This is a combination of two recipes given to me by the Chilean winery Errazuriz, so it is their fruity Errazuriz Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé I always use (£8.99, The Pip Stop). If you use a different wine, make sure it has exuberant fruit and some sweetness – something you find in new world cabernet, syrah and merlot, but not in traditional, pale, dry European rosés. I can’t say anybody ever identifies the rosemary, but I like to think it adds an extra something that would be mi

I don’t know of a more flamboyant coloured ice cream. Come to think of it I don’t know of many better flavoured ice creams. And it’s a doddle to make - no custard-base: just currants, sugar and cream. Makes about 1.25 litres 500g blackcurrants 160g caster sugar 300ml whipping cream 300ml double cream 4 tbsp crème de cassis (optional) Put the fruit and sugar in a saucepan and stir in 3 tablespoons of water. Cook over a gentle heat until the blackcurrants are soft (about 20 min

Rounding up my ice cream series with variations on a theme, and two sauces. This is also a good place to point out my favourite way of using up the leftover egg whites - not meringues but rather my Dark Chocolate Orange Mousse. Variations Omit the bay leaves from my bay leaf ice cream and flavour the basic mix with one of the following: • a pinch of saffron threads, which you have dry fried for 30 seconds. • with 4 lg egg yolks: 6 heads of lavender, or 4 heads of lavender an

The accepted wisdom with coffee ice cream is that you should either use instant coffee or strain out the fresh grounds, but I like coffee flavours strong, so I leave the coffee in. I don’t find the texture of the grounds remotely obtrusive and the speckly appearance is more enticing than monotone beige. It’s your choice – but, just to let you know, I haven’t had any complaints. Or leftovers. The amount of coffee depends on the type and strength, so I’ve given an average below

You can make this with lemon instead, but lime, with its spicy note, is sensational. It’s very intense in flavour, so will overpower a milder ice cream and fight with some others, such as coffee. I like it plain, just with some shortbread and each serving decorated with a mint leaf. As with the mango, it’s a recipe - slightly adjusted - from Stephanie Alexander’s book. You will need an electric mixer of some sort. Serves 6 500g whipping cream 80ml fresh lime juice (about 3 li

Every ice-cream cook has to have a chocolate recipe. This is mine. It was after making this and a seed-speckled vanilla that I turned my back on bought ice cream for good. Why stand in a queue at the supermarket when you can be at home making this? By the way, don’t even think about skimping on the quality of the chocolate or the cocoa (there’s plenty of choice nowadays, including Green & Blacks, The Chocolate Society, Valrhona or Lindt Excellence). This is the same basic met

Here is proof that you don’t have to have eggs and custard to make quick, easy, exotic-tasting ice cream. If it’s not eaten within 12 hours, it starts to become icy, but I doubt you’ll have a chance to put that to the test. You can use the basic recipe, excluding the lime, for soft fruits such as strawberries and raspberries: use 450-500g of berries; sieve after puréeing them and taste for sweetness. The mango idea is from Stephanie Alexander’s The Cook’s Companion, a 1100-pa

It may not feel all that summery right now, but we are promised warmer weather this weekend so why not make some ice cream in preparation? This recipe series was originally published in The Sunday Times in June 2005. Don’t tell me. You think life is too short to stuff a mushroom and to make your own ice cream, especially when the shops are full of tempting looking tubs. Well, I agree about the mushrooms (small ones anyway), but no bought ice cream ever quite matches up to som