Vanilla ice cream with choconuts

September 2, 2011 by bugswana 2 Comments

I’ve finally gotten my ice cream maker! Yoo hoo…this is no doubt THE thing that I’d been waiting for!  It took me 2 years and a broken whisk to decide that it is time to get one.  So far, I have got to say that I love it and it’s a NO regret investment.  At $108 (it was not affected by the inflation!!! What a surprise), I think it definitely does the job that it’s suppose to do.  However, could it have been better?  Maybe.  The amount of ice cream that it can hold/make is really limited, so maybe one with a bigger capacity might have been ideal, but hey, compared to the alternate freezing and whisking, this is a breeze!  So I’m not complaining.

Having said that, I get very anxious as I watch the ice cream churn and I tend to stop the ice cream maker way too early.  Thank goodness, the ice cream still turned out nice…I have to tie my hands up when I make ice cream the next time to prevent them from pressing the stop button.  Geez…

The great thing about my version of Vanilla ice cream with chocolate coated nuts lies in the nuts.  The nuts used were gifts from my Aunt.  All I know is that she got them from Indonesia.  There is a slight tinge of saltiness in them.  But the good thing about them is that they are EXTREMELY crunchy!  This definitely added an extra dimension to the already multi-dimensional flavored ice cream.  Hope you’re able to find such nuts too.

 

Vanilla Ice Cream with choconuts

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/4 cups whole milk
2 vanilla pod
3/16 cup sugar
3/16 cup honey
Pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
1/4 ts vanilla essence

Ice Cream

1. Warm milk, sugar, honey, salt and 1/2 cup of heavy cream.   Once the sugar has melted, cover and remove the mixture from the heat and let steep at room temperature for 1/2 hour.  Scrape the vanilla pod and add the vanilla seeds to the milk mixture.

2. Pour the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.

3. Rewarm the milk mixture.   In a separate 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.

4. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heat-proof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream.  Add the vanilla extract and stir (over an ice bath) until cool.

5. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the fridge (preferably overnight).  Freeze the mixture as per the instructions on your ice-cream maker.  If you don’t have an ice-cream maker, fret not.  Click here to find out how.

6. During the final whisking of the ice cream mixture, add in the chocolate coated nuts.  Freeze.

Adapted from: Brown Eyed Baker