Mint choc ‘sea salt’ chip ice cream

Two weeks ago today, we welcomed into the world Amelie Mae Jackson Rolt and our family was complete.

Whilst she wasn’t quite as speedy as her older brother (50 minutes!!), there was a moment of panic that she might make her arrival on Barnes High Street. Luckily though, we made it to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and the safety of the birthing suite and she arrived not long after with a mop of dark hair much to our surprise with Seb being such a blondie.

Seb has been totally smitten with his little sister, endlessly trying to give her cuddles and kisses, although I’m waiting for the novelty to wear off! That will probably happen just as Will’s paternity leave ends and it’s just the three of us at home. We’ll muddle through though and find a new routine to make our days work.

It’s funny heading back into newborn territory and trying to remember what you did the first time round. You soon realise just how much time you must have had because with an energetic toddler in the house, there is no time for resting and watching endless hours of Grey’s Anatomy! Amelie’s sleep time is spent making puzzles, playing football in the garden and generally showering Seb with as much attention as possible.

But every so often I manage to time it right with both babies asleep and get to spend a little time back in the kitchen making something to celebrate our latest arrival. I’ve been making a few different ice creams recently but it’s hard not to go back to making one of my favourite ice cream flavours, mint choc chip. It’s a simple ice cream flavor to make and the only adaption I made to this winning combination was to use sea salt flavoured dark chocolate to provide the crunchy choc chips.

Fresh mint was picked from the garden which gives a clean-cut freshness that you’ll not find using extracts. It is a slightly more subtle mint flavor but I think this pairs beautifully against the creamy vanilla tones originating from the vanilla pod. The dark bitter chocolate provides some crunchy texture and the saltiness cuts through the rich cream making it an addictive flavor combination.

It’s hard not to sit with the tub in hand out in the garden, the sun shining and Amelie having a snooze whilst I devour mouthfuls of moreish ice cream.

Life is good.

Mint choc ‘sea salt’ chip ice cream.

Makes 1 ice cream tub

Method

For the ice cream:

500ml double cream (split into 250ml jugs)

250ml whole milk

150g granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

1 vanilla pod with the seeds scraped out (keep the pod too)

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

Large bunch of mint, cleaned

For the choc chip:

200g lindt dark sea salt chocolate

2 tbsp coconut oil

To make the ice cream:

Pour 250ml of the double cream into a saucepan and add your sugar and salt followed by the seeds from the vanilla pod and the pod itself. Warm the mixture over a medium heat and continue to sit until all your sugar has dissolved.

Once your sugar has dissolved remove the saucepan from the heat and add the remaining 250ml double cream and the whole milk and stir. Add the vanilla extract, mint and stir again.

Pour into a bowl and chill in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

Before churning, pour the mixture through a sieve into a jug to remove the mint and vanilla pod.

Churn the mixture in your ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Whilst your ice cream is churning you can get on with melting your chocolate.

To make the choc chip:

Break your chocolate up into chunks and put in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Make sure the water isn’t touching the bottom of the bowl or the chocolate will burn. Add your coconut oil to the chocolate and gently stir every few minutes until the chocolate has melted. Take off the heat.

To assemble:

Once your ice cream has churned add a third to your tub an pour in some of the chocolate and stir through into swirls. The chocolate will harden very quickly so work fast. Then add another third of ice cream on top and some of chocolate and swirl through again. Repeat with the remaining ice cream and chocolate and you should get a good distribution of chocolate chips through your ice cream.

Place your tub of ice cream in the freezer to firm up properly.