Christmas Cake Ice Cream

So confession time - I really don’t like fruit cake, or Christmas cake, or Christmas pudding or whatever else you like to call it.  So when my friend told me she was making Christmas Cake Ice Cream I was pretty sure that I was not going to be a fan.  Boy was I wrong! 

You know how people say something ‘tastes like Christmas’? This actually does!  OK, maybe it’s only me that says that things taste like Christmas (mulled wine, gingerbread biscuits, anything involving honey and cinnamon).  This is a great option to serve up around this time of year since it cools you down and gets you a little tipsy – brilliant!

As with most recipes like this it is really up to you what you add in or take out.  So long as the consistency still feels right – go for it.  Another cute idea my mum told me about would be to leave out the fruit and booze altogether and make a kid’s version with Smarties, snakes and thinly sliced Mars Bar.   In her words ‘you would have turned yourself inside out to have some of that when you were little’.  It’s true, I was nuts about sweets.

So you want to make this the day before you serve it so that there is plenty of time for it to re-freeze.  Take it out of the freezer about 15 mins before you want to serve it so that it has time to thaw a little, making it easier to scoop out of the container. 

As with anything, buy the best ingredients you can afford.  Cheap chocolate still tastes like cheap chocolate when frozen

Ingredients

2L vanilla ice cream

200g sultanas

125g pitted prunes

125g glace cherries                                   

60g mixed peel

125 mls rum                                   

160g almonds

100g block of dark chocolate, broken up into small pieces                 

300ml cream

Directions

Leave the ice cream out on the bench to get really soft while you prepare the other ingredients.

Try to cut up the chocolate and fruits so they are all roughly the same size

Place all of the fruits into a saucepan on medium heat, and add rum. 

Heat gently for a few minutes so that the fruit begins to soak up the alcohol

Set aside to cool down a bit

Stir the cream into the ice cream, then add everything else and place into a plastic container (you could even use the ice cream container if it will all fit).

Freeze overnight. 

This ice cream is delicious on its own, or served alongside your favourite Christmas dessert such as cheesecake, mince pies or brownies.

Merry Christmas!