Preparation : 30 min plus refrigeration and cooling time.
Cooking time : 10 min.
4
Strawberries and yogurt ice-cream with chocolate tennis racquets
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4 egg yolks
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55g/2oz caster sugar
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250ml Alpro soya alternative to single cream
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250ml Alpro soya Light alternative to milk
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1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
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1 x 125ml Alpro soya strawberry yogurt
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400g strawberries, chopped
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2 tablespoons caster sugar
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1 tablespoon lemon juice
For the Chocolate tennis racquets
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200g dark chocolate with 70% cacao
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3 tablespoons caster sugar
Combine the yolks and sugar in a large bowl and whisk well to combine. Heat cream, milk and vanilla bean in a small saucepan, over a medium heat until just below boiling point.
Pour the hot cream over the yolk mixture and whisk to combine. Return mixture to the saucepan and cook very gently until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Refrigerate, covered, until completely cold.
Make the strawberry puree by blending the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice until smooth; push through a fine sieve to get rid of the seeds.
When the cream mixture is completely cold, fold in the strawberry yogurt and transfer to an ice-cream machine. Churn according to the manufacturer's directions until thick and frozen. Quickly fold in the strawberry puree to give a swirl and transfer to a freezer proof container. Freeze until firm.
If you do not have an ice-cream machine, then pour the mixture into a shallow plastic container and freeze foe 2 hours until starting to freeze. Beat with an electric mixer or proccess in a food processor until smooth again, re-freeze until almost firm; beat again. Repeat this process 3 times until you have a smooth, thick, ice-cream. Fold in the strawberry puree as with the ice-cream machine. Serve with a chocolate and burnt sugar tennis racquet (see below).
Chocolate tennis racquets
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lay a sheet of aluminium foil over a baking sheet and sprinkle the sugar over the top in a thin, even layer. Cook the sugar for 1 - 2 minutes or until the sugar just melts and turns golden. Remove from the oven and cool.
Break into pieces to form the head of the tennis racquet.
Melt chocolate over a double boiler and place into a small plastic food bag. Lay a sheet of greaseproof paper on the kitchen bench and lay the sugar racquet heads out.
Carefully snip off a tiny corner of the bag with the chocolate inside and use to pipe chocolate tennis racqiets around each piece of sugar. If necessary, stick a few pieces of sugar together by using the chocolate as you make the strings of the tennis racquet.
A delicious, and different dessert idea.