MALTINA ICE CREAM

Hands up if you think we could do with a few more Nigerian desserts. 

I paid a visit to my local African food store yesterday and spied a row of malt drinks - Maltina, Malta, Amstel Malta etc (so many brands for such a popular beverage). I must have looked a bit dim as I stood staring at the row for longer than could be considered normal. In actual fact, the wheels were turning as I wondered how these carbonated malt drinks could be used in cooking. I imagined using it in a stew or a kind of rich vegetable soup. Then I remembered the tin of coconut cream I had at home and thought it'd be cool to blend the two to make some kind of ice cream. Fast forward to now and I'm glad I grabbed that bottle of maltina.

Few ingredients go into this but the process is long if you haven't got an ice cream maker. 

A labour of love, but well worth it!

Ingredients

(serves 4)

- 1 cup coconut cream or tinned coconut milk

- 1/4 cup maltina (or any other brand of malt drink)

- 1/4 cup brown sugar

Place the coconut cream, maltina and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl and whisk (I used an electric hand mixer) for 5 mins until the mixture is well combined and aerated.

Cover and put in the freezer for 30 minutes. Take out and give another whisk. 

Repeat this process several times until the ice cream mixture is creamy. The purpose of repeating the process is to make sure you end up with smooth, scoopable ice cream and not rock-solid cream with large ice crystals. Alternatively, you can use an ice cream maker to speed up the process.

Serve in bowls or little glass cups and spoon some of the malt drink over the top for an extra kick.