Tutti Frutti Ice Cream

Remember Gino Ginelli ice cream? Neither does anyone else, apparently. Gino Ginelli made tutti frutti ice cream, which I really thought was a genuine authentic gelato flavour until very recently when I realised that no-one else makes it. That made for a very disappointing trip to Italy. 

The version from my youth was milk-white ice cream with brightly coloured specks of 'frutti' - glace cherries, candied peel and the like. There were a few green specks, which I later learned was angelica. It transpires that no-one sells angelica any more. Like most of my favourite childhood treats, its probably highly carcinogenic.

A cursory glance on Google shows a few blogs asking 'whatever happened to Gino Ginelli?' - they went the way of the dinosaurs, it seems. I'm comforted to learn some of these bloggers also remember the theme tune ('Gino-oh-Gino-Ginelli-ice-cream-oh'). Good times. I wonder if perhaps Senior Ginelli could no longer make his ice cream due to the global angelica shortage... 

This version is my attempt to recreate the tutti frutti of my youth. I have to say, although delicious, it's not what I was expecting (perhaps because of the omitted angelica?). It's got a creamy, fruity, Christmas-cakey vibe which is very nice, even in the height of summer. Unfortunately, though, my desire to relive my favourite dessert at Grandma's house remains unmet.

300ml double cream
300ml milk
1tbsp amaretto
4 egg yolks
120g caster sugar
1tsp cornflour
250g mixed dried fruit of your choice (I used chopped glace cherries, candied peel, raisins, sultanas and dried pineapple - use angelica if you can track some down)

1. Heat the milk, cream and amaretto in a saucepan.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, then add the sugar and cornflour and beat until pale and fluffy.
3. When bubbles form around the edge of the creamy milk, pour a little into the eggs and stir to slacken the mixture. Then pour in the remainder, whisking continually.
4. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan, return to the heat and stir for a few minutes until thickened slightly.
5. Decant to a jug, add the mixed dried fruits, give it a good stir and leave to cool. 
6. When the custard is cold (ideally refrigerate it over night), give it another good stir (spoon licking opportunity here) and sling it in the Magimix.

The Amaretto gives a nice balanced flavour to the ice cream, but don't forget it affects the freezing. It will take a good 25 minutes in the ice cream maker and still won't be solid - it will firm up in the freezer though.