by Kathy Douglas | Jul 25, 2016 | Frozen Desserts
It sounds wrong, but Corn Ice Cream is popping up everywhere from celebrity chefs to foodie magazines. Sweet corn ice cream is really delicious. Our version is made from fresh corn and includes almond butter toffee to give it a “caramel corn” flavor and crunch. Corn is at peak – so now is the time to try it! Pick up some farm fresh corn and cream to make a batch today.
Almond Butter Toffee
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 1/4 sheet pan baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread almonds in an even layer on the parchment paper on the baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until they smell toasted and are lightly browned, about 7-8 minutes; set aside.
In a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat. When melted, add the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Cook, whisking until the mixture turns brown and reaches 300 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 10-15 minutes.
Immediately spread the hot candy mixture evenly over the toasted almonds in a very thin layer. Be quick, it sets up fast.
Let cool completely for about 2 hours. Break the almond toffee into very small pieces and keep in an airtight container. Toffee can be made the night before but be careful. It’s so good it could disappear by morning!
Fresh Corn Ice Cream
INGREDIENTS
4 ears fresh corn, shucked
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
9 large egg yolks
INSTRUCTIONS
Using a large knife, slice the kernels off the cobs and place in a large saucepan. Break the cobs in half and add them to the pan along with the milk, cream, and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Stir to mix well. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring, and then remove from the heat. Cover and set aside for one hour to infuse the corn flavor into the liquid. Remove and discard the cobs, pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl, pressing on the solids to remove as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids.
Turn the heat back on, pour the cream mixture into a clean sauce pan. Bring the mixture back to a simmer, remove from the heat. In a small bowl, whisk the salt, egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Slowly add a cup of the hot cream mixture to the yolks, stirring constantly so they don’t curdle. Add another cup or two, stirring constantly to temper the eggs. Add the yolk mixture to the rest of the cream mixture in the saucepan, stirring. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thick custard forms. It should be thick enough to coat the spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Set aside a larger ice filled metal bowl with a medium metal bowl fitted inside it over the ice. Set another fine sieve strainer over the medium bowl.
Pass the custard through the strainer into the cold bowl. Discard any remaining solids. When the custard is cool, cover tightly and refrigerate over night or at least 6 hours. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. At the end of the freezing cycle add the finely chopped butter toffee. Place the ice cream in a tightly covered container in the freezer and freeze for 2 hours before serving.
by Kathy Douglas | Jul 21, 2016 | Frozen Desserts
The smokey essence of grilled peaches goes perfect with bourbon and vanilla. There is no better combination for a summertime dessert on a hot July night.
Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
6 large egg yolks
2 Tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 cup bourbon, (for a non-alcoholic version, use 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract)
1/2 teaspoon bourbon vanilla extract
Stir milk, cream and brown sugar in saucepan over medium high heat until comes to rolling boil. Whisk yolks, sugar and salt in a medium bowl until pale yellow and sugar is dissolved.
Place medium metal bowl in a large bowl of ice water to chill. Set with fine mesh strainer.
Add hot cream mixture to egg yolks gradually, whisking constantly. Return to pan and cook over low heat until nappe (coats the back of a spoon). Strain the custard into the chilled bowl. Cool, stirring occasionally. When cooled, add the vanilla extract and bourbon, then cover and chill overnight. Freeze in an ice cream machine following the manufacturers directions.
Grilled Peaches
4 fresh peaches
Grape seed oil for brushing
Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Cut peaches in half and remove the pits. Brush cut side with grape seed oil. Place peach halves cut side down on grill. Grill for about 3 minutes. Turn and cook for another 3 minutes. Serve with Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream.
by Kathy Douglas | Jul 21, 2015 | Frozen Desserts
Meaning “partially frozen” in Italian, semifreddo will maintain a soft, velvety texture – even right out of the freezer. Semifreddo contains so much sugar and air, it will never freeze into a hard, dense block like ice cream. To make a semifreddo you don’t need an ice cream maker or any other special equipment – just a hand mixer. It’s so easy to whip one together you’ll want to give it a try for your next summer event, or maybe just because it tastes so good, and it’s just so darn hot outside.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup chopped pistachios, toasted
1-3/4 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
1-1/4 cups plus 1/2 tablespoon sugar
7 large egg yolks
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh raspberries
INSTRUCTIONS
Line 9x5x3-inch metal loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving a generous overhang. Sprinkle the chopped and toasted pistachios evenly over the bottom of pan. Using an electric mixer, beat whipping cream in large bowl until soft peaks form. Refrigerate whipped cream while making the custard.
