A few days ago, I was experimenting with a dessert I’ve made many times. I was trying to make it gluten free, by altering a few ingredients. But it totally flopped. I was also trying to use some edible flowers I have purchased recently and since the dessert turned out a disaster, some of my flowers went to waste. ;-(
I guess I was trying to make too many changes at once. So today, I got up determined to keep experimenting, but this time I did something more sensible… I made ice cream, again! I’m finding ice cream is rather easy to experiment with, fun to make, and easy to combine flavours.
My results today could almost be called Helado de Pestiños, or Pestiño Ice Cream because the flavour reminds me of the traditional Andalusian holiday pastry, that we make every year. I’m sure I’ll be posting a recipe for that when the holidays approach…in the meantime, here’s this alternative…
Delectable Date Orange & Anis Ice Cream (or Helado de Pestiños)
Ingredients
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 100g creamed coconut
- 400-500ml freshly squeezed orange juice
- 14-16 dates, pitted
- zest of two large oranges
- 2 tablespoons anis seeds
- 1 tablespoon honey (optional)
Process
In a blender, pulse 1 cup of coconut milk with the dates, until the dates are chopped. Add the other cup of coconut milk and pulse until the dates are finely ground. Add rest of the ingredients and blend well.
Pour into your ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If you do not have an ice cream maker, place in a sealable container and freeze for at least 4 hours, stirring frequently to avoid forming ice crystals.
I find that even using the ice cream maker, I have to put this in the freezer another hour or so to achieve the firmness of a typical ice cream.
Scoop, serve, and enjoy a guilt-free dessert!
What an unique and wonderful combination of flavors! Love it!
Thank you!