The eagle eyed amongst you may be detecting a Christmas theme here. And you’d be almost right.
When this goes live, I’ll be back at work, saying ‘Happy New Year’ enough times that it becomes somewhat uncomfortable, and by the time everyone else comes back next week, downright unbearable.
And you see, this blog post was supposed to go up before Christmas. But I had a nasty viral bug that laid me low for three days, the three days including one where I’d have made this.
But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, most of us still have Christmassy bits in the fridge (I’ve frozen a lot of cheese) and heavily discounted mince pies are in the supermarkets. So if you’re not quite ready to finish being festive yet, you can still indulge in this. If not, copy the link, and stick it in your diary for next year. Future you will be grateful.
Before I head to the recipe itself, three things to note. Firstly, I used Cotswolds Cream Liqueur. Simply because it’s bloody gorgeous. It’s more unctuous than any other liqueur like this I’ve tried, so perfect for ice cream. And the toasty, caramel toffee, malty butterscotch flavours work incredibly well with a good vanilla ice cream.
Which brings me to the next point. I’ve included in this a full recipe, including the ice cream – because that’s how I roll. BUT. You could get a tub of good quality vanilla ice cream, let it soften and do the whole mince pie/liqueur bit. I’d definitely go for something with proper vanilla in it, maybe even something custardy like a Cornish ice cream.
But do be aware that you’ll not have enough room in the tub and will have to eat some. I mean, you can’t let it go to waste.
Finally, I’ve also done this recipe as someone without an ice cream maker, because, well, i don’t have one. So if you do have one, then instead of the whole beating the double cream bit, simply add the cream to the milk at the beginning, and skip that bit (but not the liqueur adding bit).
So waffle out of the way, here’s the recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Mince Pie Ice Cream with Cotswolds Cream Liqueur
Ingredients
- 6 Mince pies (shop bought are totally fine for this)
- 250 ml Double Cream
- 300 ml Whole milk
- 3 tbsp Golden caster sugar
- 1 Vanilla pod
- 3 egg yolks
- 125 ml Cotswolds Cream Liqueur
Instructions
To make the ice cream:
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Pour the milk into a medium pan, and put onto a gentle heat.
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Slit the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out as many of the tiny black seeds as you can. Put these into the pan. Put the pod into the pan too.
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Heat the mixture gently, stirring occasionally, until it almost comes to a boil. You’ll see some tiny bubbles at the edges of the pan. Take the pan off the heat and set aside while we prepare the eggs and sugar.
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Put the egg yolks into a bowl with the sugar. Beat until the mixture has thickened and turned pale. You're looking for it to fall in thick ribbons when you lift the whisk.
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Take the vanilla pod out from the cream/milk mixture. Scoop out some of the warm liquid using a small measuring jug, and, whisking all the time, add it to the eggs.
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This tempers the eggs, meaning they won't scramble. Now pour the egg mixture into the pan and stir, before putting it back onto a gentle heat.
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Cook, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon. Again, we don't want it to boil, just to thicken a little (which you should be able to feel) and when it's done, it will coat the back of the spoon.
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Take it off the heat and allow it to cool thoroughly.
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Once cooled, stir in the cream liqueur.
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Then beat the double cream until it forms soft peaks and fold into the custard/liqueur mixture.
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Pour into a tub in the freezer for 90 minutes/2 hours. We want it soft, but not quite frozen for the next bit!
To add the mince pies:
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When the mixture is beginning to freeze, but still too soft to eat, break up the mince pies and stir them into the ice cream. Big or little chunks, all up to you!
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Put back into the freezer for another 3-5 hours, or overnight.
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Serve scooped into fancy glasses, or spooned into your favourite bowl, with a dusting of cinnamon.
