Murphys Ice Creams

Delicious recipes from Murphys Ice Cream in County Kerry.

Nell’s Old Fashioned Fruit Cup

“Long before Murphys Ice Cream opened its doors on Strand Street, a woman named Nell Grandfield made ice cream from scratch in the very same building and delighted generations of customers. She used fresh cream from the Dingle creamery, and appreciative patrons would stop by Nell’s on their way to the cinema for an ice cream or a chocolate. Twenty years after Nell shut her doors, my brother and I leased her shop, and we soon met her former customers and heard the stories. Many of them still come in to Murphys, and although our equipment is more modern, our ingredients more exotic, and we cost more than 6 pence, I do think that Nell would have approved. She was best known for ice cream served in a dish with fruit, and this is a slightly more gourmet version of her fruit cup.”

Ingredients:

1 scoop vanilla ice cream
A generous dash of raspberry coulis or cordial
A few tablespoons of fresh fruit salad or fruit cocktail
A wafer cut diagonally

What to do:

Scoop the ice cream into a glass dish.
Spoon over the fruit.
Add the raspberry sauce.
Top with the wafer.
Devour it!
Notes: Try to buy local fruit that is in season whenever possible. Nothing beats it!
Choose fruit with a variety of colours to make the salad look its best.
Mix up the textures a bit - smooth fruits, crunchy fruits, etc.
A tablespoon or two of cognac is a great addition to fruit salad!
Letting the fruit salad sit for a few hours will greatly enhance the flavour, especially if you have put in some cognac. (It’s a good idea to leave it in the refrigerator).


Earl Grey (Tae) Ice Cream

“A few years after I left school, I found myself living in Somerville, a suburb of Boston. In nearby Cambridge, there was a famous little ice cream shop we used to frequent. They were known for strange and wonderful flavours, and one day I found Earl Grey ice cream in their cabinet. I ordered it, but I didn’t expect to like it half as well as I did. Now, as I play around with the ice cream and learn more about chemistry, I know that the tannins in tea cut sweetness. Earl Grey tea generally has a mix of different black teas, including Darjeeling and China tea, but it is the bergamot that really make it distinctive. If you want an adult ice cream that will surprise your guests, this is one to try.”

Ingredients:

130g + 2 tablespoons sugar
5 egg yolks  
250 ml milk   
6 Earl Grey tea bags or the loose leaf equivalent
240 ml cream.

What to do:

Beat the sugar and egg yolks together until thick and pale yellow.
Bring the milk to a simmer.
Add the tea and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
Bring back to a low simmer, stir, and remove the tea/bags.
Beat the milk into the eggs and sugar in a slow stream.
Pour the mixture back into the pan and place over low heat.
Stir continuously until the custard thickens slightly (around 65-70C) and just coats the back of a spoon. Don’t over-heat, though, because at around 76C you will scramble the eggs!
Immediately remove from the heat.
Transfer the custard into a small container, cover, and refrigerate until cool (5C).
Whip the cream until it has doubled in volume (you should have soft peaks - don’t over-whip). Fold the cream (gently stir) into the custard.
Freeze using a domestic ice cream machine, or cover and place in the freezer, stirring every few hours to break up the ice crystals.
If you’re using a domestic ice cream machine, transfer to a freezer-proof covered container when the ice cream has achieved a semi-solid consistency (around 15 minutes). Place it in the freezer, and continue to freeze until it is solid. Yield: 8 servings


Raspberry (Sú Craobh) Sorbet

Not all the Murphys recipes use milk, cream and eggs – they also make great sorbets and this is probably the best of all. “Raspberry is a regal fruit - both the colour and taste are so deep and intense it’s perfect for a  sorbet, where the experience of the fruit is unencumbered by distractions. The ingredients are simple - water, sugar, raspberries, and a bit of lemon or lime. Outside of eating fresh raspberries off the cane, it will be hard to find a raspberry experience so potent.”  

Ingredients:

250 g sugar
350 ml boiling water
325 g fresh, ripe raspberries
The juice of two lemons or four limes

What to do:

Put the sugar in a saucepan.
Pour the boiling water over the sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the raspberries and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat.
Stir it to break up the raspberries, then cover and place in the refrigerator until cool.
When it’s fully cool, add the juice of the lemons or limes.
Freeze using a domestic ice cream maker until it has a semi-solid consistency. This could take up to 20 minutes.
Transfer to a freezer-proof container and freeze until it is solid.
Otherwise, simply place in a covered, freezer-proof container and place in the freezer, stirring every two hours to break up the ice crystals.
Remove from freezer and allow to thaw for about 15 minutes before serving.
Yield: 6 Servings

Note: It’s hard to make sorbet without an ice cream machine. You will need to interrupt the freezing process and stir, or you will be left with a block of red ice! The more times you do this, the better the consistency will be.


Strawberry (Sú Talún) Ice Cream

This is not a very difficult ice cream to make. “Although” Kieran says, “We beg you to find fresh, ripe strawberries. There’s a farm in Co. Wicklow called ‘Sweetbank’ that gives us fruit and sells our ice cream in their farm shop. We come back with crates that perfume our production facility for days. Perhaps this should be saved for those warm days when the kids are off school and need to be entertained. Making ice cream with them might well be just as enjoyable as eating it when it comes out of the freezer.”

Ingredients:

200 g fresh strawberries
15 ml (1 tablespoon) fresh lemon juice
130 g sugar
200 ml milk
5 egg yolks
240 ml cream
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

What to do:

Rinse and hull the strawberries.
Put them in a food processor or blender and pulse two or three times. You don’t want a purée here! Just break them up a bit.
Combine the strawberries, the lemon juice, and 30 grams of the sugar in a saucepan and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes until the sugar is dissolved.  
Bring the milk to a low simmer. Remove from the heat.
Beat the rest of the sugar and egg yolks together until thick and pale yellow.
Beat the milk into the eggs and sugar in a slow stream.
Pour the mixture back into the pan, and place over low heat.
Stir continuously until the custard thickens slightly (around 65-70C) and just coats the back of a spoon. Don’t over-heat, though, because at around 76C you will scramble the eggs! Immediately remove from the heat.
Transfer the custard into a small container, cover, and refrigerate until cool (5C).  
Stir in the strawberries and the vanilla.
Whip the cream until it has doubled in volume (you should have soft peaks - don’t over-whip). Fold (gently stir) the cream into the custard.
Freeze using a domestic ice cream machine, or cover and place in the freezer, stirring every few hours to break up the ice crystals.
If you’re using a domestic ice cream machine, transfer to a freezer-proof covered container when the ice cream has achieved a semi-solid consistency (around 15 minutes). Place it in the freezer, and continue to freeze until it is solid.

Notes:

1. Vanilla is optional, but the Murphys like it as a base flavour for this ice cream…
2. To pasteurise the eggs, heat the custard to 73C and maintain that temperature for at least 5 minutes. Use a cooking thermometer, though! If the custard goes any higher than 76C, the eggs will scramble. Immediately cover and place in the freezer until cool.