Pain Perdu, Pineapple and Coconut

We haven't been to Marcus Wareing's eponymous restaurant since it was re-branded.  It's a little art-deco jewel-box of a restaurant, but the atmosphere seemed just as hushed at lunchtime as before... Still.  The food was good, and I was particularly enamoured with this dish - a little chef's joke...  The pineapple tastes of coconut, which initially confuses the senses, especially as you try to work out how... I pressed the waitress, it's clearly compressed, because of the texture, but what with? And then of course it struck me - Malibu - the scent led me by my nose to my teenage years.  Malibu.  When was the last time you tasted Malibu?  Well, rest assured, in this dish it's absolutely delicious, as long as you like coconut and pineapple.

Coconut Cream Ice-Cream, with Lime Zest [Thermomix]

There are lots of recipes for coconut milk ice-cream, especially with the rise of the "raw" diner (where a dish is not cooked in any way), and the number of vegans (who can't eat any dairy).  My own persuasion of 'pescetarianism' is supposed to mean that I don't eat dairy (because of my osteo-arthritis), but the reality is that I will have the odd cappuccino, the odd ice-cream, and the occasional bit of chocolate.  Luckily I've was put-off cream for life whilst working for six months in a bakery on Saturdays - there's nothing like free cream slices for your break to put-you-off forever!

Vanilla-Ice Cream, and Chocolate Ice-Cream

Yes, I'm still making ice-cream at a ridiculous rate since I got the Thermomix, but it's now so easy I'm determined never to buy another tub of ice-cream again.  This way I know exactly what's gone into it!

Hibiscus Flower Ice-Cream [Thermomix]

Having made the lavender ice-cream so easily, I thought I should see what else I could do with my thermomix!  This time hibiscus flower ice-cream.

Lavender Ice Cream [Thermomix]

Lavender Ice-Cream

I found a lavender ice-cream recipe on the Telegraph website, and thought it would be a good one to adapt for the thermomix.