When I was growing up in the 50s white bread was popular and no-one fancied eating the brown variety.  White bread was thought of as more pure, more high class.  Traditionally, only the poor ate brown bread and they didn't always know whether it was adulterated with sawdust, chalk - or worse.


But I was one of the few, especially children, who preferred brown bread.  White seemed to end up like lumps of cotton wool in my mouth and at least brown bread stayed dry and crumbly.

So I really enjoyed it when my grandmother made Brown Bread Ice Cream.  Here's a grown-up version of the recipe, taken from the Good Food Magazine of December 2002:

Brown Bread Ice Cream

100g granary or wholemeal Bread
50g light muscavado Sugar
handful of chopped mixed Nuts
300ml double Cream


Coulis:
340g pack grozen Fruits of the forest
1 - 2 tbsp Sugar, to taste
Creme de Cassis liqueur

1. Preheat the grill to high.
2. In a food processor make the breadcrumbs.
3. Add the muscavado sugar.
4. Place in a foil-lined grill pan with the nuts and toast until crispy and golden.
5. Turn onto a baking sheet and leave to cool
6. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks.
7. Whisk the double cream until thick.
8. Fold the bread mixture into the cream, then lightly fold in the egg whites.
9. Spoon into ramekins and freeze overnight.
10. Make the coulis.  Heat the fruit in a saucepan with 1tbsp sugar and creme de cassis.
11. Taste and add more sugar and creme de cassis if you wish.
12. To serve: turn out the ice cream and drizzle the hot coulis over the top.