Christmas Pudding ice cream
By: 
 
A very British Christmas pudding ice cream - with all the right traditional flavours minus the heaviness of the pudding itself ;-)
Ingredients
For the mix-in:
  • 250 gram mincemeat [the British fruit-spice mix one, preferably without any suet!]
  • OR (if you have no mincemeat at hand):
  • 90 gram raisins (preferably equal parts of sultanas, currants and "ordinary" raisins)
  • 60 gram mixed candied fruit peel OR candied orange peel
  • 2 tablespoons of light or dark brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ teaspoon allspice
  • grated zest of 1 orange
  • ⅓ of an apple (grated)
For the soaking of the mincemeat/your fruit-spice mix:
  • 60 ml (1/4 cup) brandy or armagnac or sweet sherry (like Pedro Ximénez)
  • [don't want to use alcohol? - use some sweet apple juice instead!]
For the ice cream base
  • 400 ml (1.7 cup) whole milk
  • 400 ml (1.7 cup) cream
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 80 ml (1/3 cup) sugar
  • pinch of salt
Instructions
In case you don't have any ready-made to use, start by preparing the flavourful "mincemeat":
  1. Chop the raisins and the candied fruit peels finely, add the sugar, the grated apple and the spices.
  2. Pour over and mix with the alcohol of your choice and set aside to soak, at least overnight.
  3. (If you are in a hurry and want to speed up the flavour-fusion a little, you could put your mincemeat in your micro-wave for 30-60 seconds before setting it aside).
The ice cream base
  1. Mix dairy with the egg yolks and the sugar in a sauce pan and whisk well.
  2. Put on the stove and gently bring the mix to the "Nappe stage" (= in the temperature bracket of 82-84º C /180-183º F).
  3. Take the base off the stove, let cool down and preferably chill in your freezer.
  4. Churn the chilled base in your ice cream machine, or still-freeze using your freezer.
  5. Towards the very end of the churning or just after it has finished, mix in the mincemeat and ensure that it is appropriately distributed in the ice cream.
  6. Return the ice cream to the freezer to stabilise at least a couple of hours or more (the ice cream is nice also freshly churned, but those who prefer their ice creams to be firmer should wait a little ;-) )
Recipe by ICE CREAM NATION at https://www.icecreamnation.org/2020/12/christmas-pudding-ice-cream/