Armagnac and chestnut ice-cream

Serves 4

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With a little extra effort Christmas can be cracking

Henry Harris's whole baked Vacherin

Caroline Waldegrave's truffle toasts

Lorna Wing's pumpkin squares

Halloumi & herb triangles

Chris Galvin's iced oysters and hot spicy chorizo

Paul Merrett's gravadlax sashimi with beetroot sorbet

Fruit & nut stuffing

Chicken Stuffing

Ricotta stuffing

Lorna Wing's syllabub with dried fruits

Port-poached pears

Christmas pudding soufflé

Another from Henry Harris – because of the alcohol, this is a loose ice-cream. You can garnish with marrons glaces, as shown.

500ml/1 pint milk

1 vanilla pod

6 egg yolks

200g/7fl oz sugar

500ml/1 pint double cream

200g/7oz tinned sweetened chestnut purée (Fougere is a good brand)

30ml/1fl oz Armagnac

Heat milk with vanilla pod. In a bowl, beat egg yolks into sugar until creamy. Combine the mixture and the milk with the cream and cook gently in a bain marie (to prevent egg from solidifying). When slightly cooled, beat in chestnut purée and Armagnac. Freeze in ice-cream churn, or in an ice tray in freezer, beating every hour to get a smooth consistency.