Boozy Fruit Mince Pie Ice-Cream

I love making ice cream – aside from having to prep things a day or two in advance, it’s something I can make with relatively little effort and not have to rush around cooking at the last minute. My little home ice-cream maker came with a recipe book but I mainly start with the simple (eggless) vanilla ice-cream recipe and adapt from there – I’ve tried the proper custard style and it somehow never turns out as nice!

When looking for fruit mince pie ice-cream recipes, most of them suggested buying vanilla ice-cream, buying fruit mince pies, and then putting them together. Unsatisfied with that approach, I went for a spiced ice-cream base with brandy soaked dried fruit and shortbread cookies (instead of short crust pastry) crumbled through. The result is a bit like a brandy version of traditional Rum Raisin ice-cream with extra cookie crunch and seasonal spice. I may have overdone the brandy (hence ‘boozy’ in the title), but you could always omit for an alcohol-free version.

I haven’t tried making ice-cream without the machine in a long time, but alcohol, sugar, fat content and frequent stirring can help produce a smooth ice-cream without large ice crystals if you don’t have one to use.

Fruit Mince Pie Ice-Cream recipe

I’m not the most disciplined cook so this isn’t a proper recipe, no quantities here – just eyeball it and adjust to your taste.

You’ll need

• An ice-cream maker
• Mixed dried fruit
• Brandy
• Vanilla ice-cream ingredients (recipe here)
• Mixed spice
• Cinnamon
• Shortbread cookies (recipe here)

Method

1. Soak some mixed dried fruit in brandy overnight.
2. Take a standard vanilla ice cream recipe, reduce the sugar and add in some mixed spice and cinnamon, chill overnight.

1. Bake or buy some shortbread cookies – you’ll end up with too many to put in the ice cream, but extra cookies is never a bad thing.
2. Churn the ice cream and brandy-soaked fruit according to your ice-cream maker’s instructions, then crumble and stir through pieces of shortbread.
3. Freeze for another hour or two to firm up, and remove from the freezer five minutes or so before serving.