licorice toffee ice creamThere are so many flavors of ice cream you can make but this is one of my favorites - licorice toffee ice cream. I came up with the recipe whilst thinking back to my childhood and the licorice toffee that I would occasionally get as a treat.

Recipe For Chestnut Flavor Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 tin (size approx 9oz or 225g) of chestnut purée
2 tablespoons light (single) cream
1/2 pint (250ml) whipping cream
2 oz (50g) icing sugar

Method: Place the purée in a mixing bowl and pour in the single/light cream or milk, mixing until you have a smooth paste. Separately, take the whipping cream and add the sugar. Whip together. When thick (not stiff) add this to the purée paste mixture. Stir gently until fully blended in.

Transfer the complete mixture into an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions. Serves 6

french chestnut flavor ice creamChestnut ice cream is surprisingly popular - a good example is France where I have seen it on display in a number of ice cream parlors. Here is a photo of some made by a local artisan glacier which I found on sale in Rocamadour, France.

Looking for guidelines on making ice cream? It's about common sense really but I'm glad to share the hints and tips I've learned. Homemade ice cream is such fun and once you start testing recipes and then maybe developing your own, it gets really exciting.

A good starting point is to read up on the most popular recipes for ice cream here and then take it from there. You could also check out my easy ice cream section. Anyway, good luck and remember ... if you make your ice cream with enthusiasm it will taste all the better for it.