We're on Frome FM again tomorrow when, amongst other things, you'll hear us talking with our local gelato expert about how she makes her festive favourite gelato - mince pie and brandy cream.
As she says, it really is yummy! So much so that we bought a tub to bring home and sample. And as we type this we're still sampling it. Even on a Saturday morning...........
Here's what you need to make the gelato base mix:
700ml of full fat milk
25ml of double cream
50g dextrose
25g granulated sugar
1tsp guar gum
And this is what you need for the mince pie and brandy cream:
250g mince pies - homemade or shop bought
Enough brandy to soak them in overnight
Method:
Crumble your mince pies into a large bowl
Cover them with brandy and leave overnight
Heat the milk in a saucepan to 45 degrees. Add the sugar, guar gum and double cream. Heat to 65 degrees or until the sugar has dissolved
Leave to cool and then refrigerate overnight
Take out of the fridge and stir the mixture well
Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and set it to work
If you don't have one then pour the mixture into a freezer proof container and put it into the freezer. Remove it every 15 minutes and stir until it starts to set
Pour some of the gelato mixture into another freezer proof container. Then add some of the mince pie and brandy cream and swirl it into the gelato
Add another layer of gelato mixture, swirl in some more mince pie and brandy cream and continue until everything has been used
Return it to the freezer to allow it to freeze completely
And then to serve.............
Take the gelato from the freezer and let it warm slightly in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Then serve a generous scoop or maybe two, with either some Christmas Pudding, a mince pie or simply on it's own.
We're going to give it a go very shortly. Whether it'll be up to Rachel's exacting standards we'll have to see!