EASY VANILLA ICE CREAM
This simple take on a classic recipe can be flavoured in various ways. Its slow-melting quality makes it ideal in bombes, ice-cream cakes and sundaes

Serves 4-6/
Makes 1.75 litres
2 tbsp or 1 and a half sachets granulated gelatine
500ml full-fat milk
125g caster sugar
Quarter tsp salt
2 vanilla pods, slit lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved (or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
500 ml whipping cream

Sprinkle the gelatine on to 4 tablespoons of cold water in a bowl and leave for 10 minutes to swell or hydrate. In a saucepan, heat the milk to near-boiling; add the sugar, salt and vanilla seeds, if using, and whisk hard. Add the hydrated gelatine and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat. Cool over iced water until completely cold (about 12 minutes), then stir in the vanilla extract, if using, and the cream (unwhipped). Churn, using an already chilled electric ice-cream maker, for 25 minutes or until creamy, then transfer to a freezer-proof, lidded container and freeze. If you don't have an ice-cream maker, transfer the mixture to a freezer-proof, lidded container and freeze for 2 hours. Then, using an electric whisk, beat the semi-frozen mixture, while still in its container, for several minutes. Smooth the surface, cover and re-freeze for 2 hours more, then repeat this process. Before serving, leave to “condition” in the refrigerator or a cool place for 10 minutes.

ALTERNATIVE FLAVOURS USING THE EASY VANILLA METHOD

Chocolate
Melt 200g dark, plain chocolate in 200ml milk over boiling water. Cool to nearly cold and fold into the basic mix before churning. Before freezing, stir in 50g of chocolate fragments.

Raspberry
Liquidise 500g fresh raspberries with 100g icing sugar, sieve, then fold into the basic mix before churning.

Pistachio
Liquidise 350g blanched, skinned pistachios with 100ml of the unfrozen ice cream mix. Add a quarter tsp vanilla or almond extract, if liked, and ¾ teaspoon green food colouring. Fold into the basic ice cream mix before churning.

Caramel
Stir in 8 tablespoons caramelo liquido (Spanish caramel syrup, available from Spanish, ethnic and specialist food stores) to the mix before churning.

MANGO SORBET
Whenever ripe mangoes, especially of the Alphonso variety, are available in Indian or ethnic markets, buy extra so that you can use some to create this luscious yellow sorbet

Serves 6/makes 1.25 litres
1.5kg fresh, ripe mangoes, skinned and pitted (to yield about 500-600g flesh)
Juice of 2 fresh limes
350ml caster sugar
2 large egg whites,
fork-whisked

Put the mango flesh into a blender with the lime juice and blitz for 30 seconds. In a saucepan, heat the sugar in 350ml boiling water over a high heat, until all the sugar has dissolved. Cool the syrup over iced water until cold, then add to the blender, blitzing again until smooth for around 1-2 minutes. Pour the sorbet into a pre-chilled electric ice-cream maker and churn for 10 minutes, then pour in the fork-whisked egg whites. Continue to churn for a further 20 minutes or until firm, dense and silky-textured. Scoop into a freezer-proof container and freeze for at least 2 hours.

ALTERNATIVE FLAVOURS USING THE MANGO SORBET METHOD

Blackcurrant Sorbet
Substitute the mango purée and lime juice with 650g bottled or canned blackcurrants in heavy syrup. Strain the berries (you need 475g drained weight). Purée, then sieve the fruits and stir 8 tablespoons of the blackcurrant syrup into the sorbet syrup.

Elderflower Sorbet
Soak 8 fresh, elderflower heads in 400 ml cool water overnight, adding 1 lemon sliced. Strain, discarding the flowers and lemon. Hard-boil the liquid to reduce to 200ml. Cool over ice. Stir in 350 ml of elderflower cordial and follow the mango recipe, omitting the mango and lemon, but adding the sugar syrup.

RECIPES CLARE FERGUSON
STYLING SALLY DENNING
PHOTOGRAPHS SIMON BROWN