Mandarin Syrup And Blackberry No-Churn Ice Cream

A bit more about the online cookbook club I am part of - we have a monthly book, and a book that we can dip into for the entire calendar year.  This year's book is The Food Saver's A-Z, which provides an alphabetical look at various items you may have lurking in your fridge and pantry that desperately need using up, pronto!

Ironically, I didn't have any mandarins just hanging to make this syrup, so I bought a bottle of 100% mandarin juice.  This is very easy to make, and is very delicious.  Mr P. was a big fan (he loves my citrus cordials), and has been drinking it on the regular.  

ready to add to sparkling water, etc

And speaking of spiders (see above) ... I can only speak about Aussie ones of course, but they like to jump on and at you!  And they are big, my friends.  One day we were downstairs in Mr P.'s office, and we heard a loud tapping noise.  We headed into the kitchenette, only to discover a very large Huntsman running across the bench (in tap shoes, it seemed).  

And did I ever tell you about getting up one morning, and after a bit thinking - 'Gee, I need a haircut', brushing my ear and finding a massive spider falling on my shoulder?!!  Who knows how long it had been sitting on top of my head!  They are hairy beasts, let me tell you :=)  But let's get to the recipe.   

Makes 1 smallish bottle (c.150 mL):

ingredients:

the syrup:

250 mL (1 cup) pure mandarin juice

110g./4 oz caster or white sugar

a few slices of fresh ginger, 1 cinnamon quill (stick) and 2 cloves (optional)

My version of a fruity 'instant' ice cream:

The ice cream:

500g./18 oz frozen blackberries (or your fave fruit), mostly thawed

170g./6 oz condensed milk

2-3 Tbs spiced rum (or your fave tipple)

1-2 tsp vanilla paste or extract

250g./9 oz mascarpone

Method:

The syrup:

Heat the juice and sugar together (in a small saucepan) on a low temp., till sugar is dissolved

Add the spices now if using, and simmer for 10 or so minutes till a wee bit thickened   see Notes

Let it sit for 5-10 minutes to cool, then pour into a very clean bottle, and allow to cool completely

And into the fridge it goes, for up to 2 months

Serve with sparkling water or wine, or with this fruity ice cream

The ice cream:

Into your food processor go the fruit, condensed milk, rum and vanilla

Give 'em a few pulses till mixed but not necessarily smooth (I like some lumpy pieces of fruit), then add the mascarpone and give it a very quick blitz 

Pour/spoon into a freezer-proof container, and whack into the freezer for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight   see Notes

The next day, spoon into a dessert bowl, and pour some of that delicious, citrus-y syrup over the top

Notes:

You can thaw the fruit completely, then mix everything together in a large bowl if you prefer your ice cream a bit chunkier

I forgot to do it, but I normally line the tin with freezer film, leaving an overhang which you can fold over the top of the ice cream mixture to keep it protected while it freezes

I doubled this recipe (but not the cloves) and ended up with 300 mL of syrup

It took about 30 minutes to reduce down when I made the doubled recipe

ingredients gathered

dissolve the sugar, and simmer for 10 mins.

till it thickens slightly

bottle your syrup when cool

stir the mascarpone thru the fruity mixture

and pour into your freezer-proof container

pour on the syrup

c. Sherry M.