Dried Fig Ice-cream

Dried Fig Ice-cream 

Sometimes a dish is completely unplanned but is made because of excessive ingredients from a previosuly made dish. Well it was time for an all girls brunch again . You see we are this group of friends and since my friends seem to like what I put on their plate we usually have this brunch which rolls till dinner at my place every time my friend comes down from Delhi. Of course my best friend from the group can be found at various times of different days at my place. Well this time I had opted for a Coffee parfait with a delightful flavour of wine and that required heavy cream.

Now I do understand that procuring heavy dairy cream in India is difficult but its not impossible and here is why I would personally suggest steering clear from  non dairy whipping cream. Cream is naturally supposed to be from cow milk so it is supposed to be dairy and anything which is non dairy is quite obviously unnatural, moreover there was this one time that I had used whipping cream for frosting and making ice-creams and believe me when I say a zinc like taste had ruined both dishes. I do understand that most bakeries in India use Non-dairy whipping cream but any frosting which stays unharmed for days on the end is bad news. In case heavy cream is not available use Amul cream

Now of course there are people who are lactose intolerant and so this particular recipe is not for them. I am not much of a fan of the American style of ice-cream so mine always uses eggs .

You see once you have tasted a superior version of a dish there is no turning back. I was initially a very non-adventurous ice-cream eater who would basically stick to dark chocolate flavoured scoops, coffee flavoured ones, butterscotch, rum and vanilla and then I tasted this fig flavoured ice-cream in Mumbai and I was bowled over. It blew me away but then again without the eggs the richness is just not there. Its not as creamy , not as smooth etc etc. So when I had a good 800ml heavy cream left from my coffee parfait I naturally decided I was going to make a Dry fig flavoured ice-cream.

Here is the deal. I do not own an ice-cream maker and so I naturally welcome recipes which doesn't use ice-cream makers and so Mary Berry's recipe was the perfect solution. I will be honest,  I did not follow the recipe to the tee at all but when you have the basic concept in your head things become much more easy.

Here is the recipe :-

Makes about 12 to 15 scoops of ice-cream

4 eggs separated
500ml heavy cream / Amul Cream in case heavy cream is not available.
3/4th cup icing sugar . You can always increase or decrease the sugar as per taste
A few drops of lemon

For the flavouring
1 heaped cup of dried figs (cup holds 250ml of liquid)
1 cup of water + extra if required
2 tbsp granulated sugar

Start by making your flavouring. Simply bring the figs, water and sugar to a boil and then simmer till its soft. You might be required to add more water but make sure it softens well. It took me 15 minutes over the gas stove on low flame. Let it cool down completely.

Whip your egg whites to soft peaks. use a few drops of lemon. The lemon ensures that the whites do not collapse after being whipped . Now whisk the egg yolks and then add sugar and whisk till its pale and fluffy and add the cream and sugar and create a custard base over a double boiler. At the end you will make a smooth delightful consistency. let it cool down over an ice-bath. Simply take a tray full of ice which is big enough to hold the container with the custard and place it on top till it cools down completely.

In the meantime blend the softened figs to a pulp and now mix it with the custard and whisk well. Fold in the egg whites and pour it in an air-tight plastic container and wrap the container with foil and freeze for at least 3 hours to 4 hours till completely frozen and enjoy the decadent scoops but do eat fat because it melts fast . Next in my mind is this apricot in wine flavoured ice-cream