Caxton magazines staffTerri Coyle of boutique eatery JennaVIVA (jennaviva.co.za) suggests welcoming guests with one of her signature ice ice-cold mojito coolers to set the mood for a leisurely lunch
INGREDIENTS
For the strawberry sorbet:
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1½ cups water
- 3½ cups strawberries, hulled, puréed and strained
- 1t fresh lemon juice
- 2T vodka or berry wine
For the vanilla ice cream:
- 4 egg yolks
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 vanilla pod, sliced down the middle
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup cream
For the topping:
- 24 strawberries, washed and halved
- 1 tin granadilla pulp or the pulp of 3 granadillas
- mint sprigs
METHOD
To make the sorbet:
1. In a small saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes until the mixture reduces in volume and thickens to a syrupy consistency.
2. Chill the syrup for at least 30 minutes until it is slightly cool.
3. Combine the syrup, strained strawberries, lemon juice and vodka or wine in a blender and blend until the mixture is smooth.
4. Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions or place it in the freezer, stirring the sorbet every so often until frozen to prevent the mixture from separating.
To make the ice cream:
1. Mix the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl and beat until thick.
2. Place the vanilla pod into a pan of milk and heat gently. Carefully remove the vanilla pod from the milk and scrape the seeds into the milk. Pour the milk into the mixture of egg yolks and sugar whilst stirring to make a custard.
3. Pour the mixture back into the pan and heat gently, stirring until it thickens. Don’t bring it to the boil or it will curdle. When you can see a film forming over the back of your spoon it’s time to remove the saucepan from the heat. Leave it to cool.
4. When the custard is cold, stir in the cream. Transfer the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions or freeze, stirring the ice cream every so often until it’s frozen to prevent the mixture separating.
To serve:
1. Layer the ice cream and sorbet with some of the strawberries in a dessert bowl.
2. Drizzle with the granadilla pulp and top with more strawberries and fresh mint.
This recipe serves 6.
