Published: 26 March 2020
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Dried Fruit and Cinnamon Ice Cream
Ronnie Fein
Ronnie read about Ben & Jerry’s charoset-flavoured ice cream with the sweet, nutty flavours of the essential Passover shmear. It sounded delicious, but sadly was only available in Israel. It wasn’t exactly convenient to go and pick up a tub, so Ronnie came up with her own version. And we’re thanking her for it – it’s now going to be on all of our menus every year, and not just at Pesach time.
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
45 g (¼ cup, lightly packed/2 oz) brown sugar
1 granny smith apple, peeled
and chopped
3 medjool dates, pitted and
finely chopped
2 dried figs, finely chopped
2 tablespoons sultanas (golden raisins)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
60 ml (¼ cup/2 fl oz) sweet Passover wine or port
750 ml (3 cups/25 fl oz) thickened (whipping) cream
115 g (½ cup/4 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
3 egg yolks
⅛ teaspoon salt
50 g (⅓ cup/1¾ oz) roasted almonds, chopped
Heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, add the brown sugar and mix it in. Add the apple and toss for a minute. Add the dates, figs and sultanas and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute, until the fruit is well coated.
Add the cinnamon and wine. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Remove from the heat and mash the fruit slightly. Set aside.
While the fruit is cooking, place 500 ml (2 cups) of the cream in a medium heavy-based saucepan over medium heat and cook until bubbles appear around the edges. Using an electric mixer, beat the caster sugar in a bowl with the egg yolks and the salt for a few minutes until pale and thick. Gradually pour in the heated cream and beat together thoroughly. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 8 minutes or until it forms a thin custard. You should be able to lift the spoon from the saucepan and run your finger along the back, leaving a clear trail (so the custard ‘coats the back of a spoon’).
Pour in the remaining cream and stir to combine, followed by the fruit mixture. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 2 hours or until cold. Churn the mixture in an ice-cream maker, according to the manufacturer’s directions. When the mixture is the consistency of soft ice cream, add the almonds and continue to churn until it is ready. Place in the freezer until ready to serve.
If you don’t have an ice-cream maker, place the mixture in the freezer and cover with plastic wrap. Stir from time to time during the first few hours of freezing starting from when it first starts to freeze around the edges. It will still be good, just not as creamy.
Serves about 8
Recipes extracted from Now for Something Sweet by Monday Morning Cooking Club (HarperCollins Australia) RRP $49.99, out now.
