Paddington Bear Ice Cream

Me and marmalade have a rather brief history. My Dad used to enjoy his toast slathered in Roses Lime marmalade, in its distinctive mottled glass jar that used to sit, glowing like Kryptonite, on the top shelf in the kitchen; but I always shunned the bitter and bitty stuff, far preferring the savoury tang of Bovril (or Marmite at a push). But, after seeing two magnificent looking ices in quick succession - Nigel Slater's Marmalade and Chocolate Chip and Ginger's Emporium Marmalade and Toast - suddenly orange preserve-flavoured frozen deserts were all that I could think about.

To be honest, I'm still not really what you might call a fan, but as I've got older I've started to warm to the charms of a dark rough cut Seville marmalade, with it's smoky chunks of peel and slightly acerbic edge. (I'm still not convinced by the tooth-achingly sweet and  fluorescent orange stuff, with a one dimensional flavour reminiscent of melted ice lollies, though.) But, when the piquant citrus is tempered with the blandness of thick, sweet cream and chunks of crisp sugared breadcrumbs, suddenly it all begins to make sense.

As it's still Seville orange season, for those of us who are organised enough this makes a great use for any homemade preserves. Dark Marmalade also makes one of the greatest steamed sponge toppings, as well as a very good addition to the fabulous Breakfast Martini; a gin based cocktail with orange liqueur and lemon juice. But I digress...

While I'm not quite sure this would satisfy the small bear from Peru, who is rather partial to a  marmalade sandwich or two and for which this ice cream is named, it certainly satisfied my citrus craving. A little splash of whisky also goes very nicely with the bitter orange. Try and keep a steady hand, though. Too much booze, plus a high sugar content from the preserve and crumbs may stop the ice cream freezing properly.

As the the Ginger's Emporium Melt Cookbook isn't out until April, then I improvised and used my beloved Ben and Jerry's sweet cream base, just mixing in the marmalade, whisky and buttery, well toasted crumbs and churning in my trusty ice cream maker. If you wanted to incorporate a dark chocolate element, as per Nigel's recipe, then I would make the ice cream as below, leaving out the breadcrumbs but adding 70g of finely chopped dark chocolate just before the ice cream has finished churning.

Seville Marmalade Sandwich Ice Cream

1/2 cup chunky white breadcrumbs

1/4 cup brown sugar

Large knob of butter

2 large eggs

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 cups heavy or whipping cream

1 cup milk

3 heaped tablespoons of Seville marmalade

Splash of whisky

For the crumbs
Melt the butter in a small frying pan.

Add the Breadcrumbs and sugar and cook gently until the crumbs are toasted and golden and the sugar is nicely caramelised.

Remove breadcrumbs and allow to cool

For the ice cream
Whisk the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the cream and milk then continue to whisk until completely incorporated. 

Stir in the marmalade, whiskey and breadcrumbs and mix thoroughly. 

Place mixture in the fridge and chill for a few hours or overnight.

Churn chilled mixture in an ice cream maker as per manufacturer's instructions.

Serve immediately, or place in a lidded plastic container and freeze until required.