Margarita Ice Cream

Asked by iloveyummyfood. Answered on 10th April 2013

Full question

I would like to make Nigella's Margarita Ice Cream but Cointreau is very rare in my country and very expensive. Is it absolutely necessary to have it in the No Churn Margarita Ice Cream? Is there any other substitute? Thanks!

Our answer

Nigella's Margarita Ice Cream (from Nigella Express) is a no-churn ice cream. The alcohol in the mixture helps the texture of the ice cream by reducing the formation of large ice crystals during freezing, giving a smooth and easily scoopable ice cream.

Tequila is one of the components of a margarita cocktail, the other is orange liqueur. Cointreau is a well-known brand that is available in most places. However it is a version of triple sec, a clear liqueur flavoured with orange peel. So you could insted use pretty much any brand of triple sec that you like, and triple sec is often slightly cheaper than Cointreau. Another orange liqueur is Grand Marnier. This is brandy based so slightly different in flavour and colour but could be used if you already have a bottle at home.

Curaco is another triple sec type orange liqueur with a very similar flavour, but unfortunately most curaco is tinted blue, to use in exotic cocktails, and so would affect the colour of the ice cream adversely.