Whisk 1-1/4 cups sugar, egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon peel, and salt in large metal bowl to blend. Set bowl over large saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly until yolk mixture is thick and fluffy and instant-read thermometer inserted into mixture registers 170°F, about 4 minutes. Remove bowl from over simmering water. Using electric mixer, beat mixture until cool, thick, and doubled in volume, about 6 minutes. Fold in chilled whipped cream. Transfer mixture to prepared loaf pan and smooth top. Tap loaf pan lightly on work surface to remove air pockets. Fold plastic wrap overhang over top to cover. Freeze semifreddo until firm, at least 8 hours or overnight.
When ready to serve: Gently mix the berries and remaining 1/2 tablespoons sugar in large bowl. Rest for 20 minutes in the refrigerate until cold. Unfold plastic wrap from top of semifreddo and invert dessert onto platter; remove plastic wrap. Dip heavy large knife into hot water; cut semifreddo crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices. Transfer to plates; spoon the raspberries over the top.
by Kathy Douglas | Jul 30, 2014 | Frozen Desserts
Ice cream is the favorite summertime treat! Whether you are using store-bought or homemade, the following tips will help to keep your ice cream fresh and tasty. And, give our BROWN SUGAR VANILLA ICE CREAM recipe a try, it’s absolutely delicious!
KEEP IT COLD AT ALL TIMES – I know, sounds redundant, but Ice Cream MUST be kept cold at all times. Once it starts to melt, the ice crystal structure breaks down and it causes the ice cream to melt even faster. This explains why eating an ice cream cone is the most messy at the end. And when these structures are broken, they cannot be repaired. Typically if you try to re-freeze thawed ice cream, it becomes hard and unappealing. After all, it’s that smooth creamy texture we crave, right? Once it melts, it’s done and referred to as “heat shocked.” So, any time you take ice cream out of the freezer you want to put it back as soon as possible.
SCOOP, THEN REST FOR BEST FLAVOR – Ice cream taste better if it sits for a few minutes. Our tastebuds don’t like super cold foods, so give your ice cream a rest, but not in the carton. Take the carton out for a few minutes just until you can scoop it, scoop into bowls, return the carton to the freezer, and then let your scooped ice cream rest for just a minute in the bowls before serving. Please do not microwave ice cream to thaw. Because microwaves heat un-evenly, you can set up pockets of crystals and ruin your ice cream.
DON’T DIP YOUR SCOOP IN WATER – especially dipping the scoop in hot water. Water can freeze on contact with the ice cream and become a crunchy chunk of ice in minutes.
STORE YOUR ICE CREAM SMARTLY – when storing, keep it covered in the coldest part of the freezer. Avoid storing it on the door. Be aware, if for some reason the freezer breaks down, throw out the unfrozen ice cream. Dairy is only safe for long storage as long as it is kept frozen.
Below is a great recipe that can be used in any ice cream maker. If you don’t have an ice cream maker you can make this in a shallow metal pan. Simply cut the recipe in half, pour into a shallow metal pan, place in the freezer and stir every 30 minutes until you reach ice cream texture. If you prepare with this method, you need to consume the ice cream that day. Enjoy!
BROWN SUGAR VANILLA ICE CREAM
2 cups of whole milk
1-1/2 cups of heavy cream
1 cup of dark brown sugar, packed
12 large egg yolks
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp of vanilla extract
Stir milk, cream and brown sugar in saucepan over medium high heat until comes to rolling boil.
Whisk yolks, sugar and salt in a medium bowl until pale yellow and sugar is dissolved.
Place medium metal bowl in a large bowl of ice water with fine mesh strainer.
Add hot cream mixture to egg yolks gradually, whisking constantly to temper the eggs. Return to pan and cook over low heat stirring until the custard coats the back of a spoon. Strain custard into chilled bowl set over ice.
Cool custard, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes.
Stir in vanilla to taste. Cover and chill for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. Can be made 1 day ahead.
For a chocolate chip version:
At the end of your ice cream machine cycle add 1 cup of frozen mini chocolate chips!
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