Ice Cream
Pass the Cook Book Club: Slushed! Strawberry Basil Gelato
May 23, 2013 | 
Author Fourth Thursday of the month? Time to dig out those unused cook books for Pass the Cook Book Club! This month we embraced the warm weather and made recipes from the cook book Slushed! which features boozy frozen treats. In other words, a must have for summer.
I almost made the Frozen Key Lime Margarita Pie, but after going a little crazy with strawberry picking over the weekend I knew I had to make this ice cream. I was especially intrigued by the flavors – basil in ice cream? But the flavors balanced with each other perfectly! I may be daring and try balsamic reduction drizzled over it next time. Doesn’t that sound like it could be great?
As for the boozy part, you could not tell there was any alcohol in this ice cream. I actually used vodka instead of strawberry liqueur because it’s what I had and strawberry liqueur is basically half vodka. I also didn’t feel like going out to buy the liqueur for such a small amount. But now I am tempted to make homemade strawberry liqueur with my leftovers from picking!
One year ago: Apricot White Chocolate Granola Bites
Two years ago: Chicken and Veggie Nuggets
STRAWBERRY BASIL GELATO
Makes about 1 quart
Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar, divided
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup strawberry preserves
2 Tbsp strawberry liqueur (I used 1 Tbsp vodka instead)
Directions:
- Macerate the strawberries by putting them in a small bowl and tossing with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Set aside for 30 minutes.
- Whisk the egg yolks and the remaining sugar in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Combine the milk and cream in a medium-sized sauce heavy bottomed pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the edges just start to bubble. Remove from heat. Stir in the basil. Cover and let the mixture infuse for 10 minutes. Strain and discard the basil leaves.
- Slowly drizzle the hot mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Return to the pot. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it registers 170 degrees on a candy thermometer and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Whisk in the strawberry preserves, liqueur, and sliced strawberries with syrup. Refrigerate until chilled, 4-6 hours.
- Process the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Transfer to a container and freeze overnight.
Source: Halved from Slushed!, page 70.
Malted Vanilla Cosmic Brownie Chunk Ice Cream
On Tuesday, my fabulous purple bangs were dyed back to brown and also had lowlights put in while I was at it. As much as I am unhappy about this transition (and feel like an imposter when I look in the mirror), I decided to make myself feel better by coming up with the theory that the brown hair will send good vibes into the world, making my experiments work better and therefore help me graduate sooner and get a job (hence the need for normal looking hair). Sure enough, the experiment that has been an extra pain lately finally worked! I call it my brown hair magic, and you cannot make fun of me because it’s working. It’s also my birthday tomorrow, so I can do what I want.
I’m going to go ahead and tell you that this ice cream might be one of my favorite homemade versions ever. That should mean a lot since I have made ice cream flavors consisting of peanut butter cup s’mores, double cake batter truffle, and Reese’s peanut butter cup. The ice cream base is malted vanilla which is heavenly enough on its own, but then chopped up homemade cosmic brownies are thrown in along with some extra sprinkle action. The best part about making the cosmic brownies from scratch, is that I under baked them for extra fudgy gloriousness.
P.S. Tonight is the start of Beale Street Music Fest – I like to pretend it’s a weekend-long party dedicated to my birthday every year.
One year ago: Sausage, Red Bell Pepper and Spinach Pesto Pizza
MALTED VANILLA COSMIC BROWNIE CHUNK ICE CREAM
Makes about 1-1/2 quarts
Ingredients:
1 cup milk (I used2%)
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup vanilla malted milk powder
5 egg yolks
2 cups chopped cosmic brownies (store bought or homemade)
Rainbow chips or sprinkles (optional)
Directions:
- Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour. Remove the bean pod.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the heavy cream and malt powder. Set aside.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour some of the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
- Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Whisk it into the malted milk mixture. Allow to cool, then cover and chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, overnight.
- Freeze ice cream in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. As you remove the ice cream from the machine, fold in the chopped brownies and sprinkles if using. Freeze for at least 4 hours.
Source: Adapted from The Perfect Scoop and Nutmeg Nanny.
