Iced Oranges

Instructions

1. Put the sugar in a heavy-based pan. Add half the lemon juice, and 120ml/ ½ cup water. Cook over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, and boil for 2-3 minutes, until the syrup is clear. Set aside and leave to cool.
2. Slice the tops off eight of the oranges, to make “hats”. Scoop out the flesh of the oranges, and reserve in a bowl. Put the empty orange shells and “hats” on a tray and place in the freezer until needed.
3. Grate the rind of the remaining oranges and add to the syrup.
4. Squeeze the juice from the oranges, and from the reserved flesh. There should be 750ml/1 ¼ pints/ 3 cups of juice. If your oranges do nor produce enough juice, squeeze another or top up with bought orange juice.
5. Stir the orange juice, the remaining lemon juice and 90ml/6 tbsp water into the syrup. Taste, adding more lemon juice or sugar, if you wish. Pour the mixture into a shallow freezer container and freeze for 3 hours.
6. Tip the mixture into a bowl, and whisk thoroughly to break down the ice crystals. Freeze for 4 hours more, until firm, but not solid.
7. Pack the mixture into the orange shells, mounding it up, and set the “hats” on top. Freeze until ready to serve. Just before serving, push a skewer into the tops of the “hats” to make a hole and push in a bay leaf.