what i did on my summer vacation: day 5

this is really an extension of our rain day, but whatever. posts can only be so long.

we had many, many discussions about what flavour of icecream to make. chocolate? watermelon? chocolate butter pecan? peach? raspberry?

finally, peach melba seemed the right choice, combining two of the possibilities on our list: peach custard ice cream with a raspberry ripple. yum.




ice cream is the perfect thing for a rainy day - there's enough cooking involved that you don't want to make it when it's hot, and it really needs to freeze overnight before eating anyway. also, it's a terribly hopeful thing to do: making ice cream shows you believe the sun will return.

also, how cute is this old ice cream churn?



peach melba ice cream

custard:
5 peaches (n.b.: i only used 3, because that's what was on hand, but wished i had 5)
1/4 cup water
2 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (35%)

ripple:
1 pint raspberries (more than really necessary, but leftover ripple was wonderful on porridge)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

peel and chop the peaches, and combine with water. cook over medium heat till soft and thick, mashing as necessary. puree till smooth.



combine egg yolks and sugar; beat till thick and pale.

heat milk over low heat till hot to the touch. add little by little, stirring constantly, to the eggs. once all has been stirred in, turn into a double boiler with the salt and cook, stirring, until thickened. add the peach puree and allow to cool.

beat the heavy cream till stiff peaks form. fold in cooled custard. chill well.

combine ripple ingredients in a small saucepan, mashing as you go. cook about 10 or 15 minutes over medium, until thick. strain and cool.



turn custard into icecream churn and work acoording to manufacturer's instructions. ours took forever! it just wouldn't freeze. i ended up sticking the inner can in the freezer, and pulling out to churn occasionally until i saw progress. wah!



once it is finally thick and slow, spoon into container, alternating a layer of icecream with a drizzle of ripple. we realised we had nothing to store it in (whoops!) so re-used a 2-litre tetrapak of lemonade (luckly close to empty when i got the idea!). freeze till well solid, i.e. overnight.

yum.