Posted in Desserts, Ice Cream | 
Tags: heavy cream, malted milk powder, milk, sprinkles, vanilla | 
11 Comments »
Blackberry Swirl Meyer Lemon Curd Ice Cream
Don’t you worry, I haven’t let my Meyer lemon obsession die out just yet! Today it comes in ice cream form, because the 70 degree weather I’ve been having allows for it. And because while talking to Tracey about the gloriousness of Meyer lemon curd, she lead me to a ice cream recipe in which it is incorporated. Obviously it was just begging to be made and eaten and while I was at it, decided to add some blackberries. Fruit on top of fruit = extra good-for-you!
But in other news, I was sent a video of my 10 month old nephew saying touchdown the other day. He even lifted up his arms to signal it was good! And then I turned into a puddle on the floor. Once I pulled myself together, I looked through new photos and was put into a trance by the adorableness of him wearing argyle leg warmers, and then again seeing him and my brother in matching outfits all the way down to their black chucks. Two more months. Cannot. Freaking. Wait.
Which reminds me, I need to figure out what cake I’m going to make for Luke’s first birthday! Let me know if you have any good cake recipes that do not use sugar (not even the artificial kind), but instead use applesauce, etc. to naturally sweeten.
BLACKBERRY SWIRL MEYER LEMON CURD ICE CREAM
Makes about 1 quart
Ingredients:
130 g (about 1 cup + 2 Tbsp) sugar
5 egg yolks
240 ml (about 1 cup) heavy cream
200 ml (3/4 cup) milk
50 g (about 3 Tbsp) Meyer lemon curd
Zest of one Meyer lemon
15 ml (1 Tbsp) Meyer lemon juice
1 cup fresh blackberries
2 Tbsp sugar
Directions:
- Bring the milk to a low simmer in a saucepan. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale yellow. Temper the eggs by pouring in the milk in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly.
- Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place over low heat. Stir continuously until the custard thickens slightly and just coats the back of a spoon (about 170 F). Immediately remove the pan from the heat.
- Add the lemon curd and lemon zest to the warm custard, stirring to incorporate fully. Cover the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- When ready to prepare the ice cream, combine the berries and sugar in a bowl and mash slightly; set aside.
- Remove the custard from the refrigerator and strain it to remove the lemon zest (unless you like it in there like I do). Whip the heavy cream until it has doubled in volume and you have soft peaks. Fold the cream into the custard and then add the lemon juice.
- Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. After the ice cream has churned, alternately place the ice cream and a couple tablespoons of the blackberry mixture into your freezer container. Freezer overnight for ice cream to ripen before enjoying.
Source: Adapted from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures and What’s Cooking Chicago?
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream
Do you crave ice cream year round? Because I certainly do, yet somehow I managed to completely fail at making any homemade ice cream this past summer (I made popsicles but that doesn’t count). Hard to accomplish when summer lasts about 9 months here. But redemption comes in the form of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream! After all it is going to be 73 today, and I have no Ohio State football to watch since it is our Bye week. Which means I can stress out a little less today and sit back with a bowl of glory. This super creamy ice cream has a a peanut butter base and then mini Reese’s cups are mixed in. It’s a total imbalanced ratio of peanut butter to chocolate, and that’s exactly how I like it! However, if you are like more people are prefer a bit more chocolate, just pour on some fudge topping.
In lab-nerd related news, a yeast gene that once took me two years to delete (a process that normally takes about a month and therefore made me miserable) finally decided to play nice the other day and produce not just one positive colony, but 7… SEVEN! I know practically no one will understand how unbelievable this was to my eyes, but I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had seen in a long time. You see, after finally getting the first one a couple years back I have had the luxury of deleting the same gene out of several different strains of yeast. Every single time it has been a serious struggle to get more than one, and you really need at least two to show reproducibility with your results later on when doing experiments with the little buggers. And now I have seven. I knew that gene and I would be friends one day, but I thought I was going to have to wait for graduation haha.
But I digress. Back to the peanut butter goodness.
