Mah jongg and ice cream
Our homemade ice cream was a hit with the mah jongg crowd last night. We did two variations on The Minimalist's Cornstarch Ice Cream… the previously mentioned Biscotti Chocolate Chunk and a new one. One bag of Daim (thanks, IKEA) + espresso powder = bestest Coffee Heath Bar Crunch evar. The Swedish Chef's Espresso Daim Explosion (bork! bork! bork!) will keep you wide awake through the long Scandinavian nights.
Espresso Daim Explosion (bork! bork! bork!)
Time: 20 minutes, plus chilling
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (next time, try light cream)
1 cup 2% milk
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (next time, try 1 or 1 1/2 teaspoons)
4 1/2 ounces of Daim, chopped
Put 2 cups of cream/ milk, the sugar and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until mixture begins to steam.
In a bowl, blend cornstarch and remaining cream, half-and-half or milk; there should be no lumps. Add cornstarch mixture to pot. Cook, stirring, until it starts to thicken and barely reaches a boil, about 5 minutes. Immediately reduce heat to very low and stir for 5 minutes or so until thick. Stir in vanilla extract.
Place one ladle-full of warm cream/ cornstarch mixture in storage container. Add espresso powder and stir to combine. Transfer cream/ cornstarch mixture to storage container, snap on lid, and cool in an ice-water bath.
When mixture has cooled sufficiently, stash it in the fridge. Chill until really cool, a couple of hours (or overnight). Pour into an ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.
About 5 minutes before the ice cream is done, add Daim. Let it finish, scoop into a container, and freeze overnight.
Yield: 1 generous pint. (Serves 2.)
Posted by rv at August 23, 2007 10:54 PM to food