Today is an ice cream day. It's 90 degrees, we're sweating without any air conditioning, and we deserve something icy and delicious! This morning I worked hard getting things prepared so when the afternoon lethargy set in I wouldn't have any excuse to not make a fabulous dessert.
The pictured dessert is vanilla ice cream with salted, buttery toffee chunks smashed in, served over grilled nectarines. To finish it off I made a salted caramel sauce to drizzle over. I cooked the caramel almost to the point of burning it, making it deep brown and very smoky flavored. Divine.
Ice cream bases are so forgiving and vary so greatly that you can taper just about any recipe to your own standards. When my husband and I were first married and didn't have much money we'd mix up milk, sugar, vanilla, and a crushed candy bar, freeze it and call it a cheap Blizzard. While custard bases take a little extra effort, they are rich and creamy and keep better in the freezer, staying creamy and easy to scoop. Because the milk is heated first, it's easy to infuse with just about any herb or flavor you'd like (see variations, below). While there are many recipes floating around, I like to keep with the custard theme, but I don't use as many egg yolks. The resulting custard doesn't get as thick, but it's still rich, creamy, and delicious after it's been frozen, and it doesn't leave as much of a coating on the roof of my mouth!
Basic Vanilla Ice Cream Base
If you'd like a more rich base, add 6 egg yolks instead of 3 and increase the amount of cream used, reducing the milk.
2 cups cream
2 cups lowfat milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
3 egg yolks
Heat the milk, cream, 1/4 cup sugar, and the vanilla bean until the mixture simmers, stirring occasionally. Watch to make sure it doesn't boil over. Once it begins to boil gently, remove the saucepan from the heat, cover, and let steep 20-30 minutes. (Or just stir in the extract and skip the steeping part.) Scrape the vanilla bean into the cream so you have lots of seeds present, and discard the pod.
In a medium glass bowl, whisk the egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar. While whisking constantly, gradually add 1 cup hot milk. Pour the egg yolk-milk mixture back into the saucepan, whisking constantly to prevent curdling and to incorporate the rest of the hot cream. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened (because of the few yolks it won't get thick, but it should slightly coat the back of a wooden spoon).
Strain into a clean glass bowl. Let cool about 30 minutes, then place in the refrigerator to chill, 2-3 hours. It's very important to be patient and let it be completely chilled. If you try to freeze the mixture before it's cold, it will melt the ice too quickly, and it will have an icy texture.
Freeze in your ice cream freezer. Makes 1 quart.
Variations:
Fresh Mint- Add 1 handful fresh mint leaves to the milk in the first step, omitting the vanilla bean. Let steep 30 minutes, strain, and proceed with the rest of the recipe. If you'd like to add some chocolate, after the ice cream is frozen, melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Drizzle over the ice cream, folding, and smashing it in.
Lavender Honey- Add a few tbsp dried lavender (or a sprig or two of fresh) and let steep, omitting the vanilla bean. Use honey in place of the sugar, keeping in mind that honey is often a little sweeter (maybe try 1/3 cup total instead of the 1/2 cup sugar).
Salted Butter Toffee- Make the vanilla ice cream. As it's chilling, make the toffee. Stir together 1 stick of unsalted butter (1/2 cup), 1/2 cup sugar, and 2 tbsp agave nectar. Add a pinch or two of your favorite sea salt (I used smoked). Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until at least 300 degrees (I like to leave it until it's a little darker, but watch closely so it doesn't burn). Pour into an 8" ungreased pan and let cool. Break into chunks. After the ice cream is completely frozen, but still soft, fold and smash in the toffee chunks. Chopped peanuts and/or chocolate chunks also work well with this toffee ice cream!
Almost-Burnt Salted Caramel Sauce
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp lemon juice
3/4 cup cream
sea salt (smoked sea salt, if it's available)
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, lemon juice, and water. Cook until beginning to turn light brown, about 20 minutes. Once the color starts to change, watch it carefully. Continue cooking until it turns a deep reddish brown, almost burnt, but not blackened. When you start to think uh-oh, then it's probably ready! Pull it off the heat and quickly, but gradually, stir in the cream. It will bubble up and expand, so don't add it so fast that it boils over. Stir in several pinches of salt, to taste, being careful to not burn your tongue as you taste it off a small metal spoon. I used about 1 tsp smoked sea salt for mine. Let cool.