One year ago: Gluten-Free Bacon-Swiss Penne
REESE’S PEANUT BUTTER CUP ICE CREAM
Makes about 2 cups ice cream
Ingredients:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup 2% milk
2/3 cup heavy cream
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup halved peanut butter cup minis
Directions:
- In a medium mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to combine peanut butter and sugar until smooth. Add milk and mix on low until sugar is dissolved – a full two minutes. Mix in heavy cream, salt and vanilla and beat until well combined and smooth. Cover and refrigerate overnight while your ice cream maker bowl freezes (I use the KitchenAid Stand Mixer attachment).
- Turn on your ice cream machine, pour the ice cream base into the freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 25 to 30 minutes. A couple of minutes before you’re ready stop the mixing, add in the chopped peanut butter cups. The ice cream will be a soft-serve consistency. You can eat it right away, or freeze to eat later. If you freeze it for later, it will be more ice-cream-scoopable. Let it sit out for a few minutes before you try to scoop it.
Source: Downsized from Recipe Girl.
Posted in Desserts, Ice Cream | Tags: buckeye, chocolate, heavy cream, milk, peanut butter, Reeses | 7 Comments »
Mango Frozen Greek Yogurt
Here it is, the finale of Chobani week complete with the announcement for the winner of the Chobani giveaway. Want to know if you are the lucky recipient of all 6 blended Chobani Greek yogurt flavors which I have been dangling in front of you for the past week? Click HERE to find out! I have also e-mailed the winner, who has 48 hours to respond with their mailing address.
But don’t leave yet, it’s Mango Monday and I still have one last Chobani recipe to share with you. And guess what? It’s a frozen yogurt recipe that does not require an ice cream maker!
I decided not to pack my ice cream maker for my month long stint away from home (here I was thinking I was being rational by not packing large kitchen items), so when the time inevitably arrived that I craved homemade ice cream/frozen yogurt, I was kicking myself. I didn’t even bring my popsicle molds! Thankfully the food blogging world had already found a way around the need for an ice cream maker. As a bonus, this method can create both a soft serve or a more ice cream-style frozen yogurt.
This mango frozen Greek yogurt was healthy enough to have it for breakfast this morning. You better make this, because I know you want to be like me and have the breakfast of champions.
MANGO FROZEN GREEK YOGURT
Makes about 2-1/2 cups
Ingredients:
1 ripe mango, pitted, chopped, and frozen (about 1-1/3 cup)
1-1/3 cup 2% Mango Chobani Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp honey (add more or less to taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch sea salt
Pinch nutmeg
Directions:
- Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse a few times to break up the peaches. Turn the processor on and let it run until it forms a creamy consistency with a few smaller pieces of peach remaining (but be careful not to over-process or you’ll end up with soup), scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Serve immediately (soft-serve-style), or freeze for 1 to 2 hours until stiff (ice cream-style). If there is any leftover, freeze and then let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before eating (gelato-style).
Source: Adapted slightly from An Edible Mosaic.
Disclosure: I was sent six 16 oz. tubs of blended Chobani Greek yogurt. I was not compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Easy S’mores Ice Cream Sandwiches
Thursday of last week (August 2nd) was National Ice Cream Sandwich day. Unfortunately I wasn’t aware soon enough to prepare a post for that day, but I was still able to celebrate. At first I was really bummed because I failed to pack my ice cream sandwich maker, but I saved the day by making these quick and easy s’mores ice cream sandwiches.
You can use any ice cream you have on hand in these. That’s what I did anyway because I used moose tracks ice cream in two of them and cookie dough ice cream in the other two. The possibilities are endless! And of course you could even use flavored marshmallows or different chocolates. I see melted peanut butter cups in my future.
One year ago: Eggplant Stuffed Shells
EASY S’MORES ICE CREAM SANDWICHES
Serves 4
Ingredients:
8 graham cracker squares (4 whole rectangles split in half)
36 mini marshmallows (or 4 large)
1 Hershey’s chocolate bar, divided into fourths
1 cup of your favorite ice cream
Directions:
- Preheat broiler and line a small cookie sheet with foil. Place crackers on the prepared cookie sheet, with the perforated sides facing down. On four crackers place the chocolate, and on each of the other four place 9 mini marshmallows.
