Dulce de leche ice cream with meringue and caramel elements

This is two layers of ice cream with meringue in between.  One layer is made with double cream and dulce de leche and the other with condensed milk and double cream.  The eating experience is a little like eating a parfait so it can be cut and served straight from the freezer.

I made two  versions of this so take the elements you like or use it as inspiration to make your own combination.

The peanut brittle is  made by this Cumbrian company  http://https://www.originalkendalmintcake.co.uk/ but you can make your own or simply use toasted whole almonds, roughly chopped.

In one version of this recipe I used an oblong tin 24 x 14cm and in another a round charlotte tin its base measuring 14cm diameter.  In the charlotte version, I added sponge fingers  dipped in espresso coffee to top the ice-cream which when turned over formed the base.  The biscuits added a lovely crunch to the eating experience.   You can even use individual ramekins to make this, putting tiny meringues inside but whatever tin you decide to use,  it needs to be lined with a double layer of plastic film which will help you turn the ice cream over.

Serves 8-10

For the first layer of ice cream

• 200g dulce de leche
• 300g double cream, whipped to stiff peaks
• 150g Quiggins peanut brittle, roughly chopped

For the second layer of ice cream

• 200g condensed milk
• 300g double cream, whipped to stiff peaks
• 100ml milk
• 2 tbsp vanilla extract

For the meringue

• 2 medium egg whites
• 100g sugar
• A few drops of vanilla extract

For the almond tuiles

• 50g isomalt sugar
• 50g glucose

For the almond caramel spikes

• 50g caster sugar
• 50g glucose
• A few blanched whole almonds

For the orange slices

• 4 oranges
• 50ml rum
• 3 tbsp brown sugar

Method

Start by making the dulce de leche.  Put a tin of condensed milk into a saucepan and add water to cover the tin by a few centimetres.  Bring to a low rolling boil point and leave to caramelise for 3 hours.   Take the tin out and leave to cool before using.

For the meringue, preheat the oven to 140 ⁰ C.

In a large, clean bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks.  Start adding the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, while continuously whisking.  When you have a still, glossy meringue whisk in the vanilla.

Line a baking tray with baking paper, fixing it in place with a tiny blob of meringue on each corner.  Using a pencil draw an oblong of 20 x 10cm.  If using a round charlotte tin,  draw a circle the same size as the bottom of the tin.  Pipe the  meringue within the shape that will fit in the tin containing the ice cream.   Bake for 90 minutes and let the meringue cool in the oven.

For the oranges,  top and tail each orange and cut away the peel so as to expose the flesh of the fruit without any pith on it.  Cut clean segments with a sharp knife and put in a bowl.

In a small saucepan melt the sugar with the rum over a medium heat.  Add to the bowl with the orange segments and keep in the fridge till needed.

To make the caramel tuiles, make a light caramel by heating the glucose and isomalt together in a pan. When the caramel reaches 150 ⁰ C pour it onto a silicon mat or non stick paper and allow to cool.

Once cool, blitz the caramel in a blender. Sieve the caramel onto the silicon mat. Sprinkle the almond flakes onto the caramel and transfer to the oven at 160°C/gas mark 3 for 5 minutes till the caramel is translucent.  Leave to cool and break into shards.

For the almond caramel spikes,  gently fix the almonds  to  wooden skewers, taking care not to break the almonds.

Protect the floor with some cardboard paper under the work surface you will be working and have a heavy chopping board handy.

Make a caramel by heating the caster sugar and glucose in a pan.  When the caramel is a golden colour, remove the pan from the  heat.   Keep stirring the caramel with a spoon to the point where the caramel drips in a continuous steam from the spoon.  Dip each almond into the caramel and fix each skewer under the weight of the chopping board so they overhang  and the caramel is freely dripping onto the cardboard on the floor.   Continue quickly as the caramel goes hard fast, putting it back on gentle heat to melt again if necessary.   When the caramel is hard, cut the spikes with a pair of scissors at a length of 10-15cm.

For the ice cream,  line the tin of your choice with two layers of plastic film,  overhanging by quite a bit to help you hold and remove the  ice cream out of the tin when you want to serve it.

For the first layer of ice cream, mix in a bowl 200g of the cooled dulce de leche with the chopped peanut brittle.  Fold the whipped cream into it.

For the second layer of ice cream,  put the condensed milk into a bowl.  Add the vanilla and stir to mix.  Fold the whipped cream into the condensed milk.

Spoon the first layer into the lined tin.  Top with the meringue.  Spoon the second layer of the ice cream and smooth down with a spatula.  Cover with the overhanging cling film and transfer to the freezer for a minimum of six hours.

Cut and serve with the oranges on the side or with fresh red fruit.