Two Ice Creams from One Base - Honeycomb, and Coffee Meringue

Coffee And Meringue Ice Cream

It’s finally Spring!! I may have gotten a little excited about winter being over and decided to make two different kinds of ice cream. The base is the same for both – half I added my special honeycomb too, and the other I gave a coffee twist. The original recipes were made by Mary Berry and Nigella (both of which I’ve adapted slightly), so you know they must be good! Both ice creams are insanely tasty, and even better, they require ZERO churning and ZERO custard-making! The ice cream doesn’t crystallize when placed in the freezer, and sets soft, meaning it is always perfectly scoopable.

Makes two 300ml tubs of ice cream

Ingredients:

For the base:

• One 397g tin of sweetened condensed milk
• 600ml double cream

For the honeycomb ice cream:

• 75g caster or granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the coffee and meringue ice cream:

• 1 shot of espresso coffee, plus extra (to taste)
• 200g broken meringue pieces (I bought meringue nests)
• 1 shot of kahlua (optional)

Method:

1. Make the honeycomb. In a medium non-stick pan add the sugar and golden syrup. Place a tray lined with grease-proof paper on a surface near to the pan, and have your bicarbonate of soda and whisk ready.

2. Place on a low to medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved into the golden syrup. Stop stirring at this stage. Leave the mixture bubbling, swirling the pan occasionally, until it is a medium caramel colour – this will take between 4 and 6 minutes, but depends on the heat of your hob/pan (so keep an eye on it).

3. Add the bicarbonate of soda and whisk vigorously. The mixture will froth up a lot so be very careful! Pour onto the prepared tray and leave to set for half an hour until it is rock-hard to touch. If you are pressed for time, you can place the honeycomb in the fridge after it has cooled down.

4. Make the base ice cream. Pour the condensed milk and the cream into a large mixing bowl. Whisk the mixture to firm peaks – this is easiest using an electric whisk. Firm peaks means that when the whisk is lifted from the mixture, a peak of cream forms that does not tip to either side.

5. Split the mixture into two.

6. For the honeycomb ice cream,  add one teaspoon of vanilla extract. Break up half of the honeycomb into shards. Crush the other half to a fine dust. Add all of the dust and shards to the ice cream, and stir in. Once evenly incorporated, pour the ice cream into a tub and freeze for 3-4 hours.

7. For the coffee ice cream, add the shot of espresso and meringue pieces. Stir and once fully incorporated, taste. If needed, add more coffee and/or kahlua (depending on how much you love coffee). Pour into a tub and freeze overnight (this mixture is softer due to the addition of coffee, so needs longer to set).

8. Enjoy!