Lemon speculoos ice-cream, ale poached peaches
There were some days last week when I would wake up and feel relieved that yesterday was over. It was hard not to feel a bit mopey since the boy had been away for so long. One upside was that it gave me plenty of time to tick things off my to-do list, and subsequently to come up with a few new and silly ones.
Like my Top 5 desert island ice-creams list, which after much consideration reads as follows. In no particular order :
1) Rum ‘n’ Raisin
(A inexplicable regular feature of any of my imaginary ice-cream lists. Maybe I was abducted by pirates as a child.)
2) Bitter chocolate
(Good chocolate ice-cream is a miracle in itself.)
3) Beer sorbet
(Because after an exhausting day trying to get rescued from a deserted island, everyone deserves an ice cold refreshing beer.)
4) Raspberry vanilla ripple
(I’m obsessed with things that ripple and swirl. Also, it’s almost like cheating and having two flavours in one. One bite and it’s vanilla! Now it’s raspberry!)
5) David Lebovitz’s lemon speculoos ice-cream
(I never was a fan of cookies ‘n’ cream ice-creams, but this I could definitely get behind.)
To the uninitiated, speculoos is a spiced cookie. It is truly wonderful folded through ice-cream, or even eaten on its own. I had to make two batches of speculoos for this recipe because I accidentally ate all of the first batch! You can find the recipes in David Lebovitz’s book.
To accompany the ice-cream, I poached some peaches in ale, after buying a bag of peaches at the market. If you can’t get peaches, try preserved cherries, but really, the ice-cream is already spectacular on its own. Amazing what a little refrigeration can do for you on a desert island. Or would that be dessert island?
Ale poached peaches :
4 ripe yellow peaches, blanched, refreshed and peeled
1 x 330ml bottle pale ale
750ml (3 cups) water
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
2 cloves
1 long pepper, crushed
In a pot, bring the ale, water, sugar and spices to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Taste the liquid and add more sugar if you wish. I prefer mine to be less sweet. Lower the peaches into the liquid and simmer until just tender. This should take no more than 5-10 minutes. Remove the peaches and reduce the poaching liquid to a light syrup. Cool, then pour the syrup over the peaches and keep chilled until you’re ready to use.
Tags: beer, cinnamon, cookies, David Lebovitz, ginger, ice-cream, peaches, speculoos
leaf (the indolent cook) said,
November 19, 2011 @ 5:13 pm
That’s a new ice cream flavour to me, and I’m liking the sound of it. The peaches sound like a lovely accompaniment too!
Magda said,
November 19, 2011 @ 8:51 pm
I love speculoos, or better yet, speculaas, which is the Dutch version. I have often thought of putting them into ice cream. Thanks for the idea! Great combination!
Rosa said,
November 19, 2011 @ 8:53 pm
That ice cream flavor is very original! So exquisite.
cheers,
Rosa
Laura said,
November 20, 2011 @ 1:31 am
Y, rum and raisin is also my favorite! In Italy is called Malaga, not sure why, and I used to order it all the time, that and nocciola, or hazelnut ice cream.
I never made speculoos, time to try them.
Davidd said,
November 20, 2011 @ 2:09 am
glad you liked the recipe – good combo with the peaches!
(And I almost forgot that it’s summer down there in Australia..)
Maria @ A Platter of Figs said,
November 20, 2011 @ 7:11 am
This sounds so delicious! I am not a big ice cream person but when I get the craves, I can definitely go for some of this. And the peaches look so luscious. Beautiful!
Yuri - Chef Pandita said,
November 20, 2011 @ 2:56 pm
Time to get the ice cream machine out and start churning! I own David’s book but somehow I never noticed this recipe. Looks fabulous, I want to make some beer sorbet too 🙂
Caitlin said,
November 21, 2011 @ 5:55 am
Now I wish it was warm enough to justify ice cream, although J believes that it’s appropriate for all seasons. Speculoos are so incredibly tasty.
dina said,
November 21, 2011 @ 8:00 am
Very interesting flavor!
InTolerantChef said,
November 22, 2011 @ 11:05 pm
This looks just lovely, and the peaches sound great too! I’ve found an amazing bitter chocolate (gluten and dairyfree to boot) sorbet that is just incredible! How exciting to have been abducted by pirates- it makes a change form gypsies 🙂
shaz said,
November 25, 2011 @ 5:56 pm
Ha ha, I wonder if it’s to do with growing up in Malaysia? My favourite ice-cream flavours are rum and raisin and raspberry ripple too 🙂 Looove DL’s book, still got to try out this flavour. Hope the Boy comes home soon.
erin said,
November 28, 2011 @ 4:30 am
Yes, I agree, there is an advantage to having the house to yourself—you can actually get stuff done, which is nice! 🙂 I also agree about the raspberry vanilla ripple. Vanilla ice cream and fruit. Is there any better combination?? 🙂
matt said,
December 2, 2011 @ 5:58 am
This looks so awesome and fresh!
Julia @ Mélanger said,
December 6, 2011 @ 6:51 pm
Love your Top 5 list. Everyone should have one, for every type of sweet treat.
Now, whilst I am a fan of the cookie and cream ice cream, I am also a fan of this lemon speculoos combination. Lemon and spice? You’ve got me hooked.