Saturday, September 15, 2012

Homemade ice cream - my new favorite thing!

Back to school and community groups have started again. Birthdays are also in full swing (September and October are full of them!) I have noticed that people aren't branching out much with their choices. Hey, I guess if you like something you like it! So since my blog is a couple of years old now, I don't have as many new recipes to post. I end up making the same favorites over and over. In my Tuesday group, there are three birthdays in a row - Tyler, Marby, and Ryan. All three of them pick French Silk Pie. French Silk is pretty amazing, but three weeks in a row? That is a lot of chocolate. I emailed Tyler this week asking him if he wanted French Silk Pie this week or if he wanted to branch out. He replied by saying "No Branching". All right, fine. I will be boring.
In my Wednesday group, it is Trevor's birthday next week and he asked for Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake (again). I made that for him last year but this year I decided to take it up a notch and make homemade ice cream (which I have never done before). My friend, Darla, made me some amazing mint ice cream on my birthday so I got her recipe and decided to give it a try. The thing that was unique about this recipe is that it uses actual mint leaves rather than extract so it tastes organic and earthy. It is a little different upon the first bite but by the end of the bowl, I was sold. It was sooooo good. 
I got the ice cream maker attachement for my Kitchen Aid and I have decided that it is the greatest thing EVER! Making ice cream was soooooo easy. You just freeze the Kitchen Aid Bowl, follow any ice cream recipe then put it in the frozen bowl and let it mix for 20 minutes - voila! Delicious, homemade ice cream!!! I now have added a new skill to my repertoire. So if you want homemade ice cream for your birthday, don't hesitate to ask, I can accommodate :)
Here is the recipe for the ice cream cake I am making for Trevor's birthday this week:


Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake

Brownie Bottom:
1 box Brownie Mix

Ice Cream:
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
pinch of salt
2 cups lightly packed mint leaves
5 large eggs
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
3/4 cup Andes mint candies, chopped into small pieces

Ganache:
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix brownies as directed on the box and bake in a 10 inch spring form pan.

Ice Cream:
Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of whipping cream, and salt in a small saucepan. Add the mint leaves and stir until they’re immersed in the liquid. Cover, remove from the heat and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.
Strain the mint-infused mixture through a mesh strainer into a medium saucepan. Press on the mint leaves to extract as much of the flavor as possible, then discard the mint leaves. Pour the remaining 1 cup heavy whipping cream into a large bowl and set the strainer on top.
Rewarm the mint-infused mixture. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mint liquid 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 still, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula, craping 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 until cool over an ice bath.
Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions. In the last five minutes of mixing, add in the chocolate and Andes pieces. 

Top brownie with a layer of ice cream, freeze until solid. 

Ganache:
In a small saucepan combine the chocolate chips, heavy cream and vanilla. Stir over medium heat until everything is combined. Keep stirring! Keep your eye on it! You will magically get an amazing ganache in a matter of minutes. Set it aside to cool down.
Once the ganache has cooled, pour over cake ice cream cake, freeze until solid. 





No comments:

Post a Comment