Apple Crumble Ice Cream

My friend Coral and I go scrumping at this time of year, so along with the apples I grow myself, I have an abundance of them. In the village there is an abandoned orchard with row upon row of old trees laden with large apples, sadly this year may be the last time we can bring back masses of the crisp fruit since the orchard is becoming increasingly taken over by the ubiquitous bramble.

I really enjoy making ice cream and have for some time wanted to create a recipe for an apple flavoured one. There is a fair bit of effort in making the two extra components that transform the ice cream into the completed apple crumble dessert, you can always chose not to bother making the candied apple and the crumble but do consider making the ice cream, the rich creaminess belies the fact that there is a large component of apple.

For the ice cream you will need;
600g of double cream
240g of caster sugar
500g of apples, peeled and cored
3 yolks from large eggs
1/2 teaspoon of citric acid
1/4 teaspoon of salt

Begin by dicing the apples. Add the citric acid or use the juice from half a lemon as an alternative. Add 200g of the sugar and cook over a very gentle heat for 15 minutes or so. The sugar will dissolve and the cubes of apple will change from opaque to translucent as the sugar and the heat draws out and drives off the water. Blend the cubes of apple along with all juices in a blender until it becomes a really smooth puree (always be careful blending hot ingredients, they expand and the lid can be forced off)
Make the custard base for the ice cream by whisking the egg yolks along with the 40g of sugar. In a saucepan, heat up the cream to scalding, just below boiling point. Add the cream to the egg and sugar mixture, whisking while you do so. Return the mix to the saucepan and over a very gentle heat, heat the custard until it begins to thicken, Do this slowly in order to avoid heating too much and causing the custard to split. Remove from the heat and whisk in the apple puree and salt. Place in a container and once cooled, leave to chill in the fridge  I usually leave mine overnight before continuing to churn into ice cream. I would suggest you do need an ice cream churning machine to make great textured ice cream, there are inexpensive ones on the market that require you to freeze the unit before churning. If you wish to make ice cream in larger quantities and often then it's worth investing in a machine that freezes while it churns.
Churn the ice cream and transfer it to a polythene container, pop it into the freezer to complete the firming process, ideally 8 hours.

For the crumble you will need;
40g of slightly salted butter
70g of plain flour
50g of sugar
Rub the ingredients together until you have a breadcrumb like mixture. Form into large crumbs by squeezing together a little before baking on a baking tray in a moderate oven 160C for 15 to 20 minutes or until the crumbs take on  a golden colour. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.

For the candied apple you will need;
100g of diced apples
60g of caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon of citric acid

Again bring the ingredients to a slow simmer in a saucepan until the small dice become translucent. Transfer to a baking tray lined with baking parchment and bake in a low oven 100C for 40 to 50 minutes or until the apples have firmed up. Allow to cool and chop up a little before storing in an airtight container.

To serve, simple place a scoop of the ice cream in a dish and sprinkle on some crumble crumbs and a sprinkle of the candied apple.

Notes:
If you chose to make the crumble gluten free, use half GF flour and half ground almonds.
When you store the candied apple, you can add a tablespoon of calvados if you have some.......I dont, sadly!
This is the third flavour in the Cremonezi ice cream series, the first two flavours will be published before too long.