winter to come, darkness falling earlier and before you know it Halloween is just around the corner.

For many children Halloween is a day of fun and excitement and if you are involved in organising anything for Halloween you will know only too well that it can take a lot of time and effort to plan your Halloween party just right.

You might be looking for ideas for childrens' Halloween costumes for example or for food recipes to celebrate Halloween. Pumpkin dishes of course are usually on the menu - but how about some Halloween ice cream? If you have an ice cream maker it's not difficult to produce a batch of tasty, unusual ice cream for a Halloween celebration. Here's my idea for a Halloween ice cream recipe: Pumpkin and Maple Ice Cream. Made with heavy cream, egg yolks, caster sugar, cooked, cooled & mashed pumpkin, maple syrup and a touch of ground nutmeg, it's simply delicious!

But what if you don't like pumpkin? OK, then just go for a quick and easy ice cream recipe such as this vanilla ice cream.

Did you know that the pumpkin isn't a vegetable?
Do you know why the pumpkin is associated with Halloween?
Do you know what the Pumpkinfest is?

Find out the answers on this Halloween blog post.

Homemade Ice Cream - The Easy Way

There's no question in my mind that homemade food is always the best - being able to select the ingredients yourself and having it fresh just when you want it, but that is providing you have the time. After all, many recipes require time and patience often with a several step process involved. So what do you do if you don't have much spare time but still want homemade food? Well, with ice cream there are a few quick and easy recipes you can use.

Here are the quick and easy ice cream recipes that I've found work well:


vanilla ice cream
chocolate ice cream
banana ice cream


The banana ice cream recipe is a particular favorite in our house. I recently made a video of me making it in our kitchen so you can see just how quick and easy it is. Visit this page to view the video (my vanilla ice cream making video is also on there)
http://www.ice-cream-recipes.com/ice_cream_videos.htm