Carrot Ice-Cream

The last time I made ice-cream at home was in my University years.  I had come back from visiting my best friend Leah in America.  I was inspired after having  a Lavender ice-cream in Berkeley somewhere, I knew I had to have a go at making some back at home, which at the time was Scotland. 

The lavender ice-cream was made by purely by hand, no help with the churning of an ice-cream maker.  It was gorgeously scented and flavoured, but I did not make another again.  I made plenty of sorbets from scratch at home: Rhubarb Sorbet, Strawberry Sorbet, and even a Rosemary and Lemon Sorbet, but no ice-cream. To encourage myself to start making ice-cream again, I eventually even treated myself to an ice cream maker, but later discovered I just did not have the freezer space for the insulated bowl that had to be left in the freezer overnight before churning could begin.  So it remained in the box for many years, until this weekend.  And what a wonderful sun-shining weekend it is here in Wales.  We ever took a drive to the Wetland Centre, but more about that later.  Today is about this beautifully saffron coloured 'Carrot Ice-cream'.

Other than the amazing colour, what I love about this recipe too is that is it contains no eggs.  The flavour would wonderfully sweet and it tastes like a sublime carrot dessert.  D really likes it, in fact he has had four scoops already.  He got one of my nephews to try it, he didn't seem so keen on it - Kids huh! 

This Carrot Ice-cream can be made even more luxurious with maple syrup in place of the honey and the cinnamon for another spice, perhaps nutmeg, saffron if your blessed or chilli, if you dare.  Had I thought about it in advance I would have thrown in a handful of raisins too, just to give it that Carrot Cake Ice-cream feeling.    I am linking this to March Simple and in Season, a monthly event hosted by Ren Behan at Fabulicious Food and Fight Back Friday hosted by Real Food Renegade.

Carrot Ice-Cream
Makes about 2½ pints
Ingredients
850g carrots, grated
250ml milk
160ml honey or maple syrup
250ml double cream
1 teaspoon cinnamon (or other spice - see options above)
1½ tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
Method
Combine the carrots, milk, honey and cinnamon in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat. Cover and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
Put the carrots, the cooking liquid and the double cream in a blender - You may need to do this in batches. Puree until very smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Stir in the orange juice. Chill for 2 hours, or until completely cold.

Churn the carrot mixture in an ice-cram maker, according to the manufacturers instructions for about 20 - 25 minutes.  Transfer to a container and store in the freezer.