Rose Petal Ice Cream

This has a lovely delicate flavour. If you want it to be stronger just add more rose water.

(Makes 2 litres)

Ingredients

For the sugar syrup

• 1 cup caster sugar
• ½ cup water
• 2½ teaspoons rose water

For the ice cream

• 8 egg yolks
• 600ml cream, whipped
• ½ cup dried rose petals

Method

For the sugar syrup, put the sugar, water and rose water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Let it boil away for about 8 minutes or until there are even-sized small bubbles all the way across the syrup. Cool completely. This is important: if it is not absolutely cold, the cream will separate when added.

For the ice-cream, beat the egg yolks in an electric mixer until very pale and thick. Slowly add the sugar syrup to the eggs. It will rise up a lot so use a big bowl. Then fold in the whipped cream. Lastly, add the dried rose petals.

Pour into a plastic container and put in the freezer. It will be about 5 hours before you can eat the ice-cream.

Stephen Morris’s wine recommendation

Always tricky to match wine with icecream, as it both coats the mouth and shuts down taste buds. Nevertheless, some gewurztraminer to echo the rose petals.
2011 Johanneshof Gewurztraminer - very fine. Year in, your out, this is always good. Not a dessert wine, but with lots of lush sweetness. Classical turkish delight and floral but not sickly. A wonderful weight and texture. Quite special.
2009 Greywacke Late Harvest Gewurztraminer (375ml) - my original tasting notes from October 2011 "Hedonism plus. Hints of rose and lots of turkish delight. Sweet. 90 gram residual sugar per litre. Awesome texture. eleven out of ten."