Peach Ice Cream With Raspberry Swirls

A season of renewal and rejuventaion, a season of togetherness, a season of growth, a season for love. That's what comes to mind when I think of summer. It is a time for the sizzling sun to embrace my arms, a time to hear little arms splashing in the pool, a time to feel the flutter of excitement about holidays and a time for indulging in seductive foods.

But my definition of summer keeps fluctuating. Up until my teens, summer signified freedom and a time to discover a new world, the unknown. Me and my sister would spend two months of our summer holidays with my grandparents in London. Everything about London was a stark contrast to home- Dar es Salaam.

We loved the fresh cold air, the quaint houses where you could hear your neighbors brushing their teeth if you listened hard enough, the long walks in the park with dew beneath our feet, the sweet smell of my Grandma's roses, the numerous shopping trips to the city, the joy at feeding the ducks- there are just too many memories to list here.

But my most vivid memories of summer holidays are intertwined with food. I loved losing myself in the supermarket aisles, admiring the luscious berries, the furry peaches. The fresh smell of washing up powder drew me, the rows upon rows upon rows of cereals enthralled me. You see, Dar es Salaam at that time never had supermarkets! I was in heaven. I still am every time I visit this city- Sainsbury's is usually my first pit stop.

London truly was the city of dreams. It is where I learnt to ride a bike, where I bought my first Barbie, where I longed to be a ball girl in Wimbledon, where I ate my first peaches. That baby soft skin, that juicy dribble down my arms, that delight at finding a huge stone in the centre. I still remember. So in keeping with summer, in keeping with  peachy first and in keeping with London- here is a creamy dreamy peach ice cream recipe with a raspberry swirl.

Where is the London connection to the recipe? It's my grandfather's ice cream recipe. He lives in London and apparently made the best ice cream according to my Mum. Then there's also the memories of the musical ice cream van whom I first encountered in London. But I'll leave that for another blog post!

This is my submission for Monthly Mingle this month which I'm hosting. The theme is stone fruits.

Peach Ice Cream With Raspberry Swirl

Ingredients:
6 peaches- cut in half and pitted
1 vanilla pod deseeded
3 tbs sugar
1/2 cup raspberries
1 tbs sugar
250 ml double cream
250 ml full fat milk
250 ml condensed milk

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade (I turned it on the grill function). Combine sugar and vanilla. Arrange the peaches skin side down on a baking tray and sprinkle with the vanilla/ sugar mixture. Grill in the oven for 10 15 minutes or until the top of the peaches appear caramelized. Remove the skin from the peaches as soon as it is cool enough to do so. Puree the peaches and any juices in the baking tray in a blender.

In a separate bowl, combine the raspberries and sugar and set aside for a while. Blend the mixture.

In a separate bowl combine, the cream, milk, condensed milk and peach puree. Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Freeze the ice cream in a baking tray for half an hour. At this stage remove from the freezer. The ice cream should just be starting to set. Spoon the raspberry mixture on top and use a toothpick to make swirls. Freeze the mixture wrapped in clingfim overnight.

A few words of advice that I learnt from my first ice cream making session:

1) The ice cream batter always tastes less sweet after it has set. So make sure the batter is just slightly over sweetened before churning.

2) The higher the double cream content, the creamier the ice cream will be.

3) For a more distinct peach flavor, increase the number of peaches. Using the above recipe, the peach flavour is subtle. You can also consider adding a peach extract for a stronger flavour.