Recipe

Frozen pink pomegranate dessert

Spoil a loved one or invite a few friends to treat them with this special dessert, with pomegranates as the hero. It’s so easy to make but everyone will think that you spent a lot of time in the kitchen. A quick and simple sauce, made with pomegranate or apple juice, some seasonings and pomegranate rubies, turns shop-bought ice cream into a luxurious dessert with an interesting flavour twist. The cinnamon stick may feel like a strange addition, but the flavour works really well with the pomegranate juice and other ingredients. Do read the tip about the jelly that is used, as it’s a shop-bought condiment, typically used with meats, like lamb or pork, not sweet jelly that you would normally use for a cold dessert. The sweet tartness of this jelly is perfect to balance the sweetness of the ice cream and adds a fruity base to the pink layer.

Serves 6

Recipe developed for the Pomegranate Association of South Africa

Ingredients

60 ml (¼ cup) pomegranate or apple juice

5 ml (1 tsp) finely grated lemon rind

30 ml (2 tbsp) castor sugar, or to taste, depending on sweetness of juice

small piece of a cinnamon stick

30 ml (2 tbsp) prepared apple or cranberry jelly (see tip)

250 ml (1 cup) pomegranate arils

750 ml-1 litre (3-4 cups) vanilla ice cream, slightly softened

extra pomegranate arils for garnish

Method

1. Place juice, lemon rind, sugar, cinnamon and jelly in a saucepan and stir over a low-medium heat to dissolve the sugar and jelly.
2. Reduce the heat and simmer without the lid for 5 minutes.
3. Spoon out and allow to cool and then remove the cinnamon stick and add the arils.
4. Line 6 ramekins or suitable cups (about 150-200 ml capacity each) with cling wrap, so that enough hangs over the sides to cover the dessert with. Spoon 20-30 ml of the sauce into each mould and top with ice cream.
5. Cover ice cream with cling wrap and freeze overnight or for at least 3-4 hours or until frozen solid.
6. Remove each dessert from the mould, turn over onto a plate, pull clingwrap off and allow sauce to run down. Serve with extra pomegranate arils.

Tips

1. This jelly is a popular condiment available in jars that is usually enjoyed with meat like lamb or pork. The jelly in the ingredient list does not refer to jelly powder.
2. If the frozen desserts struggle to turn out, just wipe each mould with a warm cloth to loosen up the ice cream.
3. The recipe makes enough for six, so you can easily keep the rest for another meal, if you don’t plan on serving them all at once. Don’t freeze them for longer than a month.

Photo by Adel Ferreira.