Basil ice cream

Ingredients

25-30g fresh basil leaves and stalks

90g caster sugar

3 medium egg yolks

300ml full cream milk

284ml pot double cream

Raspberries and extra basil leaves, to garnish

Method

1.Put the basil and the sugar into a small food processor and whiz until the basil is finely chopped and the sugar turns bright green.

2.Whisk the egg yolks with the basil-flavoured sugar in a bowl until thick and creamy.

3.Warm the milk then whisk it into the egg mixture. Strain the mixture back into the pan and cook over a low heat, stirring until it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Do not let it boil. Pour into a chilled bowl and leave to cool.

4.When this custard is cold, whip the cream and fold it in. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and follow the instructions. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, freeze the mixture in a shallow tub until half frozen, take it out and stir it well, return it to the freezer until it is solid.

5.Take the container out of the freezer and put into the fridge for 10-15 minutes before serving, to let it soften.

Basil ice-cream is great straight out of the freezer, garnished with some fresh basil leaves or can be spiced up to make an unusual dessert.

Chocolate is a great accompaniment for basil, so why not add some dark chocolate chunks to this ice cream, or serve it with grilled peaches brushed with honey and dusted with cinnamon