Two Islands of Wales

Meet Jack Pollitt and Laura Reynolds, the young entrepreneurial duo who founded Two Islands Ice Cream in the heart of Abersoch. Read Jack and Laura’s contribution to ‘Stories within Our Isles’, in which they share their company’s ethos, the importance of using local, quality ingredients in their edible delights, and a delicious recipe for their seasonal yoghurt cake.

For us, Two Islands is about using quality, natural ingredients whilst presenting a distinct customer experience achieved through service, atmosphere, decor and of course, the produce offered. The rolling menu consists of our take on the likely timeless classics alongside a number of unconventional flavour combinations, of which we hope spark conversation and change people’s preconceptions of what ice cream can be. We aim to celebrate regional growers and producers by incorporating their products into our ice cream and cakes to depict an edible insight to the region.

Commercial stabilisers and colourings are never used to produce our ice cream, instead opting for free-range egg yolks to make our signature rich, traditional custard base. We only use responsibly sourced Madagascan vanilla, along with as much seasonal British fruit and vegetables that we can squeeze into our homemade cakes. All inclusions are made in-house from candied nuts, to caramels and ripples - something that has often made our job more challenging than could have been otherwise, but we believe it makes for greater products and a more memorable visit. Located in the heart of Abersoch village, we’re lucky enough to produce all that we do just a stone’s throw from the idyllic coast of the Llyn Peninsula, overlooking our namesake Two Islands of St Tudwal. We hope that by choosing quality over cost along with a focus on customer experience, our business will stand the test of time. SEASONAL YOGHURT CAKE WITH MASCARPONE ICING You will need 1 x deep, loose base 23cm tin 3 large eggs, room temperature 275g caster sugar 185g natural yoghurt, room temperature / not set 300g self-raising flour 120g neutral oil ½ teaspoon salt 1tsp vanilla paste 2 ripe nectarines in the summer or pears in the winter, chopped into 1cm pieces MASCARPONE ICING 75g full fat cream cheese 75g mascarpone 75g unsalted butter (All at room temperature) 150g icing sugar 1. Heat the oven to 160c. Line the base of your tin with parchment paper - we leave the sides bare in the shop. 2. Start by placing the eggs and sugar in a stand mixer and beating until light, pale and fluffy. You can do this with a hand-held mixer. 3. In a separate bowl, mix the yoghurt, oil and vanilla – set aside 4. Once the egg mixture is light and grown in volume add the yoghurt mixture and beat to combine. Sieve in the flour and salt, and mix until just combined. Fold in the fruit, and spread the batter into your tin. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, note that all ovens are different, as it all fruit, so check with a cocktail stick that no batter remains when inserted into the centre of the cake. 5. While your cake is cooling, make the icing: beat the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Combine the two cream cheeses in a small bowl. Add them to the butter mixture slowly, until just combined. You want the two to be homogenised but don’t overwork it. Chill until needed, stirring occasionally. 6. Using a palette knife, spread your cream cheese icing onto the cake pushing to the edges and creating whatever surface you please. At the shop, we finish the cake with dehydrated fruit, fruit compotes and curds, depending what we have!

Two Islands Ice Cream