Ice Cream Fridays: Whoppers Ice Cream

 
Welcome to another edition of Ice Cream Fridays. Every Friday you can look forward to a new ice cream recipe which will hopefully inspire you to break out your old dust covered ice cream maker that is hiding somewhere in a closet (yes, I'm talking about you). Since I'm always looking for inspiration and ideas, feel free to leave me a comment here on my blog or on my facebook page, and let me know what ice cream flavor you would like to see. Who knows, you might just get lucky and it will be featured the following week.

This week's flavor is a treat for kids, and those who are still kids at heart. I didn't grow up eating Whoppers. In fact, I had never even tasted anything that resembled these little 3/4 inch diameter, chocolate covered, malted milk balls, which are produced by the Hershey company before moving to the United States. Looking at the ingredient list, you'll find out very quickly that these candies are certainly no health food. However, I do like to munch on them on occasion, and they are actually one of the few candies I will pick out of my kids Halloween baskets (shhh, don't tell them).

For this ice cream, David Lebovitz takes a simple vanilla custard base and makes it special by adding malted milk powder. This, in my opinion, transforms this dessert by making it actually less sweet and more creamy. With that, this subtly sweet, malted confection is the perfect canvas for chopped Whoppers. This is certainly not a hard ice cream to make if you are familiar with cooking a custard, but I could actually see this working just as well in an egg-less Philadelphia style base. The hardest part in this recipe was cutting the difficult little suckers (whoppers), who did not want to cooperate or behave on my cutting board.

My kids were extremely happy with this frozen confection, especially since last week's Date, Rum and Pecan Flavor was definitely "adults only". While the kids went to town on this dessert along with their friends, who I assume liked it just as much, considering how fast their bowls were emptied, my husband and I were able to steal a few bites and liked it as well. While I usually prefer a smoother ice cream, it was still fun to eat and felt like being a kid again!

Whoppers Ice Cream
(adapted from The Perfect Scoop)
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 cup (250 ml) half-and-half
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
Pinch of salt
2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup (90 g) malt powder (like Carnation)
6 large egg yolk
2 cups Whoppers (malted milk balls), coarsely chopped

Preparation:

Warm the half-and-half, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. In a large bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, vanilla, and malt powder 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 whisk it into the malted milk mixture. 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. As you remove the ice cream from the machine, fold in the chopped Whoppers (malted milk balls).

Ice Cream Fridays: Date, Rum, and Pecan Ice Cream

Welcome to another edition of Ice Cream Fridays. Every Friday during the next few months (or until I get tired of it) you can look forward to a new ice cream recipe which will hopefully inspire you to break out your old dust covered ice cream maker that is hiding somewhere in a closet (yes, I'm talking about you). Since I'm always looking for inspiration and ideas, feel free to leave me a comment here on my blog or on my facebook page, and let me know what ice cream flavor you would like to see. Who knows, you might just get lucky and it will be featured the following week.

This week's featured flavor was solely inspired by my love of rum. Now, please let me clarify, since I don't want you to think I'm knocking back rum and cokes every night, and that is what prompted this post. No, in fact, I don't even like drinking it, but for some reason, something magically happens when you add dark rum to desserts. It transforms anything from cakes, pies and ice creams into something I can't resist. The flavor and scent of rum get me every time. It makes me extremely happy that two of my favorite cookbooks "Baking, from my home to yours" by Dorie Greenspan, along with David Lebovitz's "The Perfect Scoop", seem to be having a love affair with the dark "gold" as much as I do.

At first glance, many people might skip over today's flavor in the book, but I'm telling you, it would be a big mistake. Dates in an ice cream might not be your ideal dessert, but with the addition of rum and pecans, the ice cream is transformed into something dreams are made of. This ice cream is custard based with dried dates that are macerated in rum prior to adding them to the mixture, then to take it one step further, pecans are thrown into the mix. David gives you a few options of what kind of pecans. You can either toast them, add spiced pecans, or you can add "Wet Pecans" which is what I chose. They are toasted pecans which are added to boiling maple syrup for a few seconds before cooling the mixture again. All of these different components make this ice cream irresistible.

My husband and I loved this flavor. It is reminiscent of rum raisin, but to me it had more depth, perhaps because of the maple nuts. This is most definitely an ice cream that is "adult only". My children did not care for this one at all, which prompted me to mix up a different kid friendly ice cream which will be featured soon. So, if rum floats your boat, or makes your skirt fly up, this flavor is for you!

Date, Rum, and Pecan Ice Cream
(adapted from The Perfect Scoop)
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

12 dates (4 ounces, 115 g) pitted
1/4 cup (60 ml) dark rum

1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
2/3 cup (130 g) sugar
Big pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups (310 ml) heavy cream
6 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons dark rum
3/4 cup Wet Pecans (recipe to follow)

Preparation:

To prepare the dates, chop them into 1/2 -inch pieces. Combine the date pieces with the rum in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir. Cover and let macerate at room temperature for at least 4 hours (this can be done up to 1 day ahead).

To make the ice cream, warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Pour the 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 warm 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. Mix in the vanilla and rum, then 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. During the last few minutes of churning, add the nuts and date pieces.

Wet Pecans

Ingredients:

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (70 ml) dark amber maple syrup
3/4 cup (75 g) pecans, toasted and very coarsely chopped
Big pinch of salt

Preparation:

Heat the maple syrup in a small skillet or saucepan until it just begins to come to a full boil. Stir in the pecans and the pinch of salt, then cook until the liquid comes to a full boil once again. Stir the nuts for 10 seconds, then remove them from the heat and let cool completely. The nuts will still be wet and sticky when cooled.

