Vanilleeis mit Pumpernickel

Serves 8

This is not as unlikely as may at first appear and is quite similar to British brown bread ice cream. The tangy rich Pumpernickel crumbs give a delicious flavour to vanilla flavoured custard. Serve with poached plums in syrup or Summer Fruit Pudding. This is a good ice cream to have in your freezer for impromptu entertaining. An ice-cream machine helps to give you a smooth, creamy texture.

• 150g (5oz) Pumpernickel
• 500ml (18fl oz) double cream
• 3 medium free-range eggs
• 4 free-range egg yolks
• 150g (5 oz) caster sugar
• 1 sachet vanilla sugar or 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1. Grind the Pumpernickel to fine crumbs in a food processor.
2. Heat the milk and cream in a large non-stick saucepan until on the point of boiling. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sugar (and vanilla sugar or essence) until thick and creamy in a large bowl, placed on a damp cloth to hold it steady.
3. When the creamy milk starts to rise pour half of it slowly on the eggs and sugar, whisking briskly. Reheat the remaining milk until it rises again and whisk into the mixture.
4. Strain back into the saucepan, and over a very low heat, stir with a wooden spoon until it thickens a little more and you can draw a line across with the back of a spoon. Immediately remove from the heat and pour back into the bowl to cool.
5. When cool, add the Pumpernickel. Churn in an ice-cream machine until smooth and creamy, then scoop into a freezer container to store in the freezer. If you don’t have an ice-cream machine, pour into a freezer container and freeze until slushy. Then remove and beat with a whisk to break up the ice crystals and freeze again. Repeat the whisking and freezing twice.
6. Store ice dream for up to one month. To serve, allow to soften for 10-15 minutes until soft enough to scoop or spoon.

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