Peach And Vanilla Ice Cream

This home-made ice cream - that's strictly for adults thanks to a splash of almond liqueur - is surprisingly easy to make as it uses ready-made, creamy vanilla custard.

Preparation time :	15 minutes, plus cooling and freezing
Cooking time :	8 minutes
Total time :	2 hours 53 minutes to 3 hours 23 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients

3 ripe, juicy peaches or nectarines, halved and stoned
Juice of 1 large orange
50g golden caster sugar
500g tub Waitrose Fresh Vanilla Custard
5 tbsp DiSaronno Amaretto, almond liqueur

Method

1. Roughly chop the peaches. Heat the orange juice and sugar in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Add the peaches and simmer gently for about 5 minutes until very tender. Leave to cool.
2. Transfer the peaches and juices to a food processor or blender and use the pulse setting to blend to a very chunky pulp. Tip into a bowl and stir in the custard and liqueur.
3. To freeze using an ice-cream maker, pour the mixture into the machine and churn to a soft scoop consistency. (This can be served straight from the machine or transferred to a freezer container and frozen until needed.)
4. To freeze by hand, pour the mixture into a freezerproof container. Freeze for 2½-3 hours or until frozen around the edges but still loose in the centre. Turn into a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until the consistency is even throughout.
5. Return to the container and re-freeze for about 2 hours until half-frozen. Re-whisk and freeze again. Repeat this process once or twice more until the ice cream is smooth and creamy. Each time you return it to the freezer it will freeze more quickly. Freeze until firm. Serve in cones or scooped into small bowls or glasses.

Cook's tips

Put the ice cream in the fridge for half an hour to an hour before serving to allow it to soften slightly. For a low-fat alternative, swap the Waitrose Fresh Vanilla Custard for Waitrose Perfectly Balanced Custard.