SERVING 8

Ice cream in various forms is always very welcome as a dessert. There are of course many different types offering various flavors, but why not branch out and be innovative. For this the following can come in quite handy.

Mint syrup
1 cup / 240 ml water
1 cup / 240 ml sugar
½ cup / 120 ml chopped mint leaves

Pour the water into a pot and add the sugar. Remove the mint leaves from the branches, chop them up finely and put them in the pot containing the sugar and the water. Put the mixture to a boil and leave it simmer for a few minutes until it reduces and thickens a bit.

Mint and black-currant ice cream
4 cups / 950 ml unflavored ice cream
1 cup / 240 ml black-currant berries
½ cup / 120 ml mint syrup

Soften the ice cream a little and put it in a bowl. Mash the black-currant berries a bit and add them to the bowl. Then pour in the mint syrup and mix the contents in bowl most thoroughly. When done, cover the bowl with some plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for the ice cream to settle again.

Sugar basket
2 oz / 55 g butter
2 oz / 55 g syrup
2 oz / 55 g sugar
2 oz / 55 g flour
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Put the butter in a pot and melt it. Pour in the syrup and add the sugar. Whisk the contents of the pot together. Add the flour to the pot along with the ginger and again whisk well for a uniform mixture. Finally whisk in the fresh lemon juice. Empty the contents of the pot into a bowl and let it cool and set for a while. Using two spoons scoop up some of the sugar basket paste with one spoon emptying it with the other unto a sheet of parchment paper spread out on a baking sheet, thus forming dabs of paste on the paper. Take care to leave quite some space around each dab of paste, as it will run out a lot when baking in the oven. Put the paste dabs in an oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees centigrade. When the paste has turned darkish brown and run out to the size preferred, take the baking sheet from the oven, lift the baked paste gently off the parchment paper and place each dab on the bottom of an up-side-down glass pushing the edges down a little to form a basket around the glass. Leave the baskets to cool and become crisp.

Serving
1 cup / 240 ml heavy cream

Whip the cream until it is firm and even. Put a liberal amount of the whipped cream into each sugar basket and place a generous scoop of the black-currant ice cream on top. This is a very fine and tasty dessert to follow a hefty meal, and can also be served e.g. as a savory and sweet treat with a cup of strong evening coffee.