Ice Cream Ireland

 A great Irish ice cream flavour is Irish Cream Liqueur (we use Baileys), and we call it “Bó Bhán” (white cow) in Irish. It’s an easy ice cream flavour to make, and the alcohol in the recipe improves the consistency. This ice cream partners chocolate cake or fruit tarts perfectly. It is also excellent served in hot coffee at the end of a meal.

Murphys Irish Cream Liqueur Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup Sugar 

5 Egg Yolks  

1 3/8 Cups Cream

1 1/8 Cups Milk     

2 Tablespoons Irish Cream Liqueur (we suggest Baileys, and you can add a bit more if you want, but if you add too much, the ice cream will be very soft and melt quickly...)

What to do:

1. Beat the sugar and egg yolks together until thick and pale yellow. 
2. Bring the milk to a simmer. Remove from the heat.
3. Beat the milk into the eggs and sugar in a slow stream.
4. Pour the mixture back into pan and place over low heat. 
5. Stir until the custard thickens (around 60C).
6. Allow the custard to cool.
7. Mix in the cream and the liqueur, beating for one minute.
8. Freeze using a domestic ice cream machine, or cover and place in the freezer.

6 Servings

Notes: 1. Make sure you add the liqueur when the mixture is cool, or the alcohol will evaporate.

2. To pasteurise the eggs, heat the custard to 73C and keep at that temperature for three minutes. Use a cooking thermometer, though, and keep stirring! If the custard goes any higher than 76C, the eggs will scramble. Immediately cover and place in the freezer until cool.

Technorati tags: Baileys, cream, liqueur, ice cream, recipe, Irish

 The Discovery channel is filming in Dingle as part of a series of great walks (the Mount Brandon walk is one of them).

They came into us this morning and interviewed me and filmed myself and my brother inside our shop. (That’s your’s truly above with the smile frozen on the face.)

It’s great that they are giving focus to hill-walking as the landscape here is so beautiful, and there is never any harm in a bit of publicity for ourselves. We were delighted to help out when they asked us. It will be interesting to see if the ice cream segment makes it into the final piece, and whether I committed any verbal gaffes. I did find it fun, though…

The only shame was that it was a bit disruptive to our regular customers (who made themselves scarce at the first sign of the camera), and I appreciate their patience!

One would certainly think that such a program will do tourism in Dingle no harm, though this time of year one wonders if it needs it…

Technorati tags: Dingle, Discovery, channel, Mt. Brandon, walk, tourism

 After the tours around town and the peninsula, the ice cream and the dolphin, a lovely couple of hours can be spent in Dingle in a rather unique way, especially if you like mazes or have some kids in need of entertainment. The Dingle Corn Maze, right in town, is definitely worth a trip.

Planted across five acres by the farmer who supplies us with Kerry Cow Milk, the maze has a dinosaur theme this year and was laid out with computers and lasars. Spare a thought for Colm, the farmer, who did all of the plucking of corn for the paths by hand!

There are also picnic tables, a rope maze for kids to clamber around, finger mazes, and other bits of entertainment.

At the end of the season, the corn will go to feed the cows, but for now, with the weather changing for the worse and the beaches less of an option, the maze is a very attractive option for humans…

Technorati tags: Dingle, corn, maize, maze, summer, tourism

 For me alcohol and ice cream are natural companions. If it wasn’t for the licensing laws in the country, I would love to be able to serve alcohol over ice cream (not to mention with coffees) for the customers in our shops. Alas, that is not to be!

However, it is not illegal to do it at home, and it makes a very adult and heady dessert. You can either pour in some booze first and then add the ice cream or simply serve a shot over the ice cream as you would a sauce.

The Top Ten Combinations that come to my head are:

1. Chocolate ice cream with Cointreau

2. Coffee ice cream with Baileys

3. Vanilla ice cream with Kahlua

4. Mango sorbet with tequila (I favour Sauza) and a bit of lime

5. Raspberry sorbet with Vodka (A good brand like Grey Goose)

6. Cognac with almost anything

7. Blackcurrant sorbet with Guinness

8. Chocolate with whiskey (Irish whiskey is great since it’s not over-powering).

9. Pear, peach, strawberry, or black currant sorbet with champagne.

10. Port with just about anything.

I’m sure you can think of many more!

Technorati tags: alcohol, sorbet, dessert, ice cream, ireland

  I was lucky enough to grow up with a grandmother living on the border of Italy and Switzerland, and every time she visited, she brought a huge sack of chocolate. I guess it’s her fault that I turned into such a chocoholic!

