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I made Peanut Butter Ice Cream as an accompaniment to my Banana Toffee Steamed Puddings. The idea was to make a winter version of a Banana Split, which is a favourite of the DB. The ice cream was actually quite good on its own, but I also thought it worked well with the pudding.

You will need an ice cream churn to make this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy, so that I had peanut chunks in my ice cream)
¾ cup caster sugar
1 cup milk
1 1/3 cups thickened cream
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

In a electric mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter and sugar until smooth. Add the milk and blend on low speed until smooth and the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the cream and the vanilla just until it’s well mixed.

Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and let it run until it’s as thick as it’s going to get. Mine takes about 50 minutes.

Transfer the mixture into a container and let it set overnight.

I love poached pears and I have been experimenting with them in puddings, but I can’t go past them just as they are with some double cream or ice cream.

Ingredients:

2 cups sparkling wine
3 cups water
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 pears, peeled with stems attached (if you want to get adventurous you can and use a melon baller to core them from underneath)
1 star anise
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoon honey

Method:

In a large saucepan (big enough to hold 4 whole pears) combine the wine, water, cinnamon stick, star anise, vanilla bean and seeds, lemon zest and lemon juice.

Bring the mixture to a simmer over a medium high heat and add the pears. Poach covered for about 30 minutes until they are tender but not mushy.

Using a large slotted spoon, transfer the pears to a serving plate and keep warm.

Sieve the cooking liquid and place 500ml back into the saucepan to make a syrup. Discard the rest. Return the liquid to a simmer, add the sugar and honey and reduce the mixture by 2/3 and coats the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes.

Server the pears drizzled with the syrup and accompanied by double cream or ice cream.

I was looking through Matt moran’s cookbook for his lamb shanks and found this lovely Panna Cotta recipe. Panna Cotta is a favourite in the house, so I just had to give it a try.
I visited the local fruit & veg to see what kind of fruit was in season to accompany the panna cotta and spied off to the side, a full tray of figs. Either; the tray had just been put out or no one else was game enough to give them a try (or probably didn’t know what they were). I was up for the challenge and gently carried one of the little morsels to the cashier to pay.

I had never cooked figs before and only eaten dried figs as part of a cheese platter, so I was keen to give them a go. I will say I wan’t overly impresed with them as part of a sweet dish, but would like to give them a try with feta or goats cheese and procuitto.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

Panna Cotta:
360ml milk
85g castor sugar
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
12g leaf gelatine
360ml yoghurt

Tuile:
40g unsalted butter
50g icing sugar
85g honey
60g plain flour

Figs:
3 figs, halved with stalk removed
6 teaspoons honey
lemon juice

Method:

Panna Cotta:
Heat the milk with the sugar and vanilla bean in a saucepan over a low heat until hot but do not allow it to boil. Take the pan off the heat and allow the vanilla to infuse into the milk for 30 minutes and then remove the vanilla bean. Reheat the milk until hot but do not boil.

Place the gelatine in a bowl of cold wayer and leave to soak for 4 – 5 minutes until soft. remove the gelatine and gently squeeze to remove any excess water.

Remove the milk from the heat and add the gelatine, stirring until it is completely dissolved. Stir in the yoghurt and pour into 6 moulds or serving glasses. Leave to set in the fridge overnight.

Tuile:
Cream the butter and sugar until thick and pale. Mix in the honey, then stir through the flour. Leave the mixture to rest for 1 hour at room temperature. 

Pre-heat oven to 160°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper, then spread the mixture into 6cm x 1mm rounds, or spread a thin 1mm sheet and you can cut shapes while it is still warm from the oven. 

Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until golden. Cut to shape and leave to cool.

Figs:
Cut off the stem at the top of each fig. Cut each fig in half lengthways. Place the figs, cut side up, in a flat oven-proof dish. Place a teaspoon of honey in the cavity in the centre of each fig. Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice on each fig half. Roast for about 15 minutes. The juice from the figs and honey should form a syrup. Allow to cool on the tray.

To serve: Place the fig halves in the centre of the panna cotta, add a tuile biscuit and enjoy!