Oooh, great, lots of really helpful ideas - thanks all .

Good point Aitch. Bit of a sad reflection on me that I needed that pointing out - but I am an ice cream maker virgin...

Must get in some condensed milk, and buy Red magazine.

15g of cocoa
75 grams of dark chocolate
150ml of cream and 500ml of custard.
50ml water

Melt chocolate with cocoa and water and 50ml cream in saucepan then add rest of cream and tub of custard and stick in ice cream maker.

That is from memory as DS is in bed and I am staying up here to yell at him if he comes out of his room - we have reached our threshhold for patience and understanding today!

the vanilla recipe on the times site is wrong - she only gives the cream and vanilla pod and the sugar/eggs have been left out.

Anyway for recipes you could try

this site

This months red magazine have them.

The chocolate ice cream is really easy and very naughty!

The sorbets are bit more health conscious!

Once you get used to it especially with sorbet you can make up your own depending on what fruit you have ripening.

Currently in freezer we have Lemon and Lime Ice Cream (after lots of lemons and limes left over from a Mexican night)

Raspberry after punnets were half price in co op.

Red grapefruit - after over order on Ocado.

Mango - after I accidentally bought a tin of mango puree.

I use:

300 ml single cream
one can condensed milk
couple drops vanilla

mix together well and then pour into the icecream maker and allow it to do its thing...

i just guess, i mean if it tastes nice as a mix it's going to taste nice frozen, innit?

bumping for Aitch

Thanks Mango and Aitch.

Aitch, do you just guess at quantities? I've not used my machine much, and I tend to like to stick to recipes - but do you reckon I can chuck the right kind of ingredients in and see what happens? I don't have fruit yog but I do have my custard, cream and berries in the fridge.

i just use a big tub of fruit yog, some icing sugar and some lemon. and whatever soft fruit is floating around, obv.

I've got a tub of ready made custard and some double cream. I haven't got time to fiddle around too much, but wonder if I can cut a few corners? Any ideas/tips? Thanks everyone.