You scream, I scream

Photography by Jeremy Simons

Indulgence: Melted Mars bars go fabulously with ice cream.

A scoop of ice cream and the world is a better place, writes Matt Preston.

What is it about ice cream? Why does it hold so many of us in its thrall? Come summer and the siren's call of something on a stick or in a cone becomes as loud as the screeching of seagulls over a chip. In winter, what is a rhubarb crumble, deep-fried banana or apple pie without a big scoop of vanilla. Go through a messy break-up and that litre tub of double chocolate chip becomes a serve for one. In short, ice cream is our treat and it's our solace.

In fact, frozen desserts like sorbets and ice cream have been prized for centuries. Roman emperor Nero would send messengers to the mountains to bring back snow to turn into icy sherbets like a sort of BC-slushie. It wasn't until the 1600s that water ices became common in Europe, however, and in 1671, Charles II of England was served strawberries with "ice cream" at a banquet at Windsor castle - the first mention of those magic two words together.

Best of all around here, it is also a vehicle for any number of culinary failures.

We have a joke at taste that pretty much any sweet leftovers or kitchen disasters can be saved by stirring through slightly softened vanilla ice cream. Popped back in the freezer, this then reappears frozen as your own unique ice-cream flavour. Best of all is the trick my wife taught me of crushing up chocolate bars like Peppermint Crisp, Cherry Ripe and Violet Crumble in a clean plastic bag; then stirring the chocolaty sugary crumbs into softened cheap ice cream for a flurry of tutti-fruity flavour spikes with every spoon.

This week's recipes are not so much for putting things into ice cream but for the ice cream itself - and some things to put under or over it. As for the two sauces, they are radically different and appeal to the two different sides of my nature. The bogan in me has loved melting Mars bars to pour over cheap supermarket no name ice cream since I left home and had to fend for myself. Adding caramelly bananas and the salty crunch of peanuts takes the Mars bar into Snickers territory but much more effectively than just melting a couple of them.

The gin syrup is one of those unique ideas from a posh Aussie homestead. I failed to prise the recipe from the matriarch responsible so I had to make up my own version. I like it drizzled over lemon sorbet and vanilla ice cream.

Serves 6

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Skills needed: Beginner

MARS BAR SAUCE

STICKY BANANAS

3 bananas40g butter20g brown sugar50g salted roasted peanuts, crushed, to servePinch salt flakes, to serveSlice up the Mars bars into small chunks. Don't eat them.Warm these chunks gently in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water. The bowl must be bigger than the pan so it covers it. The water should not be so high that it touches the bottom of the bowl. As the chocolate starts to melt stir in the cream. This will warm and thus further help the melting process - as well as giving the sauce a rich sheen.Yes, a little Kahlua, Bundy or cheap bourbon can be added but warm it before adding. And don't use too much; frankly, it is far better to drink than eat.Serve with vanilla ice cream and some sticky bananas.To make sticky bananas: Cut the bananas into 1cm chunks. In a small saucepan warm the butter with the brown sugar.When the two have melted together, add the banana pieces and cook until the chunks warm to a slippery state.Put banana chunks in a bowl, then the ice cream and then the sauce. The sauce will set chewy with the cold of the ice cream. Top with crushed roasted peanuts and an extra pinch of salt flakes.

Serves 6

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Skills needed: Intermediate

1 1/2 cups gin6 juniper berries (optional)Skin of half a cucumber2 cups sugarSkinned cucumberWarm 1 cup of the gin, the juniper berries and the cucumber skin together in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and discard the cucumber skin.The syrup should be thick. Let it cool down a bit, but while it is still warm stir in the remaining gin bit by bit until your syrup has a smooth pouring consistency, and a nice hit of gin. Cut the cucumber in half lengthways. Using a teaspoon, scrape out the core of seeds from the cucumber's centre and discard these.Cut the firm, remaining flesh into small dice. Pack this dice into a small bowl and cover with a little of the syrup. After an hour, the sweetness of the syrup will draw the water out of the cucumber giving it an interesting texture. Strain before serving, retaining the syrup and the cucumber. Serve the gin syrup on a mix of vanilla ice cream and lemon sorbet. Decorate with the candied cucumber dice.

Why is ice cream more reliable than men? If men came in tubs in the freezer would that make them better?

Serves 6

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking: 0 minutes + freezing time
Skills needed: Beginner

2 eggs3/4 cup caster sugar500ml plain cream1 tsp vanilla extract250ml milkWhisk eggs until fluffy. Mix in sugar until completely blended. It should look airy and pale yellow. Whisk in the cream, vanilla and milk until it's a velvety mess.Pour the mixture intoan ice-cream maker and turn it into ice cream. Scrape out the ice cream once it has set and freeze. Remove the ice cream 5 minutes before you want to serve. It is the combination of cooling the ice-cream mixture while it is moving that makes for good ice cream.Making it without an ice-cream machine will be painstaking and not produce results as good.If you don't have an ice-cream machine, buy a good shop ice cream instead.

Taste.com.au - December 2010

Matt Preston

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