Ice cream with red-hot chilli syrup

MAKES: Enough for about 12 bowls of ice cream

Ingredients:

  • 250g caster sugar
  • 250ml water
  • 1 long red fresh chilli, unseeded and chopped very finely

Method:

  1. Put the sugar and water into a saucepan, and dissolve the sugar over a gentle heat.
  2. Then turn up the heat and bring to the boil and let bubble for 15 minutes until the liquid’s reduced with clear viscous syrup. When it’s ready it should give the back of the wooden spoon a sticky glossy coating when you dip in it, but do not stir at any stage in the proceedings, or the syrup wil crystallise.
  3. Turn off the heat and add in the chilli, swirl (again, do not stir) then pour into a glass jug to cool slightly.
  4. Only then the syrup can be stirred so that the red flecks are distributed throughout, rather than just being suspended on the top.
  5. The syrup can be keep in a tight lidded glass jar till you need to use it. If the syrup is too hard, just stand the jar in a bowl of warm water to loosen up a little.