Soda bread ice-cream and whiskey custard: Patrick Powell’s recipes for Irish-style puddings

Poached autumn fruit with soda bread ice-cream

Soda bread ice-cream is very special, and I’ve used it on many menus over the years, not least because it’s the perfect way to use up an old loaf. Infusing the dry bread with the milk for the base ensures the ice-cream takes on that wonderful, malty flavour.

Prep 10 min
Infuse 2 hr
Cook 45 min
Churn 30 min+
Serves 4

For the ice-cream
200g day-old soda bread
600ml whole milk
8 egg yolks
200g caster sugar
600ml double cream
The seeds from 1 vanilla pod (or good-quality vanilla essence)
A pinch of flaky sea salt

For the poached fruit
300g caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 apples
2 pears

Tear the bread into pieces and toast them in a 170C (150C fan)/335F/gas 3½ oven, for 10 or so minutes, until dry and golden brown (it needs to be completely dry, otherwise it will thicken the milk and give the ice-cream a gummy texture).

Heat the milk to just below boiling point, then pour over the toasted bread and leave to cool and infuse for two hours. Strain the infused milk into a bowl.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale. Put the infused milk and cream in a saucepan and add the vanilla. Heat the mix until just below boiling, then, whisking constantly, slowly pour into the egg mix. Sieve the mixture into a clean pan, put this on a very low heat and stir constantly, paying particular attention to the sides of the pot so the custard doesn’t stick, for 10-15 minutes, until the mix begins to thicken. Don’t let it come to a boil, or it will split. The custard’s ready when you can draw a clean line with your finger across the back of the stirring spoon. Take off the heat and leave to cool to room temperature.

Churn the custard in an ice-cream machine until frozen but smooth (if you don’t have a machine, put it in a bowl in the freezer for an hour, remove and whisk with an electric hand whisk. Repeat twice more, by which time all the ice crystals should have been dispersed). Leave in the freezer until it has completely frozen.

Meanwhile, poach the fruit. Put the sugar, cinnamon, lemon and a litre of water in a pan and bring to a boil. Peel the apples and pears, then drop into the boiling syrup, cover with greaseproof paper and simmer gently until the fruit is just cooked (test with the tip of a small sharp knife). Take off the heat and leave to cool in the syrup.

Take the ice-cream out of the freezer 10-15 minutes before serving, to soften. During this time, quarter and core the poached fruit, then chop into 1cm pieces.

Put a spoonful of poached fruit in each bowl (decant the syrup into clean jars, seal and save for all sorts), top with a large scoop of ice-cream and eat straight away.

Apple crumble with whiskey custard

As a kid, apple crumble was a staple – especially over autumn and winter. It would slowly do its thing in our Stanley range while we kids sat salivating, waiting for it to finish. Far too many recipes these days include far too many unnecessary additions, to both the topping and the filling. Don’t mess with perfection, as my mum always tells me. A two-ingredient topping and a classic bramley apple filling can’t be improved upon, so don’t even try (although the Powell household does occasionally allow pear, too). As kids, we usually ate crumble with ice-cream, but nowadays whiskey custard is my go-to (if you want to cheat, just heat up some store-bought custard and spike it with Jameson).

Prep 10 min
Cook 50 min
Serves 4

For the crumble
900g bramley apples, peeled, quartered, cored and cut into 3cm pieces
150g light brown sugar
30ml lemon juice
120g diced cold butter
300g plain flour
75g caster sugar

For the custard
6 egg yolks
85g caster sugar
300ml whole milk
300ml single cream
50ml Irish whiskey
1 pinch grated orange zest (optional)

Put the apples, brown sugar and lemon juice in a pan and cook on a medium heat for about five minutes, until the fruit has softened slightly.

In a bowl, rub together the butter and flour until the mix looks like breadcrumbs, then stir in the caster sugar. Tip the apple mixture into a baking tin, cover with the crumble mixture, then bake at 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5 for 35-40 minutes, or until golden and starting to caramelise at the edges.

While the crumble is baking, make the custard. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale. Slowly heat the milk and cream in a heavy-based pan, until just about to boil, then pour the hot liquid over the egg mix and stir to combine. Return to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, for about 15 minutes, until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon; don’t let it boil or the custard will split. Off the heat, stir in the whiskey; a pinch of orange zest would be nice in there, too.

To serve, spoon the hot crumble into a bowl and pour over the custard. I like my crumble hot and custard cold, but that’s up to you.

Chocolate and Guinness fondants

Occasionally, Arran, our head pastry chef at the Midland Grand, makes incredible hot chocolate fondants for our set lunch menu, and this one features Guinness for a touch of Irishness.

Prep 10 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 4

150g butter, plus a little extra, softened, for greasing
50g cocoa powder
100ml Guinness
125g caster sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
125g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder

Brush the insides of six dariole moulds with softened butter while the oven is heating to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Melt the butter in a pan, then whisk in the cocoa powder and Guinness.

In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the sugar, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. Sift in the flour and baking powder, fold in gently, then fold in the Guinness mix.

Divide the mix between the moulds, then bake for seven minutes. Remove, leave to rest for a minute, then run a knife all around the edge of each mould and invert on to a plate. Serve with whipped double cream or soda bread ice-cream.

• Patrick Powell is executive chef at The Midland Grand Dining Room, London NW1, and Allegra, London E20