Boozy Wild Blackberry Homemade Ice Cream

Late in the Summer, Paddy and I went foraging for wild blackberries, which we stuffed into bottles and covered with vodka. After two months of waiting, shaking the bottles daily, we were left with a divine, VERY drinkable, blackberry vodka. We were also left with the berries, which we strained off after the two months. Paddy had a genius idea last weekend, and we decided to combine these delicious boozy blackberries with cream and condensed milk and make the world's easiest homemade ice cream!

A bit of ice cream research told me that fruit is best added to ice cream batter when it has been cooked, as this reduces the amount of water in the fruit and decreases the risk of the ice cream crystalising. So, the blackberries (after being strained from the vodka) were cooked down n a pot for about 15 minutes until they turned into a compote-type thing. The rest is so easy, you could leave your small children to do the work, and relax with a nip of wild blackberry vodka.

Something I love about making my own food from scratch is knowing exactly what goes into it, and this is no excpetion. I have never really liked commercial ice cream, but this homemade stuff is something I could see myself developing quite a liking for...


Homemade Ice Cream

500mls cream
1 tin sweetened condensed milk

Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks, then gently fold in the tin of condensed milk. Pour mixture into a container, trying not to eat toooo much as you do it, and place in the freezer on a level surface. After an overnight stay in the freezer, it will be done! Pretty easy huh?

To make a fruity ice cream, leave the ice cream to set for 2 or so hours and then fold in the cooled fruit compote. I would also leave the ice cream to set for a few hours before adding other heavy flavours such as chocolate. This prevents all the fruit/chocolate sinking to the bottom of the container.

The sky is really the limit with this ice cream! My neighbour has made several batches, including brandysnap flavour, lemon flavour, Kahlua flavour and a lovely stracciatella (chocolate chip). My mind is busy with ideas for the next batch... I'm thinking gingernut?