MEDesque: Everyday Recipes with Mediterranean Roots
By Georgina Hayden
Not Too Tricky
serves 10-12
About the recipe
You might not be surprised to learn that this recipe was one of the most popular when we were testing dishes for the book. Firstly, of course, because it is delicious – it tastes unreal – secondly because everyone got a huge tug of nostalgia, and thirdly because testers became giddy with excitement, trying to figure out what the flavour was. I love herbs used in sweet things. Don’t tell anyone what’s in this, make them guess. It’s much more fun that way.
Recipe From
Ingredients
150g 70 per cent cocoa solids chocolate
Good pinch of sea salt flakes
Pot, or large bunch (about 50g) of basil
300g caster sugar
400ml double cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250g mascarpone
2 tablespoons milk
Method
- Line a 900g loaf tin with clingfilm, leaving some to hang over the sides. Roughly chop 125g of the chocolate and melt in a microwave, or in a heatproof bowl over a small pan of simmering water (make sure the bowl does not touch the water). Keep stirring until just melted, stir in the salt, then set aside for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, pick most of the basil, stalks and all, place in a high-speed blender and blitz with 150g of the sugar, 100ml of the double cream and the vanilla until smooth. Blitz in the mascarpone and milk. Place the remaining double cream in the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a large mixing bowl and electric beaters) with the remaining 150g of sugar, then whip until you have medium-stiff peaks. Fold in the basil mascarpone mixture. Evenly drizzle one-fifth of the molten chocolate into the base of the lined tin, then spoon in one-quarter of the basil cream. Repeat these layers with the remaining chocolate and cream: you should have 4 layers of cream, topped and tailed with chocolate. Cover with the overhanging clingfilm and place in the freezer for at least 6 hours.
- When you are ready to serve, melt the remaining 25g of chocolate, then set aside for 10 minutes as before. Turn out the ice cream on to a serving plate, drizzle with the cooled molten chocolate, scatter with the remaining basil leaves (unless you are keeping the flavour a secret!) and serve.
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