Ice in heaven

Serves 4 Desserts and puddings

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Method

Place the milk, rice flour and sugar in a saucepan. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, over a low-medium heat, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture starts to thicken (about 10 minutes). Make sure it doesn’t stick by scraping the bottom and sides of the saucepan with your spoon. Add the rose water and the cardamom pods and continue cooking and stirring until the custard is thick and glossy (about another 2 minutes). The custard will resemble a white crème pâtissière.

Pick out the cardamom pods, then pour the custard into ramekins, silicone moulds or a serving dish. Leave to cool in the fridge for a few hours. For the sugared almonds, place the sugar in a pan with 250ml water, bring to the boil and boil for about 20 minutes. Add the rose water, bring back to the boil and cook for another 2 minutes on a low heat or until a sugar thermometer shows 130°C/265°F. Place the almonds in another saucepan with a firm handle and slowly add the sugar syrup to the almonds while shaking them.

They will magically turn white and frosted-looking. Do this slowly otherwise the almonds will not be evenly coated. Alternatively, place the almonds in a food processor fitted with a paddle and slowly pour in the hot syrup while the machine is running. (Use a low speed so as not to break the nuts.) Place the frosted almonds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and leave to cool before separating them. Serve the cooled ice in heaven, sprinkled with slivered pistachios, sugared almonds (though this is not traditional), gold leaf and rose petals, if using.