COFFEE ICE CREAM WITH CHOCOLATE STRACCIATELLA

Stracciatella refers to the melt-on-your-tongue, flake-thin ribbons of chocolate that marble this ice cream. Use a good-quality chocolate – you will taste the difference.

Recipe: Sarah Tennant Makes: About 11⁄2 litres

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1 1⁄2 cups milk

1 1⁄2 cups cream

2 tbsp freshly ground coffee beans

2⁄3 cup raw sugar

Pinch of salt

5 egg yolks

2 tbsp coffee liqueur (Tia Maria is good)

100g milk or dark chocolate

Combine the milk, 1⁄2 cup of the cream and the coffee beans in a medium saucepan.

Heat gently until hot but not simmering, then turn off the heat, put the lid on and leave the mixture to steep for an hour.

Pass the coffee milk through a sieve into a jug (if the grind was fine you might need to line the sieve with cheesecloth or a tea towel). Rinse out the saucepan and return the coffee mixture to it. Add sugar and salt, and heat until dissolved and hot.

Lightly whisk the egg yolks in a heatproof jug, then slowly pour the hot coffee mixture over the yolks, whisking to prevent curdling. Pour back into the saucepan and stir over medium heat until thickened. Pour through a sieve back into the jug, add the remaining 1 cup of cream and the coffee liqueur. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly before churning in an ice cream maker.

When the ice cream is nearly churned, break the chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30-second bursts, stirring in between, until melted.

Cool for a minute, then slowly drizzle the chocolate off the end of a spoon into the churning ice cream so it forms ribbons.

Scrape into a chilled metal or ceramic container, cover, and freeze until firm.

Serve with chocolate sauce if desired.