Hi everyone! Today I’ve got a delicious guest post by one of my favourite people, my cousin Roslyn – supermum to two of my favourite munchkins Grace and Charlotte, and also an amazing cook and baker! Hope you enjoy this awesome recipe xx

Hey, hello! I’m Roslyn, Lisa’s cousin. When Lisa asked me to do a guest post, how could I have possibly said no?! Not only is Lisa an awesome cousin, she is also one of my closest friends – and spicyicecream is (without a doubt) my favourite blog. Ok, I may be a little biased, but I get so excited when I find a new post. Quite a few of Lisa’s recipes have become big favourites in our house, especially her devil’s food cake. I even used it for one part of my sister’s wedding cake earlier this year.

My eldest daughter, Grace, was diagnosed with anaphylaxis to nuts at a very young age, so cooking everything from scratch is an absolute necessity in our home. Even the tiniest trace of a peanut, cashew or pistachio will result in a life-threatening allergic reaction – it’s pretty scary stuff! However, I was adamant from the very beginning that Grace needed to have a good relationship with food; to be aware of the dangers without being afraid to try new things. Having never known any different, she’s really taken her diagnosis in stride, and doesn’t let her allergies dictate how she lives her life. Yes, allowances must be made, but she doesn’t feel that she’s missing out, which is very important to me.

Finding nut-free products can be quite a challenge. I have spent hours in the supermarket reading labels and searching for safe foods that Grace can eat. Sometimes it’s just not possible to find tasty, nutritious, nut-free options, and when this happens I go searching for recipes. Although to be fair, I’ll use just about any excuse to add more recipes to my collection. My cookbooks are now taking up over 3 shelves in my bookcases, and I have no intention of even considering curing my addiction! No, I shan’t!

Now, I know that ice cream is not a particularly nutritious food, but I don’t know a child who doesn’t love that delicious, delightfully creamy treat; and why should my little girl miss out on the occasional indulgence just because there aren’t very many nut-free ice creams available at our local supermarket?

When brainstorming all the possible flavour combinations, we were playing around with the idea of a classic dessert/ice cream hybrid. Lisa suggested something with an oat crumble and then roasted strawberries popped into my head (maybe because my two blonde little monsters had polished off two punnets of the ruby beauties earlier that night), and thus, roasted strawberry crumble ice cream was born! The combination turned out so well, it didn’t last more than a few days in my freezer before it was all gone. To say that it was a hit with my girls is a massive understatement! And – trust me – adults will enjoy this one, too.

Roasted Strawberry Crumble Ice Cream
Makes 1 litre

Roasted Strawberries

• 500g strawberries, sliced into halves or quarters (depending on size)
• 2 tablespoons raw sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

To make the roasted strawberries, line a shallow ceramic baking dish with non-stick baking paper. Stir the sugar and vanilla through the strawberries, place in the dish and bake at 180°C for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool.

In the meantime, bring the milk and cream to a boil in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until very well blended and just slightly thickened. While still whisking, drizzle in about one third of the hot liquid to temper the eggs. Still whisking, slowly pour in the remaining liquid.

Pour the custard back into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring without stopping until the custard thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon – if you run your finger down the bowl of the spoon, the custard should not run into the track. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and pour the custard into a glass measuring cup or heatproof bowl. Refrigerate the custard until chilled before churning it.

While the custard is chilling, make the crumble. Place ingredients into a bowl and rub together with your fingers until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper and spread crumble mixture evenly over the tray. Bake at 180°C, checking after 10 minutes to make sure it is not browning too fast. Stir and bake for another 5 minutes if needed. Allow to cool.

Scrape the chilled custard into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Just before the ice cream is thickened and ready, add the cooled roasted strawberries and churn to blend. Pack the ice cream into a container, sprinkle with about half of the crumble mixture, and freeze for at least 2 hours, until it is firm enough to scoop. It will keep for about 2 weeks in the freezer. Serve in scoops with extra crumble on top.