Cone and get it: Four oh so cool ice

Jan 25, 2024

Peach and basil sorbet from La Vita è Dolce by Letitia Clark

La Vita è Dolce by Letitia Clark

Nadiya Bakes by Nadiya Hussain

Banana ice cream cheesecake with blueberry compote from Nadiya Bakes by Nadiya Hussain

Anna Higham's Ricotta ice cream with magnolia syrup

The Last Bite: A Whole New Approach To Making Desserts Through The Year by Anna Higham

Banana Nice-Cream with Maple Nut Butter Swirl

From ricotta ice cream to peach and basil sorbet you’ll be spoilt for choice with these cold recipes.

Banana Nice-Cream with maple nut butter swirl

Banana Nice-Cream with Maple Nut Butter Swirl

Who knew you could transform bananas into ice-cream — or nice-cream, as I prefer to call it. This dairy-free and saturated fat-free ice cream is creamy and easy to make. It is a real treat drizzled with a little extra maple syrup and sprinkled with chopped nuts.

What you’ll need

• 10 frozen bananas, chopped up into chunks

• Splash of oat milk

• 1 tbsp good-quality vanilla bean paste or vanilla essence

• 200g almond butter

• 100ml maple syrup

SERVES: 4+

Method

1. Put the bananas in a high-speed blender along with the oat milk, and blitz on high, using a tamper to keep the mixture moving in the blender until broken down and well combined. The mixture should resemble creamy soft-serve ice cream. Add the vanilla bean paste and mix by hand.

2. Remove from the blending jug and place in a bowl in the freezer while you prepare the flavouring.

3. Put the almond butter and maple syrup in a separate bowl and mix with a fork. The mixture should be runny in texture.

4. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper. Remove the nice-cream from the freezer and put half the mixture into the loaf tin.

5. Add a spoon or two of maple almond butter on top and swirl it around. Add the remaining nice-cream, and finish with the remaining maple butter swirled across the top.

6. Cover with cling film and freeze for 2–3 hours. You can then serve it with an ice-cream scoop.

Tip: Use well-ripened bananas for a sweeter ice cream.

Recipe extracted from The Menopause Kitchen: Transform Your Life by Rachel Graham (Gill, £26.99)

Peach and basil sorbet

Peach and basil sorbet from La Vita è Dolce by Letitia Clark

What you’ll need

(Makes 1 litre)

• 200g (7oz/¾ cup, plus 2tbsp) sugar

• 100ml (3½fl oz/scant ½ cup) water

• 20 leaves of fresh basil, washed, patted dry and torn (one bunch should easily supply this many)

• 750g (1lb 10oz) very ripe peaches

• Zest and juice of 2 lemons

Method

1. Bring the sugar and water to the boil in a small saucepan. Allow to simmer for one minute (swirl the pan to make sure the sugar has melted but do not stir). Once you have a clear, shiny, thick syrup, remove from the heat. Drop in the basil leaves, then decant the syrup into a glass jug or bowl to cool. Cover.

2. Cut the peaches into chunks and macerate them with the lemon zest and the lemon juice. (I just peel this in strips with a swivel peeler here as everything will be blitzed and strained eventually but you can finely zest it if you prefer.)

3. When the syrup has cooled, pour it over the peaches and leave the whole lot to infuse for a few hours at room temperature (or covered in the fridge overnight).

4. Blend everything (leaves, zest and peach flesh) in a blender until you have a smooth purée.

5. Sieve the mixture, discarding the bits of basil left behind in the sieve, making sure to press the pulp to extract all the flavours and juices.

6. Transfer to an ice-cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe extracted from La Vita è Dolce by Letitia Clark (Hardie Grant, £26). Photography by Charlotte Bland. Available now.

