Rhubarb Ripple Ice Cream with Mini Spiced Lemon Cookies

It's past the middle of the month already and due to holiday and illness I haven't yet posted a recipe for the Swallows Charity Recipes for Life challenge on Bangers & Mash. This means I have some serious catching up to do as for the last couple of months I've shared 3 recipes per month. The 3 ingredients for May are Rhubarb, Lemon & spice and after initially thinking it would be tricky to do anything other than a crumble I now have a huge list of ideas, just not enough hours in the day to make them all.

First up (I couldn't let the side down by only making one dish this month could I) is a dessert as it would be impossible to have rhubarb as one of the ingredients and not make at least one dessert. Although it's ice cream it doesn't need an ice cream maker and is very easy to make, as are the cookies.

Rhubarb Ripple Ice Cream 
175g rhubarb, washed, trimmed & cut into 2cm pieces
125g caster sugar
Vanilla pod
600ml double cream

397g condensed milk

2tsp ginger
juice & zest of 1 lemon

• Cover the rhubarb with the sugar & leave for couple of hours
• Add the rhubarb, sugar & vanilla pod to a saucepan and bring gently to the boil
• Cover and simmer for 10 minutes until the rhubarb has softened and the syrup has thickened
• Cool fully
• Once the rhubarb jam has cooled whisk the condensed milk, cream and ginger together until it forms soft peaks
• Beat in half of the jam
• Add to a freezable lidded container and stir through the remaining jam, leaving ripples through the ice cream mixture
• Freeze for at least 4 hours

Mini Spiced Lemon Cookies
115g Butter, softened
230g Caster sugar
35g Golden syrup
1 Egg
230g Self Raising Flour
1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1 tsp Mixed spice
grated zest of 1 lemon

• Beat the butter and sugar together
• Mix in the golden syrup & egg
• Stir the flour, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice & lemon zest together and add to the butter/sugar mixture
• Roll mixture into small balls (approx 1-2cm in diameter) and place on a greased baking sheet, spaced well apart
• Bake in a preheated 170 C oven for approx 10minutes, until golden brown
• Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack

Serve a scoop or two of ice cream with 3 or 4 of the mini cookies. 

I don't wish to blow my own trumpet but the combination of the ice cream and cookies was bloody gorgeous. I usually reserve adding mixed spice to cookies for Christmas but combined with the lemon they make a delicious summer biscuit, and as they're only teeny tiny you don't need to feel too guilty having a couple.

To find out more about Recipes for Life pop over to Bangers & Mash