- Place in oven until lightly toasted and the chocolate starts to melt. Watch carefully because they will toast/melt very quickly, about 30 seconds. Remove from oven and immediately place a 1/4 cup scoop of ice cream on top of each cracker with the melted chocolate. Sandwich together with the remaining crackers with the toasted marshmallows. Serve immediately.
Source: The Spiffy Cookie original
Blueberry Cheesecake Popsicles
Excessive heat for summer in Memphis is not uncommon. In fact it is the norm. However this summer happens to be extra hot earlier than usual. As a result of this torturous heat, turning on my oven to bake must first be justified by how much I want to sweat while enjoying whatever comes out in the end. But then I remembered that there are some recipes which require freezing instead of heating. Now that is a perfect summer recipe.
For this July 4th Holiday Recipe Club we were given the option of working with blueberries, whipped cream, and/or BBQ, which lead me straight to these popsicles. Originally they were created with wine, which sounded fabulous to me but in an effort to make these kid friendly I opted for pomegranate juice instead.
These required a little more work than popsicles I have made in the past, but were completely worth while. They really do taste just like blueberry cheesecake! The blueberry part is definitely the dominant flavor, but then you get a bite of the cheesecake and it’s magical. Everyone, young and old, enjoyed these!
Be sure to check out the rest of today’s recipes, seen at the bottom of this post.
I didn’t get as good of a shot as I had hoped for. Difficult taking pictures away from home sometimes.
One year ago: POM-Berry Ice Pops
BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE POPSICLES
Makes eight 2-1/4 oz. popsicles
Ingredients:
1 pint of blueberries (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup POM 100% pomegranate juice
1/4 cup simple syrup (recipe follows)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup reduced fat cream cheese, softened
4 Tbsp of sugar
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used the cinnamon kind)
Directions:
- Place blueberries, juice and simple syrup in a blender or food processor and puree. Set aside.
- Place softened cream cheese into a bowl and beat until light and fluffy; set aside. Place heavy cream into a cold bowl with sugar and, using a hand beater or whisk, beat until soft peaks form. Fold in beaten cream cheese. Portion out 1/4 cup of cream cheese mixture into a separate bowl, add in graham cracker crumbs and whisk to combine. Place each mixture into separate plastic bags and cut off a corner to create a small opening.
- To assemble, pour 1 tablespoon of blueberry mixture into each well. Squeeze half a tablespoon of cheesecake mixture on top of blueberry layer. Squeeze a small dollop, about half a teaspoon, of graham cracker mixture on top of cheesecake mixture. Continue layering and repeating until top of each well is reached.
- Cover top of popsicle form with foil and cut a tiny hole in the center of each well. Place popsicle stick through the hole.
- Place in freezer until frozen. To release popsicles, run hot water over outside of mold for 2-3 seconds
SIMPLE SYRUP
Ingredients:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
Directions:
- Place water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Cool before using.
Source: Adapted slightly from Bakers Royale.
Posted in Desserts, Holidays, Ice Cream, July 4 | Tags: blueberries, cream cheese, graham crackers, heavy cream, pomegranate | 14 Comments »
Guest Post: Nutella Magic Shell by Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
Do you know Erin? No I am not talking about myself Erin, but the Erin over on Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts! I really enjoy Erin’s blog because she loves sweets but tries to throw in some healthy-ness too sometimes – that’s pretty much how I live my life haha. I have had my heart swoon over many of her recipes, such as her Cookie Dough Baked Oatmeal, Homemade Goldfish Crackers, and Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownies. And today I am happy to announce that she has brought yet another noteworthy recipe over to share with you!
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Hi! I am Erin from Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts! In case you don’t know me, I am a mom to a 7 year old little boy. I love to bake, but also need to balance it out with healthy food too! Would love to have you stop by and say Hi.
I am super excited to be here today. Erin, is such a sweet person, and always has such great recipes on her site. I do know that she is a huge fan of Nutella. We have that in common, as well as our name, so I know we would be good friends in real life.
