Date & Roasted Almond Ice Cream

Oh yes! Its another post with dates …You can’t blame me for using this wonderful fruit so much these last couple of weeks. Its sweet, its creamy, its dulcet, its luscious, its nutritious, and above all its simply irresistible n I just can’t seem to get enough of it. I used them in semolina cookies – Ma’moul and I also made Date Truffles. I was thinking, what else can I possibly use dates in, and then hubby said, why don’t you make ice cream ! And just that second I knew what I wanted to do. Since I’ve never had date ice cream before, I had to try it out. Another flavour I really love is toasted almond. And I had a feeling that these two would be magnificent together. And I couldn’t have been more correct! This ice cream turned out so good, I couldn’t stop telling myself what a good job I’ve done !


But firstly I’d like to wish everyone Eid Mubarak! The month of fasting and steadfast prayer has finally come to an end. This Ramadan went by so quickly I cant believe its already a month! And this wonderful date and roasted almond ice cream is just the perfect sweet to celebrate this wonderful day.


6 egg yolks
2 ½ cup semi skimmed milk
2 cups whipping cream
¾ th cup fine granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed pitted and finely chopped dates
¾ th cup almond slivers
½ tbsp butter
First start with making the custard. Bring the sugar, milk and cream gently to a boil. Turn of the heat and set aside. Remove about a cup n half of this liquid and put it in the blender along with the dates and puree it. Set aside. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks. Whisk 1/2 cup of the warm milk mixture into egg yolks; pour yolk mixture into pan. Stir constantly over low heat until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 4 to 6 minutes; do not boil. Now add the date puree to this mixture and mix very well, and let it cool to room temperature. Pack it in an airtight container and chill it in the fridge overnight. And since you’re already in the kitchen, u might as well use this time to slow roast the almond slivers. Slice them finely, and on a very small flame toast the almonds in a frying pan, till they are slightly crisp. Now remove from pan, and add the butter to the pan. As soon as it melts bring back the almonds to the pan and roast till light brown and an aromatic earthy smell fills up the kitchen. Cool n store in airtight container for next day. Also you might need to put your ice cream maker in the freezer the night before so don’t forget to do that!
Now when you’re ready to make the ice cream, pour in the date custard mix into the maker and as it churns add in the roasted almond slivers 1 tablespoon at a time, making sure they mix evenly. Freeze in an airtight container for atleast 6 hrs before serving. When serving, garnish with some more of the roasted almonds. This portion should make 10-12 servings.



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