A recipe from The River Cottage A to Z - Chocolate, Brandy and Star Anise Ice Cream
A gorgeously grown-up ice cream, this mingles the fruity, bittersweet flavour of chocolate with warming star anise, a hint of orange and a sup of brandy. Serves 6 – 8.
INGREDIENTS
3–5 star anise
200ml whole milk
300ml double cream
Finely grated zest of 1 large orange
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
4 medium egg yolks
100g caster sugar
200g dark chocolate (70–75% cocoa solids), finely chopped
75ml cider brandy or calvados
INSTRUCTIONS
Using a pestle and mortar, bash the star anise to reduce to chunky bits. Tip into a pan with the milk, cream and orange zest. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod into the pan; add the pod too. Bring almost to a simmer, then set aside to infuse for 15 minutes.
Beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until well combined. Strain the hot cream through a fine sieve on to the eggs and sugar, whisking all the time. Pour into a clean pan and cook gently, stirring, for a few minutes, until thickened. Don’t let it boil or it will split.
Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and stir gently until it has melted. Stir in the cider brandy, then strain through a sieve into a clean bowl. Lay a piece of cling film or baking parchment on the surface to stop a skin forming, then set aside to cool.
Churn the custard in an ice-cream maker until soft-set, then transfer to the freezer to freeze solid. (Alternatively, pour the mixture into a plastic container and freeze for about an hour, or until starting to solidify around the sides, then mash with a fork, mixing the frozen sides into the liquid centre. Put it back in the freezer for another hour, and repeat at hourly intervals until soft-set, then let the ice cream freeze solid.)
Transfer the ice cream to the fridge 30 minutes before serving, to soften a little.
