Light Cardamom & Almond Kulfi

📝 Ingredients

• 1 L semi-skimmed milk (950 ml to reduce, 50 ml for the cornflour)
• 100 ml light single cream, 12 % fat
• 70 g caster sugar
• 20 g cornflour
• 1 level tsp ground cardamom
• 50 g almonds (35 g for the kulfi, 15 g for decoration)
• 1 pinch of salt

🍴 Utensils

• Heavy-bottomed saucepan
• Wooden spatula
• Whisk
• Frying pan
• 6 small glasses or ramekins
• Cling film

📖 Steps

1. Pour the milk into a large heavy-based saucepan, keeping back 50 ml in a bowl. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat, then turn down to low: the milk should just simmer, never boil hard, or it will boil over and catch on the bottom.
2. Leave to reduce for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring every 2 to 3 minutes with the spatula and scraping the bottom and sides well. The milk should lose about a third of its volume (about 650 ml left) and turn a light ivory colour.
3. Meanwhile, roughly chop the almonds with a knife. Dry-toast them in a frying pan over a medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring, until lightly golden and fragrant. Tip them onto a plate and set aside 15 g for decoration.
4. Mix the cornflour into the 50 ml of reserved cold milk until there are no lumps left. Add the sugar, cardamom and salt to the reduced milk, stir, then pour in the cornflour mixture, whisking constantly.
5. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes over a low heat, whisking, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, then stir in the light single cream and the remaining 35 g of chopped almonds.
6. Leave to cool for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time to stop a skin forming on the surface. The mixture should be barely lukewarm before it goes into the freezer, so it sets evenly and keeps a smooth texture.
7. Divide between 6 small glasses or ramekins of about 150 ml, cover with cling film and freeze for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight, until the kulfi is firm.
8. Take the kulfis out 10 minutes before serving so they soften slightly, or dip the bottom of the glasses in hot water for a few seconds to turn them out. Sprinkle with the reserved toasted almonds and enjoy straight away.