To serve, warm slightly in the microwave or over medium heat on the stovetop, stirring.
The pictured dessert is vanilla ice cream with salted, buttery toffee chunks smashed in, served over grilled nectarines. To finish it off I made a salted caramel sauce to drizzle over. I cooked the caramel almost to the point of burning it, making it deep brown and very smoky flavored. Divine.
Ice cream bases are so forgiving and vary so greatly that you can taper just about any recipe to your own standards. When my husband and I were first married and didn't have much money we'd mix up milk, sugar, vanilla, and a crushed candy bar, freeze it and call it a cheap Blizzard. While custard bases take a little extra effort, they are rich and creamy and keep better in the freezer, staying creamy and easy to scoop. Because the milk is heated first, it's easy to infuse with just about any herb or flavor you'd like (see variations, below). While there are many recipes floating around, I like to keep with the custard theme, but I don't use as many egg yolks. The resulting custard doesn't get as thick, but it's still rich, creamy, and delicious after it's been frozen, and it doesn't leave as much of a coating on the roof of my mouth!
Basic Vanilla Ice Cream Base
If you'd like a more rich base, add 6 egg yolks instead of 3 and increase the amount of cream used, reducing the milk.
2 cups cream
2 cups lowfat milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
3 egg yolks
Heat the milk, cream, 1/4 cup sugar, and the vanilla bean until the mixture simmers, stirring occasionally. Watch to make sure it doesn't boil over. Once it begins to boil gently, remove the saucepan from the heat, cover, and let steep 20-30 minutes. (Or just stir in the extract and skip the steeping part.) Scrape the vanilla bean into the cream so you have lots of seeds present, and discard the pod.
In a medium glass bowl, whisk the egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar. While whisking constantly, gradually add 1 cup hot milk. Pour the egg yolk-milk mixture back into the saucepan, whisking constantly to prevent curdling and to incorporate the rest of the hot cream. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened (because of the few yolks it won't get thick, but it should slightly coat the back of a wooden spoon).
Strain into a clean glass bowl. Let cool about 30 minutes, then place in the refrigerator to chill, 2-3 hours. It's very important to be patient and let it be completely chilled. If you try to freeze the mixture before it's cold, it will melt the ice too quickly, and it will have an icy texture.
Freeze in your ice cream freezer. Makes 1 quart.
Variations:
Fresh Mint- Add 1 handful fresh mint leaves to the milk in the first step, omitting the vanilla bean. Let steep 30 minutes, strain, and proceed with the rest of the recipe. If you'd like to add some chocolate, after the ice cream is frozen, melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Drizzle over the ice cream, folding, and smashing it in.
Lavender Honey- Add a few tbsp dried lavender (or a sprig or two of fresh) and let steep, omitting the vanilla bean. Use honey in place of the sugar, keeping in mind that honey is often a little sweeter (maybe try 1/3 cup total instead of the 1/2 cup sugar).
Salted Butter Toffee- Make the vanilla ice cream. As it's chilling, make the toffee. Stir together 1 stick of unsalted butter (1/2 cup), 1/2 cup sugar, and 2 tbsp agave nectar. Add a pinch or two of your favorite sea salt (I used smoked). Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until at least 300 degrees (I like to leave it until it's a little darker, but watch closely so it doesn't burn). Pour into an 8" ungreased pan and let cool. Break into chunks. After the ice cream is completely frozen, but still soft, fold and smash in the toffee chunks. Chopped peanuts and/or chocolate chunks also work well with this toffee ice cream!
Almost-Burnt Salted Caramel Sauce
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp lemon juice
3/4 cup cream
sea salt (smoked sea salt, if it's available)
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, lemon juice, and water. Cook until beginning to turn light brown, about 20 minutes. Once the color starts to change, watch it carefully. Continue cooking until it turns a deep reddish brown, almost burnt, but not blackened. When you start to think uh-oh, then it's probably ready! Pull it off the heat and quickly, but gradually, stir in the cream. It will bubble up and expand, so don't add it so fast that it boils over. Stir in several pinches of salt, to taste, being careful to not burn your tongue as you taste it off a small metal spoon. I used about 1 tsp smoked sea salt for mine. Let cool.
To serve, warm slightly in the microwave or over medium heat on the stovetop, stirring.
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