Back in the dark ages when I lived in The Bay, I wrote a post about ice cream I’d made from Kevin and Amanda’s fabulous recipe. The magic is, it doesn’t need a machine to produce a wonderfully creamy and decadent dessert. Which was why, when Duke D. Nile proudly presented me with an ice-cream maker (amoungst other odd mechanical gifts in a torn white plastic packet – sans card)) for my birthday, I was somewhat floored.

Needless to say, it’s still in its box, hidden away in a cupboard with the car speakers (another wonderfully thoughtful and romantic birthday gesture – yes, that is sarcasm you see dripping from your screen) and I’m still making ice-cream the way my gran did in the old days.

And, after recently getting into the whole green smoothie superfoods thang, I bought a massive bag of lemons which prompted me to make a tart little dessert last weekend. It’s a winner. Here’s the secret:

Scar*let’s Nice-Ice Lemon Meringue

Ingredients

400ml whipping cream

1 x can condensed milk

5 lemons

BIG chunk of ginger

some spearmint and regular mint leaves

5 x cinnamon/tennis biscuits

Method

1. Grate the zest of 2 lemons and then squeeze all 5 into a container. Use a sieve to strain the seeds. You could use limes for a twist and even add a tot or two of whisky if you feel like a ‘festive’ zing.
2. Peel and grate the ginger. Throw in mint leaves and a bit of lemon juice and blend until smooth. Mix in all the lemon. juice
3. Empty the condensed milk into a bowl and slowly the lemon, ginger, mint concoction.
4. In a separate bowl, whip cream until thick enough to form standing peaks (use an electric blender)
5. Crush biscuits and stir into juice-condensed milk mix.
6. Gently fold the whipped cream into the mixture, decant into a sealable container and freeze. Voilà!

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