The ice bath just moves the chilling process to the end, so that was not much of a time saver.
The other unique part about the book is the flavors represented in frozen yogurt, sorbets and ice creams. With ice creams names like Queen city Cayenne and Bankok Peanut, it was hard to decide which one to make. Since I never made any of her recipes before, I picked one recipe that was fairly tame to start.
The end result was a very creamy treat that had just the right amount of bourbon complimented with the roasted pecans. This particular ice cream is one of their signature flavors and after tasting it, I can understand why. This recipe makes about one quart of ice cream, but if you have guests or a big family-it won't last long.
Bourbon Butter Pecan Ice Cream
courtesy of Jenis Splendid Ice Cream at Home
Ingredients
3/4 cup halved or quartered pecans
1 tbs unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp fine sea salt (for roasting pecans)
1/4 cup bourbon
2 cups whole milk
2 tbs light corn syrup
1 1/2 oz or 3 tbs cream cheese (softened)
1 tbs plus 1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
big bag of crushed ice
First you will need to prepare the pecans. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together the pecans, melted butter and 1/2 tsp of salt. Pour into a foil pan or onto a baking sheet and spread evenly. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes, turning at the halfway point. The release of the aroma is a good indicator that they are finished toasting. Remove pan and set aside to cool. Turn off oven.
Take out two small prep bowls. Out of the 2 cups of milk, measure out 2 tablespoons and place in one bowl. Stir in cornstarch until smooth. In another bowl, mix together 1/4 tsp of salt and cream cheese with a fork. Set both small bowls aside.
Put the rest of the milk, corn syrup, sugar and cream in a large saucepan. Place pan over medium high heat. When the mixture reaches a rolling boil, set timer for 4 minutes and continue to boil. Once timer goes off, remove from heat. Take the small bowl of cornstarch mixture and stir for one last time and then slowly pour it into the saucepan.
Put saucepan back on stovetop to cook again. Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring. Boil for one minute. It should thicken a little bit in this time. Remove from heat.
Using a spatula, take your cream cheese mixture and empty it into a large bowl. Set it aside.
Take a large heat proof cup or deep small bowl and place a gallon size plastic freezer bag inside(I used Ziploc brand). Leave the top gaping open. Also, fill your sink with some water and then pour in the bag of ice. Place the bagged cup or bowl close by the sink.
Pour 1/2 cup of the milk mixture into the bowl of cream cheese and whisk until smooth. Slowly add the rest of the liquid, continuing to whisk. Once the cream cheese is no longer visible in the mixture, pour in the bourbon and stir to finalize making the ice cream batter.
Acting quickly, pour all of the batter into the bag and seal top. Then immerse bag in ice bath. When I first read about this process, I had a picture of a melted plastic bag and ice cream running everywhere. Surprisingly, that did not happen, so there was no need to worry.
Set the timer for 30 minutes and leave the bag immersed so the batter can get cold. After that, pour it into ice cream maker and follow manufacturers instructions. Add The pecans to the ice cream a few minutes before churn completion time.
Lastly, empty ice cream into a container with a lid and cover ice cream with parchment paper. Then place lid on top and freeze for at least 4 hours, or more depending on how frozen you like your ice cream. It was 8 pm when the 4 hours passed, but I just left mine to freeze overnight. Now, enjoy this frosty treat!
