Using an Italian Gelato base and a syrup made from the discarded berries, the end result is a rich flavoursome ice-cream perfect on its own, with marinated fruits or puddings.  I love it served over a chocolate sponge pudding. A favourite of Husbands was when I used the Sloe Armagnac ice cream  as one of the layers in a chocolate ice-cream cake for our Great Gatsby party.

Naturally, serve it with a shot of your home-made Sloe Armagnac or other sloe based liquor. Recipe here.

Years ago we invested in a home ice-cream maker and it gets plenty of use here with our harvested fruits.

I have not tested this recipe for manual ice cream method. Make the ice cream/gelato base and syrup the day before you churn or freeze it. The colder your base, the smoother the result.

Prepare your Gelato base for Sloe Armagnac ice cream – makes 1 quart (1 litre)

Ingredients: US (metric)

2 cups (480 mls) Full cream/whole milk

1 cup (240 mls) heavy cream/double cream

4 large egg yolks

2/3 cup (150g) white sugar

Method:

In a heavy based saucepan, gently heat the combined milk and cream. Stir frequently to avoid a skin forming. Cream mixture will be ready when small bubbles appear around the edges and mixture reaches 170°F (77°C).

Meanwhile, in a heat proof bowl whisk your egg yolks until smooth and creamy. Whisk in the sugar gradually and keep whisking until the mixture is very thick and pale in colour.  I use the whisk ball on my KitchenAid for this process.

Tempering the egg yolks requires a gentle hand.  Whilst whisking continuously, gently and slowly pour the warmed milk mixture a little at a time into your egg and sugar mix.  If you add it too quickly you will curdle the egg yolks.

Return the mixture to your saucepan and over a low heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon.  The ice-cream base is ready when it coats the back of the spoon and reaches a temperature of 185°F (85°C). DO NOT allow mixture to boil – it will curdle.

Pour the mixture  through a fine sieve into a clean bowl to remove any lumps and allow to cool to room temperature.  Stir every now and then to avoid a skin.  Cover and refrigerate until cold (overnight).

You now have your Gelato base. Use it with any liquors or fruit syrups or simply add a split vanilla bean into the milk and cream warming process to produce wonderfully rich vanilla ice cream.

Sloe Armagnac syrup

Ingredients:

The strained berries fresh from your Sloe Armagnac or other sloe based liquor making process

A quantity of white sugar to amend resulting syrup to your taste – approx 1/4 cup (55g) per kilo of berries

Hot water – approx 1/4 cup (60mls) per kilo of berries

Method:

With your berries in a heavy based saucepan, sprinkle half of the suggested white sugar over them and add enough hot water to reach 1 inch (2.5cm) of liquid into the base of your saucepan.

Cover saucepan and gently bring the berries, water and sugar to the boil.  I add a small portion of a cinnamon stick at this stage to infuse more flavour. However, like the Sloe Armagnac recipe variations, you may wish to experiment with other complimentary flavour notes or compliment any variation you have made. 

Once bubbles start to form in the liquid base, reduce heat to bring mix to a slow simmer – you do not want to boil dry. Do not mash berries but stir gently folding them every now and then. You are not looking to produce a jam but simply to steam out remaining flavour of your berries. You need to produce approximately 1/2-3/4 cup (120-180mls) of syrup per quantity of ice-cream base.

After an hour or so, taste the syrup. Add more sugar to taste if syrup is not sweet to taste. Add a little more water if your liquid has reduced to the extent that your berries are at risk of catching on the base of your saucepan.

Once happy you have the volume required, an intense flavour and rich colour, remove from heat and strain through a colander.  Leave to gently strain.

Refrigerate the resulting syrup overnight.

Making your Sloe Armagnac Ice Cream

Follow the instructions for pre-cooling your ice cream maker.  Add your Gelato base and begin churning.

Once your slush texture starts to form, slowly pour in 1/2 cup (120mls) of your cooled Sloe Armagnac berry syrup.

