Under the Blue Gum tree

The theme for this month’s Bloggers Scream For Ice Cream Challenge hosted by Kavey Eats is a nice easy one; to make an ice-cream containing booze.

Having a few plump medjool dates leftover from my sticky toffee rum cake, I recalled a recipe for an orange and date ice-cream from Masterchef Australia contestant Callum Hann. I adapted Callum’s recipe to fulfill the booze criteria by soaking the dates in Cointreau first before adding them to the ice-cream.

I do like cooking with Cointreau as I find it quite a delicate liquor that imparts a lovely citrus flavour without too much raw alcohol. By soaking the dates in the liquor, it keeps them lovely and soft and stops them from freezing too hard.

This is a beautifully creamy ice-cream and it is wickedly delicious as an accompaniment to anything chocolatey. I served it alongside a slice of Eric Lanlard’s West Indies Chocolate Tart and it was a match made in heaven.

Cointreau and Date Ice-Cream (adapted from Masterchef Australia The Cookbook: Volume Two)

• 25g pitted dates, diced
• 4 tbsp Cointreau
• 6 egg yolks
• 75g caster sugar
• 300ml whipping cream
• 250ml full fat milk
• zest of 2 oranges

1.  Put the dates in a small bowl or ramekin and cover with the Cointreau. Microwave for 1 minute and set aside for a couple of hours or overnight.

2.  Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until thick and creamy. Bring the cream, milk and orange zest to the boil and pour over the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour back into the saucepan and whisk over a low heat until the custard has thickened. Chill.

3.  Churn the custard in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions and once soft-set, fold through the dates. Continue churning till firm.