Prune & Armagnac Ice Cream

Jane Grigson, the celebrated English cookery writer, writes "The best prunes are reckoned to come from Agen, or the district known as the Agenais. As this is Armagnac country, too, they are often put together in a most felicitous way."

I first came across prune and armagnac ice cream in Lindsay Shere's Chez Panisse Desserts. Her ice cream recipes have worked so well for me at home; they tend not to ice up after they've been processed. The dairy fat content is slightly higher than the recipes I've used in restaurants.

Paula Wolfert also has some lovely recipes with prunes and armagnac in her book "The Cooking of South-West France".

For me, the texture of this ice cream is so luxurious. The soaked prunes are added to the ice cream after it is churned. The prunes are naturally creamy. The armagnac adds flavor, but also lowers the freezing point contributing to the creamy texture.