I don’t know about where you live, but here this summer is shaping up to be a hot one! Ice cream, Popsicles, No Bake cookies…they are a must. I need toppings on my ice cream. I like to switch up those toppings frequently as well. Magic Shell was always a favorite growing up.
There was just something about it that was, well, magic. But did you know you could make your own, at home? It only takes 2 ingredients. I made Peanut Butter Magic Shell last summer, and it was so much fun. This year I had to see if Nutella would work. It does!! Next up …. Biscoff! Tell me that wouldn’t be great on ice cream.
Nutella Magic Shell
1/3 cup Nutella
3 Tbls Butter (or coconut oil)
Melt together Nutella and Butter in a microwave safe dish. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Drizzle over ice cream, and watch it harden!
Note: Coconut Oil works just as well. It just gives it a coconuty flavor.
Guest Post: Butterscotch Vanilla Bean Ice Cream by Food Babbles
If you are unfamiliar with Kate’s blog titled Food Babbles, then I have to admit so was I until recently and already have found myself bookmarking several recipes of hers including Oatmeal Muffins with Blueberry and Coconut, Chocolate Cake with Balsamic Strawberry Whipped Cream Filling, and Jarlsberg Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese. I think that’s pretty good evidence for why I am so glad to be a follower. Now it’s your turn to get familiar, you won’t regret it!
One year ago: Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce
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Hi there! I couldn’t be happier to be here today on The Spiffy Cookie. Thanks for having me, Erin! I’m Kate and I author the blog Food Babbles. I’m a mostly stay-at-home mom, part-time paramedic, baker, dessert maker and just a girl with a passion for good food. Much like Erin, my favorite food group is dessert so we’ll get along just fine 
Lately I have a raging butterscotch addiction thanks to Zeke’s Butterscotch. I kid you not, it’s an obsession. Their butterscotch is unlike any I’ve ever had before. It has this deep, rich flavor that makes it stand out from the rest. Well, after making those crazy good cookies I needed to use the butterscotch in something else because it was just such a fantastic ingredient. My oldest daughter, HB suggested ice cream. Sold!! We decided to set out to make what could quite possibly be the world’s most addictive ice cream. I feel pretty confident when I say, “Mission accomplished.”
This ice cream has a rich butterscotch custard base that makes for thick, creamy decadence. Then I churned in bits of butterscotch too and that just took it completely over the top in the “amazing” department. After the first bite, my husband Mike quickly took several more exclaiming “Oh, man… this stuff is so good! This is like crack!” I suppose that’s always a good thing when someone can’t stop eating something I’ve made and worries they may form an addiction.
Truly though, this ice cream is honestly a wonderful treat that you will have trouble putting down. Smooth and creamy with rich butterscotch in every bite. The perfect summery delight.
*What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
Enjoy!
~K
Butterscotch Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Adapted from David Lebovitz
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
A pinch of salt
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
5 Tablespoons finely crushed hard butterscotch candy, divided (preferably Zeke’s Butterscotch)
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 cups (500ml) heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- In a small saucepan, heat the milk, salt, and sugar. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Remove from heat and cover to allow the vanilla bean to infuse the milk for 1 hour.
- Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream into the bowl.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk.
- Very slowly drizzle some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. After about half of the warm milk has been incorporated into the egg yolks, scrape the mixture back into the saucepan.
- Add 2 tablespoons of the crushed butterscotch candy. Stir constantly over low heat and scrape the bottom of the saucepan with a rubber spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.
- Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir the mixture over the ice until it has cooled, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly, preferably overnight.
- Transfer the custard into your ice cream maker and freeze the custard according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- During the last 5 minutes of churn time, sprinkle in 3 tablespoons finely crushed butterscotch pieces.
- Enjoy!
Butter Pecan with Brandy Ice Cream & Ice Cream Happy Hour Cookbook Giveaway
Yes I made ice cream during the fall. But the weather has bounced back into the 70s here so can you really blame me? Besides, this ice cream definitely applies for this time of year. Or any time of the year actually, because it’s always the right time for an ice cream happy hour! Oh yea, you heard/read correctly – this ice cream is not for kids.
