Blackberry ice cream.

Last week my mum and I took a walk down through what used to be (many years ago) a grassland, they since built a road on it but the wildlife and plant life is very much still the same. Just divided into two. So we went on a forage as my mum had walked past before and seen that the blackberries had arrived really early this year. Usually they arrive towards the end of August/September time but this year because of our good summer they are here already. So a good half an hour later, few thorns in our hands and scratches on our arms we came away with two big tubs full of the glorious fruit.

I'm going to be honest with you. Up until recently I was a fan on blackberries but only because my mum would always use them in crumbles and I'm not a fan of cooked fruit. So my mission was to find a recipe using blackberries that didn't involve turning them into mush.

Well I failed. Because this recipe does just that. But turning them into ice cream work perfectly and I can't wait to go and get some more and make other delicious (crumble free) blackberry recipes. 

This recipe is perfect for any ability cook because you don't have to have an ice cream maker and even better you can put it in the freezer and forget about it, no laborious stirring every half an hour. It's also egg free so you don't have to worry about curdling your eggs and it doesn't affect the texture at all it's still deliciously creamy. Enough of my talking. Onto the recipe!

Adapted from Ren Behan Blackcurrant no churn ice cream.

You will need:

500g Blackberries

600ml double cream

397g condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

To make the blackberry puree, place the blackberries in a pan with a tablespoon of water. Boil for a minute or two until the fruit has softened a little. 

Take off the heat and blitz in a blender. 

Put the puree through a sieve to get rid of all the pips and nasty bits. This might take a little time but you can always use a wooden spoon to push it through.

Leave the puree to cool in the fridge while you make the rest of the ice cream. 

Pour the double cream and condensed milk into a bowl and add the vanilla extract.

Using an electric whisk, whisk until the mixture becomes the consistency of butter cream. It needs to be thick!

Add the puree to the cream mixture and fold through.

Poor the mixture into a freezable container and leave overnight to set.

Before you want to eat this delicious ice cream you will need to get it out of the freezer for around half an hour to soften.

Enjoy!