Here’s to a frozen January: Rum raisin ice cream

The holiday season is the perfect time of the year to indulge your sweet tooth. One frozen dessert that has come to be extremely popular at such times, is the ice cream cake. These frozen cakes come in a variety of flavors, including mint, chocolate, vanilla, and so on. Of course, ice cream is the hero ingredient of these desserts. So, this article will focus on a simple ice cream recipe instead of a complex ice cream cake recipe. Let’s smart small, and gradually, you can look up ice cream cake recipes once you feel confident that you have mastered the art of homemade ice cream making. Today, we will explore the creamy and evergreen flavor of rum raisin ice cream. As the name strongly indicates, this ice cream does contain traces of rum, which is a spirit, so please ensure that those under the drinking age don’t consume this ice cream. This ice cream is a strictly “adults only” dessert!

Although the rum raisin ice cream is a fixture in several American ice cream chains and supermarkets, this flavor did not, in fact, originate in the United States. Food experts and historians claim that the ingredients of rum and raisins were first used together in a sweet dish of Europe called Málaga, a sauce that was made using Muscat grapes. Subsequently, one of the earliest iterations of the rum raisin ice cream was developed in Sicily, Italy, when the locals created the mouth-watering Málaga gelato. Gelato is the Italian version of ice cream that comprises more milk and less cream than traditional ice cream. As a result, gelato tends to be thicker and smoother in texture than regular ice cream.

So, how did the Málaga gelato come to be? The story dates back to the 17th century, when native Sicilian culinary innovators immersed the raisins in rum, which was imported from the Caribbean, and left them to marinate overnight. Once the raisins had been soaked to a satisfactory degree, they were blended with vanilla gelato to give rise to the first recorded version of the legendary rum raisin ice cream. This ice cream only made its way to the American market in the 19th century with the advent of Italian immigrants. It scaled new heights in the 1970s and the 1980s, fast becoming one of the most in-demand holiday desserts. The following simple rum raisin ice cream recipe will enable you to replicate this winter classic from the comfort of your home in just half an hour. Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• ½ a cup of raisins
• 3 tablespoons of rum
• 500 grams of vanilla ice cream
• 400 grams of dark fruitcake (ensure that this cake is NOT firm and sturdy; it should be rough and crumbly)
• 2 tablespoons of almonds (optional; it would be preferable for the almonds to be flaked and toasted)
• 4 waffle cones (optional)
• One bar of Cadbury Silk (optional)
• One bar of Toblerone chocolate (optional)
• One pack of Oreo cookies (optional)

Note:The above measurements are not set in stone. You can, of course, measure out the ingredients basis the quantity of the rum raisin ice cream you choose to make. The measurements given here are simply a sample.

Directions:

• In a bowl, blend the raisins and the rum, and set aside this mixture for about 10 minutes. It is preferable to use a small bowl for this first step of implementing the recipe.
• Next, empty the vanilla ice cream into a separate, larger bowl, and put it aside for about 10 minutes till the ice cream takes on a smooth and soft texture
• Then, combine the rum and raisins mixture with the fruit cake and the softened ice cream, and stir the different ingredients thoroughly.
• Place this mixture in the freezer for approximately 20 minutes, or till it has become sturdy enough to scoop.
• Scoop out the ice cream into your waffle cones, or if you are not a fan of cones, scoop it out in bowls, and enjoy your tasty homemade rum and raisin ice cream treat.

The almonds, Oreo, and Cadbury Silk have been included in the recipe as optional ingredients. You can use these to decorate and garnish the ice cream. Not only will these ingredients enhance the visual appeal of the ice cream, but also elevate the taste of the dessert. Let’s see some fun ways in which you can use these optional ingredients.

• Because of their thin and crispy texture, the almonds can be used as sprinkles over the ice cream. The brown of the almonds against the white of the ice cream will give the dessert an earthy appeal as well as add some crunch to the item.
• You can smash the Oreo cookies into Oreo dust, and like the almonds, sprinkle the dust on to the ice cream. This will serve as a nice counterbalance to the bitterness of the rum and the dark fruitcake elements of the ice cream.
• Alternatively, you can also crush the Oreo cookies into tiny pieces and blend them into the vanilla ice cream alongside the raisins. In order to do this, you will have to combine the Oreo cookies with the cake and ice cream mixture before you set it aside for freezing.
• Lastly, you can melt the Cadbury and Toblerone bars and pour the melted chocolate as a sauce over the ice cream.