Michelle Darmody: How to make leftover pudding or cake ice cream

The recipe makes about 900ml of ice cream.

It is likely that no one feels like baking today. I have included a recipe that can be pulled out any day over the holidays, particularly if you notice you have an abundance of plum pudding or Christmas cake.

You can go the really easy route here, which probably needs no recipe from me — crumble your cake or pudding, add a dash of brandy and stir it through some semi-soft vanilla ice cream.

You do not have to mix too vigorously as it is nice to have batches with plain vanilla and patches with boozy, fruit-filled cake.

Firm the mixture up in the freezer for a little while, then serve.

I have included a version here that is a little more complicated. It involves making your own vanilla ice cream base and adding the cake or pudding pieces to this when still soft.

This recipe is not a custard-based ice cream, it is a simpler recipe which does not need stirring or mixing as it freezes.

Condensed milk has a distinctive taste that does permeate the ice cream somewhat, but the ratio of cream softens the flavour and the brandy and rich cake take over.

You can use the extra condensed milk from the can to make really nice coffees. Add a few spoons to the base of an espresso cup and pour a strong espresso over it.

This is a take on popular iced coffees served in Vietnam, which are absolutely delicious.

If you do not feel like making ice cream but have lots of leftover plum pudding or Christmas cake, not to worry; both will keep a long time so there is no rush.

If people’s bellies are full for the moment, they can be put away for a month or so.

It would be a nice treat on a cold January evening to fry a slice of plum pudding in some butter and brandy and serve with whipped cream and stewed apple.

Leftover Pudding or Cake Ice Cream

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

It will last for a few months in the freezer, but is best eaten within the first month as it will start to become icier with age.

Servings

10

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 6 hours 0 mins

Total Time

 6 hours 15 mins

Course

 Dessert

Ingredients

• 200g tin of condensed milk

• 600ml cream

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1 tbs brandy

• zest 1 orange

• 150g leftover plum pudding or Christmas cake, crumbled

Method

1. Whisk the condensed milk, cream, vanilla, brandy and zest until stiff.

2. Fold the broken plum pudding orChristmas cake into the mixture.

3. Scoop it into a freezer-proof dish, cover the dish and place into your freezer.

4. Freeze for about six hours until firm.

5. Remove from the freezer about 15minutes before serving.

Baker's tips

The recipe makes about 900ml of ice cream.

Whisk the ingredients until thick and quite stiff. You can add a little cream into the condensed milk to loosen it and make it easier to combine with the rest of the cream.

The ice cream can be left to freeze overnight or longer if you wish. It will last for a few months in the freezer, but is best eaten within the first month as it will start to become icier with age.

You do not need an ice cream maker, nor do you have to take this ice cream out of the freezer and whip it numerous times as it freezes. The relatively low water content of the condensed milk has the benefit of giving the ice cream a smooth, velvety consistency and allows for it to freeze without mixing.

The addition of the brandy also helps with the scoop-ability of the ice cream, as alcohol has a low freezing point. If you do not have brandy to hand, you can use whiskey or rum.

Evaporated milk is an unsweetened version of condensed milk. It does not work so well in this recipe as the sugar is not just for flavour, it also prevents crystallisation in the freezer.

You can add a few spoons of cocoa powder to change the ice cream quite radically and make a nice chocolate version.

Three delicious variations

Stem ginger

To make a spicy version, add 50g of stem ginger, chopped, and 2 teaspoons of the stem ginger syrup.

Add the syrup when you are adding the zest, brandy, and vanilla and then stir the small pieces of chopped ginger through the mixture before scooping it into the freezer-proof dish.

You can make this version with or without the pudding and cake.

Raspberry ripple

Stir in 150g of fresh raspberries before freezing. If the raspberries are very firm and are not likely to break up, you can roughly chop them before stirring them in.

Stracciatella

Roughly grate 180g of chocolate for this version. I use dark chocolate, one which has 70% cocoa solids.

The ice cream is quite sweet, so a dark, bitter chocolate works best with it.

Fold the chocolate in after you have whipped the other ingredients.