Ice cream – it’s a summer staple isn’t it? You can’t have a day out or a children’s party without ice cream; it just wouldn’t be right!

Ice cream – it’s so much easier to make than we think and making your own will save you a small fortune at the corner store where a single ice cream on a stick is about a £1 and a tub of the fancy stuff about £3.50.

So, grab some delicious, fresh ingredients – no E numbers, no colourings, no gum stuff that you can’t identify anyway – and make your own.

Easy Apricot Ice Cream

serves 4-6

250g mascarpone cheese
200ml whole milk
100g caster sugar
250g apricot conserve


Put the mascarpone, milk, sugar and 200g of the apricot conserve in a bowl and whisk until thick and smooth.

If using an ice cream maker
Churn in ice cream maker until almost frozen, then fold in the remaining apricot conserve to give a rippled effect. Continue churning until completely frozen. Transfer to a freezer-proof container and freeze until ready to serve.

Hand method
Put mixture into a shallow container and place in freezer until almost solid. Beat again with an electric beater or a wire whisk until smooth and then return again to the freezer. Repeat this process twice more in order to break down the ice crystals. Add the remaining apricot conserve before the final freezing.

Summer Berry Yoghurt Ice Cream

serves 4

500g mixed summer berries (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries)
150g caster sugar
500g full fat plain yoghurt

Warm the berries and sugar in a saucepan over low heat for several minutes until the fruit begins to release its juices. Transfer to a food processor and blend to a puree. Push the puree through a fine-meshed sieve to remove the seeds. Stir in the yoghurt.

Follow either method above

Recipes from “ ice cream “ by Liz Franklin, Published by Ryland, Peters and Small