Rum and raisin ice cream

Annie who works in the F&P Industrial Design team in Dunedin told me a story about when she was young, growing up in the Netherlands there were only three types of ice cream available: vanilla, strawberry and rum and raisin – the latter of which children were forbidden to eat. 
I like this story; today we have so many varieties and flavours of ice cream in New Zealand.  There are influences from Italian gelato with flavours of tiramisu, influences from Japan with green tea and even our own adaptations like Lemon & Paeroa ice cream (L&P is a drink originating from a town in the North Island).  With so many choices it makes bending over the freezer at the supermarket and deciding a difficult task.  
I think it’s nice that you could only get three flavours in the Netherlands – why complicate such a simple dessert.
I didn’t have an ice cream maker and I was slightly worried about achieving a creamy result with no icicles.  And I can confidently declare success!  This needs to be made the day before eating but it’s worth it – and now that she is old enough to eat it, it even impressed Annie!

Ingredients

makes approx 1.5L

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• 1 c rum
• 1 c raisins
• 1.5 c sugar
• 15 egg yolks
• 3 c milk
• 5 c cream
• Pinch of salt
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthways

Method

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• 1. Soak the raisins in rum.
• 2. Whisk the eggs with the sugar until light and fluffy.
• 3. Heat the milk, cream salt and vanilla bean in a large saucepan (do not boil).
• 4. Gradually add approximately ¼ of the warmed milk, ladle by ladle to the egg mixture, whisking continuously. Then transfer the egg mixture back to the saucepan.
• 5. Over a low heat, stir the cream continuously with a wooden spoon until it thickens (it should coat the back of your spoon, and when you run your finger in a line over the back of the spoon, the cream should not run).
• 6. Take the cream off the heat, and strain through a metal sieve.
• 7. Pour into 2 dishes (metal slice tins or porcelain/glass casserole dishes).
• 8. Spoon the raisins over the mixture (save the excess rum, you will need this tomorrow), Cover with gladwrap and freeze overnight.
• 8. The next day, blend the ice cream in batches in a food processor. This will blend the raisins through the mix and contribute to its creaminess. Do this in batches, adding some of the saved rum to help soften it. You can add more rum keeping in mind that the softer your end product will be.
• 9. Refreeze for at least 2 hours before serving in bowls or waffle cones.