Ingredients

Tahitian vanilla ice cream
1 litre milk
300ml whipping cream
100g dextrose
30g milk powder
4g ice-cream stabiliser
1g xanthan gum
100g caster sugar
100g liquid glucose
1 Tahitian vanilla pod, slit open
lengthwise, seeds scraped out
Strawberry juice
500g strawberries
250ml water
50g caster sugar
1 lemongrass stick, bruised and
chopped
½ vanilla pod, slit open lengthwise
30ml lemon juice
To assemble
32 Mara des Bois strawberries, cut
in half, plus 8 small strawberries,
stem on, to decorate
icing sugar
lemon juice
24 basil leaves

Method

Tahitian vanilla ice cream
1. Put the milk and cream in a pan
and heat to 84°C. 2. Add all the
powders, plus the sugar and glucose,
and combine with a hand blender
to dissolve. 3. Add the vanilla pod
and seeds, remove from the heat and
transfer to a container. 4. Cover with
cling film and leave to cool. 5. Leave
to mature in the fridge overnight.
6. The next day, remove the vanilla
pod and blend the mixture with
a hand blender to emulsify. 7. Pass
through a fine sieve. 8. Churn
in an ice-cream machine, then
transfer to a chilled container and
store in the freezer.
Strawberry juice
1. Purée the strawberries in a
blender until smooth. 2. Pass the
purée through a fine sieve. 3. Bring
the water and sugar to the boil,
then remove from the heat and add
the lemongrass and vanilla. 4. Cover
with a lid and leave to cool. 5. Add
the strawberry purée and lemon juice
and chill overnight. 6. Pass through
a fine sieve and store on ice for
30 minutes before serving.
To assemble
1. Remove the ice cream from the
freezer and beat it to soften it a little.
2. Season the strawberries with icing
sugar and lemon juice, then leave
for 2 minutes to macerate. 3. Divide
between 8 glass dishes, top with the
basil leaves and spoon over a little
of the strawberry juice. 4. Place
the ice cream in a piping bag with a
star-shaped nozzle and pipe on top.
5. Top with the strawberries
with stems on. 6. Serve with a jug
of strawberry juice alongside.

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