Thanks to Ulysses Press, I received a copy of the cookbook, Ice Cream Happy Hour. Inside you will find ice cream flavors inspired by your favorite cocktails. My first order to the bartender was for this recipe because it sounded a bit fall-y to me. The candied pecans were the stars of this ice cream, while the brandy had the role of side-kick. Gets your spoons ready!
BUTTER PECAN WITH BRANDY ICE CREAM
Makes about 1-1/2 quarts
Ingredients:
1 cup milk
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean
4 egg yolks
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 packet (1 Tbsp) gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup cold (refrigerated) brandy
2 cups candied pecans (recipe follows)
Directions:
- Mix the milk and heavy cream in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. While the milk mixture is heating, split the vanilla bean down the center lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Whisk seeds into the milk mixture, then add the empty pod to the pan. Continue heating until the mixture is steamy and makes a slight sizzling noise when you move the pan.
- Once the milk mixture is scalding, remove pan from the heat and cover it. After about 15 minutes, remove the vanilla bean pod.
- Reheat the milk mixture back up to scalding. While the milk mixture heats to scalding, whisk together the egg yolks with the brown sugar and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Gently stream about one-third of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture while whisking continuously.
- Pour the egg and milk mixture into the rest of the milk mixture in the saucepan and stir continuously on low heat until thickened (the custard should thicken rather quickly because of the cornstarch). Make sure you scrape the bottom evenly while you continuously stir. The custard custard is thick enough when you can draw a line on the back of a spoon with your finger and the line retains its shape.
- Strain the custard, cover with plastic wrap so that it’s directly touching the entire surface of the custard and none of it is exposed to air (this prevents a skin from developing), and chill the custard in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
- When the custard is cold and you are ready to churn the ice cream, dissolve the gelatin in the cold water in a small saucepan. Allow to sit until the gelatin appears to have absorbed as much water as it can, about 2 minutes. Gently warm over low heat and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved into the liquid, about 3 minutes.
- Pour the gelatin into a medium bowl and whisk in the cold brandy until combined. Stream the alcohol and gelatin mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into the custard and whisk until thoroughly blended.
- Pour the cold custard immediately into the ice cream maker and churn as directed by your ice cream maker.
- Scoop about one-third of the ice cream into a freezer-proof container and sprinkle about one-third of the candied pecans on top. Repeat layers twice more with the remaining ice cream and pecans, then gently fold it all together. Be sure to work quickly – if the ice cream melts too much, it will just get icy once it’s in the freezer. Freeze for at least two hours before servings.
CANDIED PECANS
Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients:
2 cups pecan halves
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lay the pecans in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Once the pecans are toasted, roll them in the butter and sprinkle with salt.
- Put the sugar in a large saucepan. Add just enough water to the sugar until it is the texture of wet sand (you might not use all the water). Cook over low heat until the sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
- Once the sugar is completely dissolved, continue cooking until is is soft-cracked, about 15 minutes. At this point the sugar should be colorless but viscous, and the bubbles should be on the small side. You can also use a candy thermometer; the temperature should be between 270 and 290.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the toasted pecans. Tilt the pan at an angle and rapidly stir the pecans to aerate and evenly coat them with the sugar syrup.
- Once the pecans are evenly coated, return the pan to the stove over low heat and periodically stir the pecans until the look like they’re coated with crunchy caramel and white sugar, about 5 minutes.
- Cool the pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Once they’re completely cool, chop them.
Source: Ice Cream Happy Hour
DON’T FORGET THE GIVEAWAY!
In case you haven’t added this recipe book to your online cart and checked out already, I thought you’s also like to know that I am giving away a brand new copy of this cookbook to one wonderfully lucky reader! First you must answer the question, “What is your favorite cocktail?” (non-alcoholic options are acceptable). And then there are 3 more ways you can enter! See below:
Posted in Desserts, Giveaways, Ice Cream | Tags: brandy, heavy cream, milk, pecans, vanilla | 25 Comments »
