Today I saw the temperature gauge in my car hit 48 degree Celcius (118 degree Fahrenheit). That would be like sitting inside an oven while slow baking one of Donna Hay's cakes. After a drive to Sydney's Entertainment Quarter to spend some time at the pop-up Waterworld and a cool tataki-Asahi lunch, we headed back home and drifted in our pool for what seemed like a very long time. We love our pool. It is a little getaway, an escape right in our own backyard. Nick toils all year to keep it in top shape (yes, I have my own personal pool boy! *never thought I would ever get to say that*) and we all reap the joys of his hard work everytime the mercury climbs high. Over Christmas my pool boy bought this Nikon camera. It is the Nikon Coolpix AW100 waterproof and shockproof camera with GPS and Full HD 1080p video. Lets just say that our pool escapades have become even more fun now.
The Nikon Coolpix AW100 is a nifty little camera that comes in several splashes of brights and one very cool camo. Ours is the bright orange. It is compact and fits sungly in one hand for those fun underwater shots. It feels sturdy and has amazing clarity. Barring a slight lag between shots (this is no DSLR!), I find it great to use and abuse in and around water without the fear of getting water on the lens or dropping it (it is shockproof too!).
One afternoon I took it with me in the water for some quiet time and reflection. Of course I ended up spending most of my zen moments trying out all the different settings on it, but I did manage two minutes of complete passive nirvana. Two glorious minutes of floating in the water on my back, ears submerged and water rushing in till there was no more space for it to flow and everything went silent. I stared at the clouds dreamily, my eyes fluttering lazily and finally closing of their own accord, the camera loosely twined through my fingers. The gentle lap lap of the water was dulling my senses, serenading me to oblivion. Two minutes. Complete - Utter - Bliss. A moment of clarity. And then I heard it! The music from Jaws! In my head. My eyes flew open, I panicked, hit my feet at the bottom as I scrambled to stand up straight in chest high water. Damn you Steven Spielberg! 28 years on and I still can't be floating peacefully in my own pool for more than 2 minutes. On the upside though, I thought of making Milo ice cream in that brief moment before my eyes shut close. Don't you just love the randomness of your mind?
Hot on the heels of Cereal Milk ice cream, homemade Milo ice cream made complete sense. Milo is a malt and chocolate drink by Nestle and is a very popular beverage in cold or hot form in many parts of the world. Milo was originally developed by Thomas Mayne in Sydney, Australia in 1934 and is sold in their iconic green tin. We love hot Milo milk, Milo milkshake and even cold Milo custard. I was sure we would love Milo ice cream too. I have paired Milo with some salted chocolate for a creamy ice cream that is a mouthful and has a beautiful after taste. The recipe was adapted from the Humphry Slocombe ice cream book written by the ice cream revolutionists over at San Fransisco's hottest ice-creamery.
[print_this]
HOMEMADE MILO ICE CREAM
A creamy malt and chocolate ice cream made with Nestle's favourite malt powder - Milo. Homemade milo ice cream has the same wonderful sweet and salty flavour of Milo.
Makes - To serve 6
Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
3 egg yolks
1 cup brown sugar
150g milk chocolate, chopped
4 tablespoons milo
1 teaspoon salt
Method
In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, heat milk, cream and salt on medium; stirring occasionally until hot but not boiling. Remove from heat and cool for approximately 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until well mixed. Slowly pour the cream mixture into the yolk mixture stirring contantly. Return the combined mixture to the saucepan on medium-low heat. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden/rubber spatula. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan to avoid scorching. At the end of 3 minutes, the mixture will start to steam and will appear thickened. This is the custard.
Remove the custard from the heat. Put the chocolate and milo in a large heatproof bowl. Pour over the hot custard and whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Pour the custard through a strainer into a clean metal bowl. Cool completely.
Cover the bowl with clingfilm and chill in the fridge overnight (or at least an hour). When chilled, transfer to your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Enjoy straight away or freeze in the freezer for upto a week.
[/print_this]
I am Nigerian, and live in Nigeria where Milo is BIG. Its such a shock to discover it is an Aussie delight too! Wonderful photos - I'd love underwater photography I think!
I have to know what those bowl crane clips are called, and where to buy them! Please let me know! Thanks! :]
This recipe turned out AMAZING!!
I added 10 tablespoons to the mix stired it through whilst it was warm. Then once cooled I added more milo on top!
I've grown up drinking Nestle's Milo and have so many many memories associated with it. As I see your ice cream here, there's a flush of thoughts drumming my head right now! Adore your Nikon Coolpix AW100 camera for those coveted underwater shots. That creamy milo malt and chocolate ice cream looks delicious! I can easily hog a couple of these without shame!
Homemade Milo ice cream after a good swim?
Can summer get any better?
Absolutely cannot tell you how much of a relief it is to hear that other people irrationally fear sharks and other terrifying creatures in an enclosed swimming pool. My boyfriend thinks I'm insane. I will now eat Milo from the tin in celebration.
i love milo ! haven't had it in ages....you're so right about the underwater part. i always think of a croc or shark and i get all panicked. lol too much of nat geo/discovery is not a good thing
When my sister was a little girl (we grew up in Australia), she was a very fussy eater and LIVED on Milo sprinkled on ice cream. I need to make this, sadly, she lives in New York which is bit far to send it from Toronto! GREAT recipe. Bookmarked!
PS: Great underwater pics - I was chatting with my mum and dad in Sydney this past week and the heat sounded BRUTAL!
Love your underwater photos!
And the milo ice cream is definitely on my to-make list. Milo is a drink I grew up with here in Singapore 😉 And Milo in an ice cream is a perfect way to battle the year long summer with have here in this little city!
Wow, this definitely takes me back. I'll have to dig out a can of milo ASAP!
I don't have a pool and I'm not really into water-related activities but sounds like a cool new toy for you.
RJ would adore this ice cream! Perfect for summer 🙂 I have an orange AW100 too and tried it out on our most recent trip for the first time. Was very impressed with the colour quality and image clarity. Love that it can get wet too.
Love those underwater shots! They look as cool as the ice-cream 🙂
Lol! I thought "Humphrey Slocombe" was some sort of fictional character that was married to Mrs. Slocombe from the old Brit sitcom "Are you being served!" ;). Oh well...if Dame Edna can have a cookbook...why not Mrs. Slocombe eh? And I am sure that Milo would be top of the list for icecream flavours with the long suffering Mr Slocombe should there ever have been one...
Awesome underwater pictures and delightful ice cream!
Cheers,
Rosa
I've never tried Milo but I love malt and chocolate, what a marvelous ice cream!
I LOVE those little critters sitting on your bowl of that delectable ice cream! the salted caramel at HS is to die for so this Milo version must be too. And how magical to shoot in water 🙂
I was a huge MILO addict during my school days. If I remember, there was one more brand called Ovaltine. My mom would make milkshakes and ice creams with it. I gained so much weight during that phase. I still remember my teachers pulling my extra chubby cheek in Grade 8.
Awesome recipe and your posts reminded me of my school days.
I loved the underwater picture. Pinning it now.