Her chocolate bars of choice were Frey and Lindt, and at the time they were exotic luxuries. When we first opened the shop here, Lindt was still a rarity in these parts, and when we wanted to buy some, Lindt Switzerland directed us to their English subsidiary, who treated us in a beastly fashion, and we could only infer that they had no interest in our custom. Last year, however, Lindt put a salesman in Ireland. He was very friendly and pro-active, and we brought in their chocolate.

It has sold well for us, and it certainly had nostalgia value having grown up with it. But the salesman has proven to be too good, and now Lindt is in every shop around, so we’re considering dropping it.

There is more and more variety in Irish chocolate, and Aine’s now have a range of bars, including a diabetic bar. It’s always good to support Irish producers, and we’ve brought in some to see how they sell (we’ve carried her boxes of truffles for some time).

In any case, we won’t be lacking for variety when it comes to chocolate bars, for we have a huge range of Valrhona, and my brother and I are completely hooked on the stuff!

Technorati tags: chocolate, Irish, Ireland, Valrhona, Lindt, Aine

 We’re very excited here as our new mini containers (125ml) finally arrived, and we’ve filled the first few. It’s amazing how long it takes to get packaging!

We will do them in a few flavours and these little tubs will be in shops soon. The best thing is that there is a spoon in the lid.

The worst thing is that the packaging is expensive, and I think they will around €3 retail, depending on how much markup retaillers take, which is definitely more than we would have hoped. The little disk is the most expensive part!

Technorati tags: mini, tub, container, ice cream, ireland

 A customer in our Dingle shop told me about a coffee drink that she had come across in Italy. I had never heard of it and so I tried it out with good results. It’s very simple - you take a glass of very cold milk and add a shot of espresso. With all the hot weather we’ve been having here it makes a refreshing way to get a coffee hit. The only downside is it is not a sipping drink. You tend to reach the bottom of the glass in a hurry!

Technorati tags: espresso, coffee, latte, freddo

 Things are crazy at here with all the good weather. As long as it keeps up, I don’t know how much I’ll be able to add here in terms of recipes, etc., but the season is short, and we have to move the ice cream!

I did sneak off for a couple of hours on my little boat, as a neice and nephew who live in Germany were in town, and I took them plus my other nephew for a spin and swim.

Anyone coming to Dingle should really try to get on a boat if at all possible as the coastline is so beautiful, and it’s so easy to get away from the crowds that pack into town this time of year. There are even completely empty beaches only accessible by water!

Technorati tags: Dingle, boat, water, beach, summer, tourism

  I am a happy (although busy) man in the Summer. A few days ago, I saw some fresh strawberries at a fruit and veg shop in Killarney, and there were two remarkable things about them - 1. They had an odour, and 2. There was real earth attached to some of them (i.e it was not hydroponically grown). Yes, Irish fruit is back in season, and it’s something to savour!

Then I had to go to Dublin, and I stopped off at Sweetbank Farm in Wicklow. I’ve written about them before, and I highly suggest that anyone in the area go visit. Their fruit is sublime, and they serve it out of a delightful farm shop with fresh cream and a coffee if you want it.

In any case, I bought back trays of fruit for making ice cream, and I took a punnet of strawberries for myself. I had strawberry soup on the brain, and I decided to whip some up.

Fruit soups are rare in these parts, but you’d find them on the continent. It’s a great thing to serve before the main course of a nice meal (instead of a sorbet) - it cleans the palate and is guaranteed to wow the guests!

Chilled Strawberry Soup

Ingredients:

500gm Fresh Strawberries 

300 ml water, boiling

2 Tablespoon sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons balsamic vineger

Pinch of black pepper.

What to Do:

1. Put the sugar in a blender or food processor, add the boiling water and blend briefly to dissolve.

2. Add the strawberries and puree until smooth.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients, blending briefly to incorporate them.

4. Chill the soup thoroughly.

5. Garnish with crème fraîche or yoghurt and a bit of mint and serve!

Serves 4

Technorati tags: fruit, soup, strawberry, ice cream, recipe

For anyone in the Dublin area who has an interest and a radio, I will be on Newstalk 106 tomorrow (Thursday) at 2:05pm for the Lunchtime with Damien Kiberd program, as part of the food show with Helen Lucy Burke, offering a few tips and tricks…