The healthier option! Ice cream with no additives or Preservaties

A couple of years ago I bought an ice-cream maker, used it once and then put it in the cupboard with all my other "can't live without" gadgets. This cupboard shelf has quickly turned into my equivalent of a gadget graveyard.

It was a great idea. The thought of making our own ice-cream for treats. A quick and easy dessert at the drop of a hat, well a few twists of the bowl at any rate. Wrong. I found it time consuming, messy and hard work. Not a job I enjoyed. Not even a little task my children were willing to help me with. They (and I) found that it was very difficult to turn the handle as the ice cream started to freeze.

Last summer was the turning point for me. I found it more and more difficult to find ice cream that my youngest child could enjoy. He has a food allergy and we can't take any chances with "may contain traces of". I decided to try making ice cream again. This time I went a bit more high-tech. I bought an ice-cream maker that was electric. We freeze the bowl overnight, then make our custard, or sometimes I cheat and buy a good quality ready made fresh custard. We mush up our berries, it all goes into the ice-cream maker and 20 minutes later we have delicious ice cream, with no additives.

A favourite recipe I have used for a dessert for adults consists of mascarpone cheese, caster sugar and mixed berries. Delicious served with a couple of circles of homemade shortbread.

For special treats my children love to add chunks of meringue, chocolate drops or sometimes marshmallow.

Someone at work mentioned making stilton ice cream, which is seemingly delicious with poached pears. I haven't made this yet, not sure if my palate is up to it, but the trick is not to use too much stilton, you want a hint of the taste, not the taste to over-power you. Obviously this is a trial and error recipe that you adjust to your own taste.

Mixed Berry and Mascarpone Ice-cream

This ice-cream is more of a "grown-up" dessert. I find it best to serve in small quantities, it is very rich, accompanied with a couple of small shortbread circles.

I often freeze berries when they are in abundance in the summer to use with this recipe.

If you don't have superfine sugar then grind some granulated sugar in a clean coffee grinder until fine.

Ingredients

• 375g mixed berries
• 150ml milk
• 250g Mascarpone
• 75g superfine sugar

Instructions

1. Blend the mixed fruit and milk in a food processor until smooth. Sieve the puree until smooth. Set aside. Place the
   mascarpone and sugar into the ice-cream maker and switch on. Slowly add the fruit puree ot the mascarpone mixture.
2. Let the machine run according to your machine's manufacturers instructions.
3. Makes approximately 750ml.