SPEKBOOM ICE CREAM
(Makes about 1 litre)
1/2 cup spekboom leaves, loosely packed 3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
2 eggs, separated
1 × 385g tin (1 1/3 cup) condensed milk
2 cups whipping cream
Set aside 2 Tbsp of the spekboom leaves for garnishing. Blend the rest of the leaves together with the lemon juice and lemon zest into a green slime. Put it in the fridge while you prepare the other ingredients.
Method
• In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, then add the condensed milk and whisk again.
• Whisk the cream until it’s thick. You can whizz it in a blender, but stop before it turns to butter.
Whisk the egg whites until frothy.
Whisk the green slime into the condensed-milk mixture.
Use a flat spatula to gently fold the thick cream and then the frothy egg whites into the pale green mixture.
Freeze for at least eight hours.
Garnish with the 2 Tbsp fresh spekboom leaves.
Tips
• Every plant is different. If it has been nibbled (or picked) a lot, it gets bitter as it makes more tannin to protect itself. Taste a leaf before breaking off a twig of leaves. Pale-green leaves usually taste better than dark green.
If you pick a twig (instead of picking individual leaves), then plant it when you are done. Stick it into damp, drained ground in a sunny spot, and don’t water it for two weeks.
If your cream becomes too solid, use a whisk instead of a spatula to combine it with the green mixture.
Some people (in Calitzdorp) add 2 Tbsp gin to the spekboom mixture, others pour port on to the ice cream. But I like the subtle flavour of the spekboom.
You may be tempted to add a greater quantity of tasty spekboom. Don’t – it turns to glue. The amount in this recipe gives it a lovely, slightly chewy texture. If you don’t have spekboom, you can try other flavours. Increase the amount of lemon juice and zest to make lemon ice cream.
Or stir in 1/2 cup dried fruitcake mix and sprinkle on 3 Tbsp good-quality instant coffee. Or add 1/2 slab (50 g) chopped chocolate and 2 Tbsp brandy. You might get a fright when you taste any of these ice creams – they are verskriklik lekker.