Scoop up Rachel Allen’s no-churn ice cream recipes, from zingy lemon to Ballymaloe’s classic vanilla

Yippee: it’s finally warming up and time for ice cream! If you want to whip up a batch of something cool and refreshing but don’t have an ice cream machine then here are some delicious recipes that can be made and just popped straight in the freezer.

An ice cream machine, or sorbetiere, has a paddle going round and round while the mixture inside freezes. The continuous circling of the paddle breaks up any ice crystals in a high moisture content liquid, leaving you with a smooth and silky gelato. These recipes don’t require an ice cream machine, making them really handy — and very delicious — for this time of year.

The raspberry and pineapple ice cream, below, is super speedy to make using just frozen fruit, condensed milk and a small pinch of salt, so egg-free. It’s made with raspberries and chunks of frozen pineapple that you can buy ready prepared, or just chop up your own and store in the freezer.

Raspberry and pineapple ice cream

Serves 6-8

You will need:

• 350g frozen raspberries
• 250g frozen pineapple chunks
• 1 tin of condensed milk
• A pinch of salt

1 Place a bowl for storing the ice cream in the freezer.

2 Take the raspberries out of the freezer and place them in a food processor. Blend them until you have a smooth puree then push the seedy mixture through a sieve, making sure to scrape all the precious puree from the bottom of the sieve. Discard the seeds and quickly rinse out the food processor with cold water.

3 Place the raspberry puree back in the food processor. Take the pineapple chunks out of the freezer and add into the raspberry puree with the condensed milk and salt.

4Blend well until you have a thick and smooth puree which should taste delicious. Add a small squeeze of lime or lemon juice if you think it needs it but it might not.

5 While the mixture is still very chilled, place it in the frozen bowl and smooth over the top. Cover and freeze until you’re ready to serve the ice cream.

Top tip: Frozen mango chunks also work really well in place of pineapple in the raspberry and pineapple ice cream if you wish.

Strawberry ice cream

I love this strawberry ice cream. Made from a marshmallowy base with cream and strawberries swirled through, it is light, fruity and just perfect for a warm summer’s day. Make sure to cook the syrup until the last couple of drops that fall from a spoon dipped into the pan are a thread-like consistency, for the best result. Replace half or all of the strawberries with raspberries for a lovely variation.

Serves 6

You will need:

• 125g fresh or frozen strawberries
• Juice of half a lemon
• 150ml cream
• 125g caster or granulated sugar
• 100ml water
• 2 large egg whites

1 Place a bowl for the ice cream in the freezer.

2 Puree the strawberries with the lemon juice in a liquidiser or food processor (you could also mash them well with a fork on a plate). Push the puree through a sieve into a bowl to remove the seeds, ensuring you scrape every bit of puree from the bottom of the sieve. Discard the seeds.

3 Place the cream in a bowl and whisk until the mixture holds soft peaks, and set aside.

4 Using an electric whisk, whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff, and set aside.

5 Now place the sugar and the water in a saucepan and heat, slowly stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil over a high heat, uncovered, for approximately 3-4 minutes, until it thickens and when you dip a spoon into it the last drops falling off the spoon form a kind of thread.

6 Start whisking the egg whites again and gradually pour in the boiling hot syrup in a thin stream, continuing to whisk until the mixture is cool, glossy and stiff — about 4 or 5 minutes.

7 Fold in the strawberry puree and the whipped cream, though not completely — I quite like to leave this slightly marbled.

8 Pour into the frozen bowl and freeze for 4 or 5 hours, or better still, overnight.

Quick lemon ice cream

Another egg-free recipe is this quick lemon ice cream, which of course can have a mixture of lemons and limes instead of all lemons if you prefer. Serve in a cone or with buttery shortbread biscuits for a lovely summery dessert.

Serves 4-6

You will need:

• 2 lemons
• 150g caster sugar
• 300ml cream

1 Place a bowl for the ice cream in the freezer.

2 Finely grate the zest from the lemons, then squeeze the juice. Strain the juice into the zest and add the sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

3 Gradually add the cream while gently whisking the mixture. It will thicken slightly as you add it.

4 Pour into the chilled container and place in the freezer.

5 Freeze until solid around the outside and mushy in the centre. Mix with a fork and place back in the freezer again to freeze until firm.

Ballymaloe vanilla ice cream

Last, but by no means least, is the classic Ballymaloe vanilla ice cream. Created by Myrtle Allen over 50 years ago, and still served most days at Ballymaloe House, this is a brilliant recipe that can be tweaked with the addition of everything from broken-up honeycomb, crushed Maltesers, cookies or chocolate chips to swirls of chocolate or salted caramel sauce. Classic and genius.

Serves 6-8

You will need:

• 4 egg yolks
• 100g caster sugar
• 175ml water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla essence
• 600ml softly whipped cream (measured when whipped)

1 Place the egg yolks into a bowl, then use an electric mixer to whisk until light and fluffy.

2 Combine the sugar and the water in a saucepan and place over a medium heat, stirring well to dissolve the sugar.

3 When the sugar has completely dissolved, increase the heat and boil the syrup until it reaches the thread stage (about 106-113C/223-236F on a sugar thermometer). It will look thick and syrupy and, when a metal spoon is dipped in, the last drops of the syrup will form thin threads. Pour this boiling syrup in a steady stream onto the egg yolks, whisking all the time.

4 Add the vanilla extract and continue to whisk until it becomes a thick, creamy white mousse.

5 Fold the softly whipped cream into the mousse, pour into a container with a lid, then cover and freeze.

6 To add extra ingredients like broken-up Maltesers, honeycomb, chocolate chips, chocolate sauce or salted caramel sauce, just fold in after the ice cream has been in the freezer for a couple of hours, otherwise, they’ll sink down to the bottom.

Rachel recommends: Two large egg whites is equal to 50ml or 50g on a scales.

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