I bought this Magimix, because:
a) it was the least expensive I could find and
b) it got pretty good reviews at Amazon and Argos
I'd always thought that one day I'd buy an expensive (£200+) ice cream maker, as I thought that the "freeze the bowl" versions weren't so good. Time to give it a try.
Making the custard for the ice cream was ok, Nigella gives very clear advice about that, and I do confess I had to plunge the pan in to the sink full of cold water once, to stop the custard splitting!
I made this at about 9am, and left it in the fridge to properly chill for the rest of the day. The bowl for the ice cream maker had been in the freezer overnight. The instruction book was full of warnings about the consequences of the bowl /custard not being properly chilled. No room for error here, this is being served up tonight!
Setting the ice cream maker up was a bit tricky - for some reason, the paddle would only churn when the lid was not on top of the bowl. I'm not sure why. I managed to keep it going by just placing the lid on the bowl, and not properly clipping it on. I'll try again, and if it still doesn't work, may take it back for replacement.
After that, all you do is pour in the custard, and wait 20 minutes. Well, I waited 30 because I wanted to be sure that the mix was as well churned as it could be. It was pretty soft, but after a night in the deep freeze in a plastic tub, it has set a treat. And tastes wonderful! More like Key Lime Pie than Margarita, but that'll do for me. The leftover Tequila and Cointreau will be put to good use in proper Margaritas this evening. We're also having nachos, enchiladas and tacos. And my sister in law has made a Key Lime Pie to accompany the ice cream.
I've also made a version of Nigella's choc chip chilli for tonight. But have just realised that I forgot to put the chocolate in! Doh! It will need warming up so I'll add it later........
Nigella's recipe uses chorizo sausage, but I skipped that, and to get the smokiness into it I used smoked paprika, and some of the Chipotle Chilli powder that I bought back from Florida. And a squirt of Heinz BBQ sauce!
There was custard mix left over, as the Glacier will only take just over a pint of liquid, so I had a go at baking it in some pre-bought M&S small pastry cases. My idea was to have like a lemon tart type of thing, but with lime. Didn't REALLY work. Both the custard and the tart base burnt on half of them, and those that survived were a bit messy looking, and the lime custard:pastry ratio was wrong. Most of them ended up in the bin.
And finally, I had to find some use for the leftover egg whites, and the raspberries/limoncello syrup from the other day. Mini-pavlova, anyone?
