Dairy Free Irish Honey Ice Cream

There’s nothing like ice cream on a hot, sunny day. Or a dull, muggy one. Or any day in fact. This no-churn beauty is dairy-free and the perfect healthy treat. The almond milk adds a subtle nuttiness, but the Irish honey still keeps things sweet. Serve it with tasty lavender shortbread biscuits that just happen to be sugar, wheat and dairy-free.

Serves 4

YOU?LL NEED

500ml almond milk

100ml Irish honey

1 tbsp cornflour

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Pinch of sea salt

METHOD

1 Place all of the ingredients into a medium pan, heat gently and stir until the cornflour is combined and the honey dissolves.

2 Slowly bring the mixture up to the boil, stirring continuously until it begins to thicken slightly. The mixture will not be as thick as a traditional custard, but it should just about coat the back of the spoon. Remove the pan from the heat before the mixture is boiling and pour it into a wide rectangular baking dish. Once cooled place the dish in the freezer for one hour.

3 After one hour, remove the dish from the freezer. Using a fork, break up the ice crystals that are beginning to form, smooth over the surface of the ice cream using the back of a spoon and return it to the freezer for a further 30 minutes. Do the same again, forking through the entire mixture and smoothing it out again before returning it to the freezer for a further 30 minutes. Repeat this process until the ice cream has fully frozen.

4 When the ice cream is ready to serve dip your ice cream scoop into hot water to help make the perfect scoops.

Lavender Shortbread (sugar, wheat and dairy-free)

Adapted from Susan Jane White‘s Strawberry Shortbread recipe.

Makes about 30 biscuits

YOU?LL NEED

75ml extra virgin coconut oil

125ml maple syrup

1 tbsp dried edible lavender

425g ground almonds

METHOD

1 Gently melt the coconut oil and maple syrup together with the lavender. Once melted, remove from the heat, cover and leave to infuse for at least an hour.

2 Once an hour has passed, preheat the oven to 170C/150C fan/340F. Grease a baking tray.

3 The oil and maple syrup mix should still be liquid. If not, warm it again slightly until melted. Pour the mix over a fine sieve into a bowl to remove the lavender. Add the ground almonds to the mix and use your hands to form a squidgy ball of dough.

4 Place on a piece of greaseproof paper and press into an oblong pizza base shape about 5mm deep with the base of your palm or your fingers. Cover with another sheet of greaseproof paper, roll over it with a wine bottle to flatten it some more, then freeze for 15 minutes. This will make it easier to shape and cut into shortbread cookies, but it also ensures they don’t turn into puddles in the oven.

5 Remove the dough from your freezer, cut out your desired shape with a cookie cutter and place on the greased tray. Bake for approximately 5 minutes before they start to brown or colour, keeping a close eye on them whilst they are in the oven.

6 Allow to set on the baking tray in a cool place. Serve with dairy-free Irish honey ice cream.

Recipes and Food Styling by Ajda Mehmet

Photography by Nathalie Marquez Courtney

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