Churn until your gelato reaches a crystal free smooth ice cream.  My ice-cream maker reaches this point after approximately 30 minutes.

Pour your churned ice cream into a sealable freezer proof container.

It will keep at least six months in the freezer.  However, ours has never lasted that long.

Favourite Sloe Armagnac ice cream serving suggestions 

Spoon over warmed chocolate brownie

Pour blueberries macerated a couple of hours in your Sloe liquor over a scoop of this delicious Sloe Armagnac ice cream

Generous scoop alongside a chocolate lava cake

A dessertspoon sized scoop of Slow Armagnac ice cream into small cup with a hot fresh espresso coffee poured over. Accompany with biscotti or almond tuilles.

Review

The process for the syrup above may seem a little loose in detail but much depends on the Sloe based liquor you have made and the resulting flavours the berries have retained.

Regardless – the whole process is relatively fool proof – after all, I have mastered it.

This recipe can be adapted to any store bought liquor.  I also love to make it with 1/4 cup (60mls) “real” Armagnac added to 1/4 cup (60mls) of store bought caramel sauce.  The same base with 1/2 cup (120mls) of Baileys also makes a lovely spicy gelato.

If you do not have an ice cream maker – add it to your Santa list.  You will not regret it.

The recipe for Sloe Armagnac Jelly will be posted soon.

Have fun and let us know how you go.

The post Sloe Armagnac ice cream appeared first on Our French DIY & more.

We purchased this 200 year old stone “maison de maitre”, previously an Armagnac producing property, with the knowledge it was truly a major project.

She was very tired and needing a lot of love, care and upgrading but her full potential was immediately evident to us. However, the scale of the works to be undertake would test our DIY learning curve.

Our rose-coloured glasses were hard to share with friends and family. Their unconscious flinches when shown the property or photos were something we learnt to ignore.

Under her blanket of grey concrete render, early to mid 20th century (moldy) wallpapers and years of being unoccupied, she was a Cinderella waiting to dress up for the ball.

On these pages we will share much of what we learned about searching for and purchasing a house in France, the projects undertaken and where we found the best renovation materials bargains.

Our property is also covered in fruit trees, berry bushes and has a very large potager (vegetable garden). We have had great fun creating recipes for food and drinks from our seasonal produce and will share our recipe success stories with you.

Managing our DIY priorities – the list was long

However, the Notaire who managed the sale process did not possess our level of enthusiasm. This was very evident as he read off the various mandatory reports that French Law requires. His tone was one of “not too late to change your mind”.

We apparently had work orders on the electrics, plumbing and the septic system, pages of warnings about lead paint and asbestos and essential things like boilers etc were all over 25 years old.

She “listed a bit to port” but we were not deterred.  She had thick stone walls, a good roof, various ponds and a large lake. Along with a couple of hectares of gardens, a huge stone barn and south facing outlook, we loved her, wanted her and everything else we would work out as we went along.

“In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can” 

Furthermore, we were total “newbies” to all DIY and renovation skills needed but definitely not short on enthusiasm or motivation.

My old adage of EQ>IQ is a daily mantra here and has kept us going.

Delivering the dream

The main aim (dream) of this renovation was to undertake most of it with our own hands and minds.

We knew that the little French language skills we possessed might create some procurement challenges – and it has. However, we now have oodles of tips to share.

Together Husband and I are now well on our way to living the dream in France and loving it.

Finally, our lovely old house is starting to emerge and much to the surprise of many, exceeding expectations. However, there is still much to do.

DIY tips, ideas and tutorials

We look forward to sharing our know-how and acquired skills. In addition we will include living in France tips, our projects and products, recipes and other fun stuff.

We hope that as a result of the dream we are following, we might inspire someone else to take on similar challenges. Perhaps we could inspire you to a move away from your comfort zone and a whole new life!

Have a great day, breathe and don’t forget to have a dream!

The post Our French reno dream appeared first on Our French DIY & more.