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Showing posts with label Ice Cream. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ice Cream. Show all posts

Monday, March 3, 2014

Maple-Bourbon Ice Cream with Walnut Brittle

We've had some fun using our electric ice cream maker in the past making Vanilla Ice Cream with Oreos and even Guinness Ice Cream, which were both delicious.  But today we went with a very adult dessert in the form of Maple-Bourbon Ice Cream with a piece of old fashioned Walnut Brittle on top to give the dessert a little crunch.  This creation could be served to your most sophisticated guests but would be also be great served after a more casual grilled steak dinner.

The ice cream itself is rich and creamy and has that distinctive bourbon flavor, but also the rustic taste of maple syrup. Be sure to use pure maple syrup for this recipe and not pancake syrup, which is loaded with flavorings and sugar.  You need that pure maple flavor to really enhance the bourbon.


We wanted something small and crunchy to top off this ice cream but we didn't want to use a cookie, so I went in search of something a bit different.  Then I thought how cool a piece of crunchy peanut brittle would be on top, and maybe instead of peanuts I could use walnuts. Hmm.  Now I was on to something.

Making brittle from scratch was something I'd never tried, mainly because I've always had this slight fear of candy thermometers.  So I decided to give brittle a try and I'm so glad I did.  The brittle came out of the pan as this boiling, gooey, shiny lava, and after a few minutes it turned into crispy and crunchy brittle that looked like it came from a candy store.  So awesome.

The ice cream and brittle can be made a day or two early so this is a great dessert to serve guests since all of the work can be done before your company arrives. Serving small dishes of this ice cream,  each with a wedge of brittle and a few extra crumbles around the edges, this recipe will make about 10 - 12 servings.  Enjoy!!

Maple-Bourbon Ice Cream

1-1/2 cups  Whole Milk
2 cups  Heavy Cream
1/4 cup  Sugar
1/8 tsp  Salt
7  Egg Yolks
1 cup  Pure Maple Syrup
4 TB  Bourbon

In a medium saucepan combine the whole milk, cream, sugar and salt and warm the mixture over medium heat.

In a medium glass bowl, whisk the egg yolks and set aside.

When the milk mixture is hot, but not boiling, slowly pour one cup of the mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly while adding the milk mixture.  (This will temper the yolks and slowly warm the temperature without the yolks ending up as scrambled eggs.)  Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the milk and cook over medium-low heat while stirring constantly.  Do not boil the mixture, but cook until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow to cool for 30 - 45 minutes or until no longer hot to the touch.  (You can also pour the mixture into a bowl to allow it to cool faster.)  When the mixture is cool add the maple syrup and bourbon and stir, then allow to cool completely.

Pour the cooled mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturers instructions. (This took about 25 minutes for our machine.)  Transfer ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze overnight.  Serve with Walnut Brittle crumbles on top.


Walnut Brittle

2 cups  Walnut Halves, broken into big and small pieces
2 cups  Sugar
1/2 cup  Water
1/2 cup  Light Corn Syrup
1/4 cup  Salted Butter, cut into slices
1/4 tsp  Baking Soda
1/2 tsp  Vanilla

Mix sugar, water and corn syrup in a large heavy saucepan.  Attach candy thermometer to side of saucepan and place pan over high heat.  Stir until sugar dissolves, then heat uncovered until the mixture reaches 310 degrees on the thermometer.  (Try not to stir the mixture very often as this will reduce the temperature.  Just stir a few times across the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to keep the mixture from scorching.)

One the mixture reaches 310 degrees, remove the pan from the heat, add butter, walnuts, soda and vanilla, and mix just enough to blend.  Allow the bubbles to subside, then pour the mixture out onto a buttered baking sheet, spreading the mixture into a thin layer using a buttered spatula.  Place the baking sheet in a cool location on a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Once cool, the brittle will loosen easily from the baking sheet and can be cracked into smaller pieces for serving.

Note:  This same recipe can be used to make Peanut Brittle or Almond Brittle, using 2 cups of blanched peanuts or almonds in place of the walnuts.  Enjoy!!

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Vanilla Ice Cream with Peanut Butter Oreos

OK.  So, I know this is not a low calorie treat.  But, if you like to treat yourself to a really decadent dessert every once in a while, this is the one to try.  Since the weather has been unbelievably hot this week, we decided it was time for something cool for dessert.


