Ice-Cream Sunday

Ice-Cream Sunday 2: Bitter Orange & Blueberry Tart with Cheesecake Ice-Cream

12/30/2006 12:46:00 PM
















When I decided to start making a whole bunch of ice-creams over summer, Nigella's cheesecake ice-cream was right at the top of my list. I love cheesecake, I love all sorts of cream cheese or mascarpone-based desserts, and I've always loved cheesecake flavoured ice-cream - but only when it actually tastes of cream-cheese. Häagen-Dazs' Strawberry "Cheesecake", for instance, doesn't taste like cheesecake, but seems to be just ordinary ice-cream with biscuit pieces folded through. Disappointment!

But back to the ice-cream at hand. In the introduction to her cheesecake ice-cream, Nigella writes that she once had cheesecake ice-cream served with a mini blueberry pie in Los Angeles. It sounded like a good combination to me! I had a family dinner on Friday night for which I needed to make a dessert, so I decided to try it out.

The cheesecake ice-cream is from Forever Summer, and I paired it with a bitter orange and blueberry tart from How to be a Domestic Goddess. I had a whole lot of blueberries in the freezer - they were cheap at Aldi last week, so I stocked up - and some Seville oranges from last year, so it was quite convenient.

The tart is a sweet pastry case, blind baked, and then filled with a creamy, eggy mixture that is flavoured with Seville orange juice and zest, and topped with blueberries which are then glazed. Sweet pastry is always hard to deal with, but I found that by keeping all the ingredients and work surfaces cold, and using a lot of flour to roll it out, the pastry didn't fall apart. Phew! After rolling out and filling the tart, I had quite a bit of pastry and filling left over, so I made a couple of mini tarts in muffin tins. You bake the filled tart(s) until firm...















... and let it cool before piling the blueberries on top.

The cheesecake ice-cream is a lot simpler than the tart. It's simply a matter of whisking up some caster sugar with cream cheese, vanilla and an egg, then adding hot milk and cooking the whole lot on a low heat until thickened. Once this has cooled down, you add lemon juice (I used Seville orange juice because I still had some) and a small carton of whipped double cream. Then it can be churned!















Mmm... check out that texture. I was actually running a bit late, and only managed to get the ice-cream into the freezer about 3 hours before we were supposed to eat it. This, however, was a really good thing, as the ice-cream was at perfect scooping texture straight out of the freezer. Usually, homemade ice-cream is rock hard because none of us can bear waiting for it to soften before hoeing into it.















Mmm... check it out! The pie was great - the bitter orange and blueberries make a lovely combination. Well done Nigella! And it wasn't too sweet or rich - a very good thing, as we'd had a massive Japanese feast for dinner, and didn't want a huge dessert. The pastry turned out quite flaky too. Delicious! However, whilst the pie was great, the ice-cream was just amazing! It had a pronounced cheesecake taste, and the smoothest, loveliest texture! Absolutely gorgeous. It's the type of ice-cream you could imagine eating a whole tub of whilst watching a DVD on a quiet night in.

I wasn't sure if the easy-scoop texture of the ice-cream was just because it had only been frozen for a short while, but the next day I had another scoop for afternoon tea, and it was just as smooth and gorgeous. It's a brilliant recipe, and I'm looking forward to making it again.































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5 comments

  1. Hi Sarah...have just discovered yr blog and am blown away by yr knowledge/sophistication at such a tender age...wonderful reading too. I seem to have all the same cookbooks as you so can't wait to try some of the recipes you've made and I've not. I should point out that it is I that Nigel Slater is going to marry not you - you're far too young for him!
    Judi
    ps My ice cream maker has died - what brand is yours?

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  2. Hi Judi!

    Thanks for that! My ice-cream maker is a Breville Scoop Factory that my dad bought a few years ago. It's not a big hardcore one, but it does the job :)

    xox Sarah

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  3. Hi, I know it was a long time ago that you made this tart, but I am about to cook it. I am a bit confused about the recipe as it doesn't say to beat the egg mixture before you pour it into the pastry case. I am thinking it might turn out like sweet scrambled eggs. Did you beat the eggs first? You can find me at http://domesticannie.blogspot.com or knitannie@gmail.com. I appreciate the help.

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  4. Anonymous11:56 PM

    Hi Sarah,
    I just bought used Breville scoop factory ice cream maker but it doesnt come with manual instruction as well as the recipe. Could you please share with me on how to make this gadget work? Thank so much.

    Han.

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  5. Knitannie - Obviously you beat the eggs to make a smooth amalgamated mixture before pouring it into the pastry case.

    Han - I'd suggest contacting the manufacturer or the shop you bought it from if the instructions are missing. The machine should come with instuctions and recipes.

    xox Sarah

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