Summer is over

Well, Summer never really began here in Victoria. It was as though Spring never really left, and we were left with a strange combination of cooler days and nights interspersed with flashes of heat. You've really got to wonder what Mother Nature is going to hurl at us next, between floods, bushfires, earthquakes and, just yesterday, a tsunami.

All things aside, I attempted to summon a little Summer by breaking in the icecream maker I received from my lovely mum for Christmas.

Here are a couple of original recipes of mine to share - feel free to enjoy making and eating them as much as I did.

Caramelised Banana Icecream with Hot Caramel Sauce

3 bananas, chopped

1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmy packed

1 tbls orange juice

50g unsalted butter, melted & cooled

350ml thickened cream*

150ml milk*

120g icing sugar, sifted

*If you're not using an icecream maker, use 500ml thickened cream instead of the cream/milk combination.

Preheat oven to 190 celsius (170 fan forced).

Place chopped bananas in an ovenproof dish. To make caramel sauce, combine brown sugar, juice and melted butter. Pour over bananas and bake in oven for 20 minutes. Place dish in fridge to cool.

Whip cream until almost at soft peaks and add milk and icing sugar. Place cooled bananas in mixture, reserving caramel sauce. Churn banana mixture in icecream maker for half an hour until frozen and thick. Pour caramel sauce over icecream and enjoy!

* If you don't have an icecream maker, you need to place the icecream mixture in the freezer, scraping the sides of the mixture every hour until frozen. This prevents ice crystals forming on the surface of your icecream - you don't want those!

Strawberry & Lime Icecream

1 punnet strawberries, hulled and chopped

25 ml lime juice (I cheated and used bottled lime, so feel free to do the same!)

350ml thickened cream

150ml milk

Puree strawberries with a food processor or stick mixer and add lime juice. Whip cream until almost at soft peaks and add milk and strawberry/lime mixture.

Place icecream mixture in icecream maker and churn for half an hour until thickened and frozen. To give you an idea of how cold my icecream maker is, see the drip on the side? It froze solid in under a second. Wowsers.

Serve immediately, or if freezing to enjoy later make sure you remove the icecream from the freezer about 15 minutes prior to serving.

Oh, and serving in mini cones is optional. I love them. Cute!