Perhaps it's a regression to mud-pie days, or just being grown-up enough to play with your food, but there's something pleasing about making your own ice-cream. Home-made ice-cream needn't mean having to do battle with a double boiler and several scrambling egg yolks; it can come from store cupboard and fridge.

The best chocolate ice-cream I have ever eaten was made by happy accident; I mistakenly put one of Gü's mini-chocolate pots away in the freezer. It froze perfectly into a smooth and insanely rich ice-cream. Since then I've been hooked.

Pretty much anything that is high in dairy fat and sugar and low in water will freeze into a decent ice-cream. The first option is to buy fresh custard and stir or beat in whatever flavours take your fancy, from sugary Nutella to tart blackcurrant jam. Upend into a container and bang in the freezer. Tradition dictates that you need to break up the ice crystals during the freezing process but in this case, with such a high proportion of fat in the egg yolk and cream, it's not really necessary.

High-fat yoghurt freezes well, too. It will have some shards, but that just makes it feel more home-made to me. Greek yoghurt works well, as does goats' yoghurt, which has a more unusual flavour. Both are delicious with honey and crushed pistachios spooned over the top. Otherwise, whisk in an equal amount of lemon curd (works beautifully with double cream, too). I like to put hazelnut yoghurt straight into the freezer and eat it for breakfast on a hot day.

Alternatively, you can work straight from a good vanilla ice. I save this for when I'm feeling trashy. Allow best-quality ice- cream to melt just enough to be able to stir flavours through (20 seconds full blast in the microwave is about right). Crushed Maltesers are normally my first choice, or the new smaller-size Munchies are good. Melted Mars bar and marshmallows work wonders far greater than when spooned over the top. Smashed Matchmakers are worth considering for the crunch. For something more sophisticated, gently boil cream with torn basil leaves or saffron strands and allow to cool before combining. Whatever you choose, stir through evenly (no one likes missing out on the best bits), then decant into a cake tin or jelly mould lined with clingfilm and return to the freezer until you are ready to eat. Upend on to a plate, carefully peel off the clingfilm, scatter with broken-up Flake, chopped mint or berries, and serve to appreciative noises.

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