Toasted Almond & Cherry Ice Cream

Toasted Almond and Candied Cherry Ice Cream
Makes about 1 1/2 Quarts

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
5 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup candied cherries, coarsely chopped   


To toast almonds:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the nuts in an even layer on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake the nuts in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring them once or twice while baking so they toast evenly. To see if they're done, snap one in half: it should be lightly golden brown throughout. Let the nuts cool completely before using unless the recipe indicates otherwise.

To make candied cherries:
1 pound cherries, fresh or frozen
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 drop almond extract

Remove the stems and pit the cherries. Heat the cherries, water, sugar, and lemon juice in a large, nonreactive saucepan or skillet until the liquid starts to boil. Turn down the heat to a low boil and cook the cherries for 25 minutes, stirring frequently during the last 10 minutes of cooking to make sure they are cooking evenly and not sticking. Once the syrup is reduced to the consistency of maple syrup, remove the pan from the heat, add the almond extract, and let the cherries cool in their syrup. Drain the cherries in a strainer for about 1 hour (reserve the syrup for another use). Coarsely chop the drained cherries and fold them into 1 quart of ice cream as you remove it from the machine.

To make the ice cream:
Warm the milk, sugar, salt, and 1 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan. Finely chop 1 cup of the almonds and add them to the warm milk. Cover, remove the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

Strain the almond-infused milk into a separate medium saucepan. Press with a spatula or squeeze with your hands to extract as much flavor from the almonds as possible. Discard the almonds.

Rewarm the almond-infused milk. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour 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. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Stir in the almond extract and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. After churning (or during the last few minutes), add the remaining 1 cup chopped almonds. When you remove the ice cream from the machine, fold in the chopped cherries.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Makes about 1 Quart

2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup of cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk 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. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.  (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.) Once churned, add mix-ins if desired.

Homemade Ice Cream Cones

 Not only did we make homemade ice cream, but we also made our own ice cream cones. Ours turned out to be more like ice cream bowls instead of cones, but we definitely aren't picky when it comes to what shape the container is that holds our ice cream!

The cones tasted good but I don't know if we'll make them anytime soon. The recipe only makes 6 cones, and while you could double or even triple it, you can only bake two cones at a time so it takes a bit to get the whole batch finished. I used a very small glass to shape our cones since we have not invested in a cone rolling form. This recipe also came from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. Enjoy!

Ice Cream Cones
Makes 6 cones

1/4 cup egg whites (about 2 large egg whites)
7 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
 1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a small mixing bowl, stir together the egg whites, sugar, and vanilla. Stir in the salt and half of the flour, then  mix in the melted butter. Beat in the rest of the flour until smooth.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and use a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread 2 level tablespoons of the batter into a circle 6 inches across. Try to get the circles as even and smooth as possible (you're likely to get 2 rounds on one standard baking sheet).

Put the baking sheet in the oven and begin checking the cones after 10 minutes. Depending on your oven, they'll take between 10 and 15 minutes to bake. The circles should be a deep golden brown throughout. Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Use a thin metal spatula to loosen the edge of one disk. Slide the spatula under the disk, quickly flip it over, and immediately roll it around the cone-rolling form, pressing the seam firmly on the counter to close the cone and pinching the point at the bottom securely closed. Let the cone cool slightly on the mold until it feels firm, then slide it off and stand it upright in a tall glass to cool. Roll the other cone the same way. (I had to put my second cone back in the oven for a few seconds so it was pliable. It cools down too much in the short time it takes to shape the first one.)

Repeat, using the remaining batter. You'll find it easier to spread the batter if you slide the reusable parchment paper off the warm baking sheet and onto a second sheet that is room temperature; any heat form the baking sheet will make the batter fussy to spread.

The batter can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Let the batter come to room temperature before using. Once baked and cooled, store the cones in an airtight container until ready to serve. They're best the same day they're baked.

French-Style Vanilla Ice Cream

What better way to celebrate National Ice Cream day than to bust out the ice cream maker and churn up a batch! I have been thumbing through The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz for the past few weeks and each time I look I find new flavors that I want to try out. Having said that, you'll notice that I don't have a recipe for something unusual like black pepper or avocado or even something fruity like plum, but just plain old vanilla. Although to my husband it wouldn't be said with the words "just plain old", it would be his given choice of ice cream. In fact, it was his choice, and since I can add in many different mix-ins I agreed to make homemade vanilla ice cream.

When we've made ice cream in the past we have chosen the no-cook recipes out of the recipe book that came with our ice cream maker. I was completely enlightened when reading Lebovitz's book though and have finally figured out why our homemade ice cream in the past was more like ice milk rather than ice cream. To get the creamier ice creams you have to cook the custard before you churn and freeze it. He tells about two different styles of ice cream, the French style which is the cooked custard that is richer and creamier and then the Philadelphia style that is not cooked but also not quite as fattening. We chose to go all the way this time and actually make the French-Style Vanilla Ice Cream. The process wasn't really that much more difficult than the non-cooked style and I can attest to the fact that it was infinitely more creamy and rich than our homemade ice creams in the past.

                                                                  Cooking the custard

                                                      Putting it through a fine mesh strainer

                                                                  Ready to get churned

                                                       Churned and ready to go in the freezer

I found my recipe in The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz, but you can find a modified version online. Our favorite mix-ins were chocolate chunks and chopped toffee-coated macadamia nuts (left over from our trip to Hawaii). We also had crushed Oreo cookies, mini chocolate chips, m&m's, and chopped Andes mints. Enjoy!

French-Style Vanilla Ice Cream
Makes about 1 quart

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean
5 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of the cream, and salt in a medium saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the warm milk; add the bean as well. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Pour the remaining 1 cup of cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour 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. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Put the vanilla bean into the custard, add the vanilla extract, and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing and reserving it for another use, and then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.