Irish Soda Bread, Orange & Baileys Ice Cream

With it being St Patrick's Day tomorrow I thought it only right that I join in with the celebrations and make something a little relevant. I'm not saying that this is in any way an Irish recipe but it is made with two ingredients that I would associate with Ireland - Irish Soda Bread and Baileys. I got the idea for the ice cream from a recipe from the popular Irish chef Paul Rankin, who I had a little chat with last week.

The recipe he shared was for Brown Bread Parfait with Bushmill Prunes, which used Bushmill's Whiskey and Irish Soda Bread (recipe at the bottom of this post). During our little chat I asked Paul a few questions about St Patrick's Day and what he would be doing. He mentioned that if he wasn't working he would most likely be spending time with friends and family, enjoying the break and sharing some good food and drink. If he was to have friends over for dinner it would be likely that he would start off by serving Smoked Salmon followed by and good hearty Lamb Shank Irish Stew and ending with a nice Irish coffee.

He also mentioned that the secret to a good Soda Bread was to use a good quality buttermilk or yoghurt and a 50/50 mix of wholemeal and white flour. I found a recipe for Irish Soda Bread by James Martin, which fitted the bill and I made to use in my ice cream. I've heard of brown bread ice cream before but have never tried it but after making this I definitely think I will give it a go, the breadcrumbs add a kind of nutty texture to the ice cream which I think would work with lots of different flavours.

Irish Soda Bread, Orange & Baileys Ice Cream

397 can Condensed milk

300ml Double cream

100ml Baileys Irish Cream liquor

180g Irish soda bread, blended to crumbs

zest of 2 oranges

• Whisk the condensed milk, cream & Baileys until it forms soft peaks
• Stir in the breadcrumbs and orange zest & mix well
• Pour into a lidded freezer safe container & freeze until set

BROWN BREAD PARFAIT WITH BUSHMILL PRUNES SERVES 4 – 6

FOR THE PARFAIT

70 g. white chocolate, chopped

175 ml. Double cream

2 Tbsp. milk

¼ vanilla pod, split

3 egg yolks

1 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. Bushmills whiskey

175 g. Irwin’s stoneground brown soda bread, crusts removed, and broken up to pea  size crumbs

FOR THE PRUNES

200 ml. Water

50 ml. Orange juice

175 g. sugar

½ lemon1/2 orange

120 g. pitted prunes

4 - 6  Tbsp. Bushmills whiskey

• To make the parfait, melt the white chocolate. Place half the cream, the milk, and the vanilla on to boil in a small pan. 
• Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until the sugar has dissolved.  When the cream mix has come to the boil, slowly pour it on to the yolk/sugar mixture, whisking continuously.  Return to a medium heat and cook out over a low heat until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  When it is ready, strain through a fine sieve into a mixing bowl, and allow to cool slightly.
• Add the custard to the melted chocolate, and fold in the bread crumbs.  Place in the fridge to chill for about ½ hour.
• Whip the remaining cream until it forms soft peaks, then fold it and the Bushmills together with the custard mix. 
• Pour into individual ramekins, ( approx. 100 ml. Size ) and place in the freezer, for at least 2 – 3 hours, or even over night.   (  If it is too hard, take from freezer to fridge for about an hour or two before serving. )
• Place the water, orange juice, sugar, orange, and lemon in a medium pan, and bring to the boil.  Add the prunes, cover, and summer gently until soft, about 20 minutes.  Take off the heat, remove the lemon half, and orange half, and add the Bushmills.  Set to one side.
• To serve, demold by dipping each ramekin into hot water for a couple seconds, just to loosen, and then run a sharp knife around the edge.  Carefully tip out the parfait into the centre of each plate, and surround with the Bushmill laced prunes, and a little of the prune juice.  Garnish with mint and icing sugar as desired.  

Happy St Patrick's Day - how will you be spending yours?