Anna Higham’s ricotta ice cream with magnolia syrup

Anna Higham's Ricotta ice cream with magnolia syrup

What you’ll need

For the ricotta ice cream: (makes 800ml)

• 150g caster sugar

• 500g fresh ricotta

• 25ml lemon juice

• Small pinch of salt

• For the magnolia syrup: (makes 1L)

• 150g caster sugar

• 100g (2–3) magnolia flowers

• 7g (1tsp) citric acid

To serve

• A small pinch of Maldon salt

• Magnolia petals

• 1tsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. To make the magnolia syrup; combine the sugar with 750ml of water in a saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. When the syrup is boiling, add the whole magnolia flowers. Return to a rolling boil and add the citric acid. Immediately transfer to a shallow container then chill over ice or in the fridge. I like to leave the flowers in the syrup as they have a pleasingly ethereal quality. Store chilled.

2. To make the ricotta ice cream; combine the sugar with 150ml of water in a saucepan, whisk well and place over a medium heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar is completely dissolved, leave to cool then chill thoroughly.

3. Once the syrup is completely chilled, add the lemon juice, then blend in the ricotta until it is smooth and season with a little salt. Churn in an ice-cream machine then transfer to a container and leave to set in the freezer before serving.

4. To assemble the dish; place a small bowl in the freezer to chill 30 minutes before serving. Scoop a large quenelle of ricotta ice cream into the chilled bowl and place just off-centre. Sprinkle on some Maldon salt and lay one or two magnolia petals beside the ice cream. Combine the magnolia syrup (two tablespoons) and olive oil (they will remain split). Pour the syrup and oil into the bowl next to the ice cream.

Recipe extracted from The Last Bite: A Whole New Approach To Making Desserts Through The Year by Anna Higham, photography by Kim Lightbody (DK, £22). Available now.

Banana ice cream cheesecake recipe with blueberry compote

Banana ice cream cheesecake with blueberry compote from Nadiya Bakes by Nadiya Hussain

What you’ll need

(Serves 8–12)

For the base:

• 160g porridge oats

• 160g roasted whole hazelnuts

• 60ml coconut oil, plus extra for greasing the tin

• 185g golden syrup

• A pinch of salt

For the filling:

• 7 bananas, chopped and frozen, about 580g

• 2tbsp golden syrup

• ½tsp ground cinnamon

• 1tbsp cocoa powder

For the compote:

• 250g fresh or frozen blueberries

• ½ lemon, zest and juice

• 100g caster sugar

Method

1. Start by lining and lightly greasing the base and sides of a 20cm round loose-bottom tin, 7.5cm deep.

2. Make the base of the cheesecake by toasting the oats and the hazelnuts in a large frying pan on a medium heat for about five minutes until they just start to turn a golden brown, making sure to stir all the time to keep the oats moving. Pop them straight into a food processor and blitz to a fine crumb. Now add the coconut oil and the golden syrup, and pinch of salt, and blitz again ’til it all clumps together.

3. Throw the mixture into the prepped tin and, using the back of a spoon, press into the base and 2.5cm of the sides. Leave the base to chill while you make the filling.

4. Make the topping by taking out the frozen chopped bananas and adding to a food processor with the golden syrup, cinnamon and cocoa. As tempted as you might be to begin whizzing, walk away for five minutes and allow the bananas to defrost just very slightly so that they process more easily, then blitz ’til you have what looks like a soft-scoop ice cream. Quickly spoon the mixture on top of the prepped base and pop into the freezer ’til you are ready to eat.

5. When you are ready to eat, make the compote by adding the blueberries, lemon zest and juice and sugar to a pan and stirring over a medium heat ’til the blueberries have just softened. This should only take a few minutes. You can make the compote well in advance and, if you do, keep it chilled in the fridge until serving.

6. Take the cheesecake out of the freezer, slide it out of the cake tin and put it onto your serving dish. Add the warm compote on top and leave for just a few minutes before slicing and enjoying.

Recipe extracted from Nadiya Bakes by Nadiya Hussain, photography by Chris Terry (Michael Joseph, £22). Available now.

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