We have this great little ice cream maker that can even be used to make fruit sorbets or frozen yogurt.  It's so much fun to use and with just a few ingredients, you can have incredible creamy ice cream at home. 

The processing time is only about 25 minutes or so, and you have delicious soft-serve ice cream.  For a firmer consistency, we like to freeze the mixture in an airtight bowl for a few hours so the ice cream is completely frozen.

Tonight we went with basic vanilla ice cream and added crumbled Peanut Butter Filled Oreos to the mixture just before the processing was complete.  After a couple of hours in the freezer, dessert was ready to serve.

1 cup  Whole Milk
3/4 cup  Sugar
2 cups  Heavy Cream
1-1/2 tsp  Pure Vanilla Extract
3/4 cup  Peanut Butter-Filled Oreo Crumbles (about 4 cookies, crushed)
Extra Oreos for Garnish

In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer to blend the milk and sugar on low speed until all of the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes.  Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla.

Add the mixture to the frozen ice cream bowl, turn the ice cream machine on and mix until thickened, about 20-25 minutes.  During the last 5 minutes of this process, add the cookie crumbles to the mixture.

Serve immediately with a sprinkle of crumbled Oreos.  For hard-frozen ice cream, place the soft ice cream in a plastic, air-tight bowl with a lid, and freeze for 2 - 4 hours or overnight.    Makes about 10 1/2-cup servings.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Guinness Ice Cream and Root Beer Float

Is it possible to use Guinness in one more recipe this week?  Oh, yes!

I stumbled across some IBC Root Beer at the grocery today and since it already feels like summer here in Florida, I thought the kids might like something special to drink.  If you're going to drink root beer, IBC is the one and only choice. It has that old fashioned flavor that is just unmatched by the other brands.

When everyone spotted the root beer they immediately asked for root beer floats, which led my husband to ask if we could use the Guinness Ice Cream instead of plain vanilla.  A Guinness Ice Cream float?? Hmm, not sure, but  why not give it a try. (He does come up with some great ideas!!)

So we added 2 scoops of the Guinness Ice Cream to the glasses and topped it off with a few ounces of root beer.  The flavors combined perfectly and added a new twist to the traditional drink.  The rich, creamy ice cream and the bold flavor of the root beer made a seriously good float.  Enjoy!!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Guinness Ice Cream

If you like Guinness Beer, you are going to LOVE Guinness Ice Cream. We found this recipe in Food and Wine Magazine awhile back and had to try it for Al's birthday and as part of our Guinness Three Ways birthday challenge.

I did make some adjustments to the quantities so that the ice cream would work in our ice cream machine and I also added just a touch of vanilla.

The flavor is almost coffee-like,  oh and this is definitely not low calorie ice cream!  It's the real thing, full of heavy cream and egg yolks, but it's worth every decadent bite. 

The strong, malty flavor of the ice cream can only be made better by sprinkling crushed chocolate-covered pretzels on top.  Enjoy!

1 cup Guinness (you'll have to drink the remaining 4 oz!!)
1 cups Heavy Cream
1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup Whole Milk
7 Large Egg Yolks  (save the white for another dish)
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp  Vanilla Extract
Chocolate-Covered Pretzels, crushed, for topping optional



In a large saucepan, combine the beer, cream and milk and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.  In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar.  Slowly add several tablespoons of the hot Guinness cream to the yolks, whisking constantly until well blended. (NOTE: Do this very slowly so the mixture will not separate. This is called tempering.)  Continue to add the warm mixture to the egg yolks until the egg yolks are thinned and you have added about half of the Guinness mixture.
Guinness Ice Cream in the works

Pour the Guinness/egg yolk mixture back into the into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it coats the back of a spoon, about 6 minutes;  do not let it boil.  You will have a custard-like consistency.

Pour the custard into a medium bowl set in a large bowl of ice water.  Let stand until the custard is cold, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Pour the custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturers directions.
When the ice cream process in complete, pack the ice cream in an airtight container and store in the freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Scoop the ice cream into bowls and top with crushed Chocolate-Covered Pretzels or Guinness Chocolate Cake.