Ice Cream Fridays: Toasted Coconut Ice Cream

Welcome to another edition of Ice Cream Fridays. Every Friday during the next few months (or until I get tired of it) you can look forward to a new ice cream recipe which will hopefully inspire you to break out your old dust covered ice cream maker that is hiding somewhere in a closet (yes, I'm talking about you). Since I'm always looking for inspiration and ideas, feel free to leave me a comment here on my blog or on my facebook page, and let me know what ice cream flavor you would like to see. Who knows, you might just get lucky and it will be featured the following week.

Today's pick is all about coconut. Coconut, with more coconut, and coconut on top. In other words you really need to like coconut for this ice cream to be appealing to you. Luckily, I have no problems with that and might even have a little coconut addiction (but don't tell anyone). In fact, I like it so much, that this week I was busy making not one, but two ice creams (one to be featured at a later date) containing coconut.

A little more time consuming to prepare than some of my other featured ice creams, but well worth the effort. To start this ice cream, sweetened coconut gets steeped in hot milk and cream to release all of its flavor into the milk mixture. A custard is then made with the coconut flavored milk, and finally sweetened cream of coconut (I used Coco Lopez) gets added along with some vanilla extract. After giving the mix a good chilling in the refrigerator for a few hours, and before you freeze it in your ice cream maker, you can add the coconut rum, which is optional but it will greatly improve the texture of the finished ice cream. Once the mixture gets thick and starts to freeze, and just when you thought it had enough flavor, even more coconut gets added to the mix, but this time toasted.

Wow, wow, wow! This ice cream is delicious! I could happily eat this every day of my life and even non-coconut fanatics have given this ice cream the seal of approval. I was sad to see this one gone, and can't wait to make more with my leftover Coco Lopez. I know the next batch won't go to waste either!

Toasted Coconut Ice Cream

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (375 ml) whole milk

1 1/2 cups (375 ml) heavy cream

1 1/4 cups (150 g) sweetened coconut, plus extra for optional garnish

4 large egg yolks

1 cup (250 g) sugar

4 tablespoons cream of coconut (like Coco Lopez)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon Malibu Coconut Rum (optional)

Directions:

In a medium sized saucepan, combine the milk, 1 cup of the cream, and 3/4 cup (90 g) of the coconut. cook over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes. Set aside for 20 minutes, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing against the coconut. Return the milk mixture to the pan and place over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks, sugar, and remaining 1/2 cup (125 ml) cream in a bowl. Whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk about 1/2 cup (125 ml) of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture until smooth. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon at low simmer, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail when a finger is drawn through it, 4-6 minutes. Do not let the custard boil. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cream of coconut. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Stir in the vanilla. 

Place the bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice cubes and water. Stir occasionally until cool. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours. Meanwhile, toast the remaining 1/2 cup (60 g) coconut, plus up to 1/4 cup (30 g) extra for garnish (if using), in a small, dry frying pan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

Right before freezing the ice cream add the Coconut Rum to the custard mixture if desired. Pour the custard into an ice-cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. When it is the consistency of thick whipped cream, add the 1/2 cup toasted coconut. Churn or stir until just mixed. Transfer to a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours. If desired, garnish each serving with toasted coconut.

Adapted from: Williams-Sonoma Collection: Ice Cream

Toasted Coconut Custard Tart

This is the story of the  Tart that was almost not meant to be. It certainly cost me a few more gray hairs, that's for sure. I wanted to make this Coconut Custard Tart for our 18th wedding anniversary since my husband loves desserts with coconut (hence the Perfect Party Cake he chose for his birthday). I picked this dessert out of Dorie Greenspan's book; Baking: From My Home to Yours since none of her recipes have disappointed me so far. Plus, when I saw sweet tart crust filled with a smooth coconut studded pastry cream and topped with a rum infused whipped cream I was pretty much in love.

The day started out well and I was cruising along with my sweet tart dough. It's practically flour, powdered sugar, butter and one egg yolk, pulsed in a food processor until it all comes together. The dough is then pressed into a tart pan with a removable bottom, which is then put in the freezer for a bit before baking. Once my dough went into the freezer I started on the custard. It is pretty much a standard custard with milk, egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch with the only exception being a pinch of coriander. The mix gets cooked until thick, then you add butter, dark rum and vanilla. Toasted coconut gets folded in and the custard gets chilled until ready for filling.

This is when my perfect baking process started to go awry. I put the pastry lined tart pan in the oven and set my timer for 25 minutes. I guess I had forgotten to press start after I had set my timer and didn't realize my mistake until I smelled something burning. Yes, you guessed it, the sweet tart dough was a loss.

Since I was determined to make my husband this dessert I set out to re-make my tart crust. Everything came together perfect, just like the first time. This time though I didn't mess up my timer and the crust was baked to perfection. I took it out and set it on a rack to cool. After about half an hour when I returned to un-mold the crust, the sides came out off the tart pan great but when I tried to slide it off the removable bottom tray the whole crust crumbled apart on me. There was no saving this one. At this point I was ready to just call it a day and admit defeat when my middle child told me that I could get it done and "3rd times a charm".

So for the third time in one day I made the sweet tart dough. From now on I can most certainly bake this tart dough in my sleep. Finally I had reached success. Everything came together at last. The crust was beautiful, the filling delicious and the topping of whipped cream along with a little more rum, vanilla and powdered sugar plus more toasted coconut turned this into anything but your grandma's coconut cream pie. Success after all and at least my husband is certainly worth the effort after 18 years. Happy Anniversary Honey!!!