Winter merriment evokes very particular ice cream flavors – Pumpkin, Peppermint, and Eggnog. Any of these delicious classics would be a joy to make, but I wanted something slightly more unusual to serve this holiday season. While flipping through recipes one sleepless night, I came across an ice cream described as a creamy Tarte Tatin, a caramelized apple upside-down cake. The recipe also called to mind my most favorite autumnal treat, candied apples. Instantly, I knew that this was just the ice cream I had been searching for.
A decadent marriage of luxuriously rich caramel and bitter tangy apple made for a delectable hybrid. Candy Apple Ice Cream was certainly not the easiest recipe I have ever made. The result, however, was to die for – and the accompanying sense of accomplishment was quite literally the cherry on top. xx tt
Recipe – adapted from The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle
Ingredients
· 5 cups apple cider
· ¾ cup sugar
· 1/3 cup water
· 1 + ½ cups heavy cream
· 1 cup whole milk
· 8 egg yolks
· 1 egg
· ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
· Don’t forget to put your ice cream bowl into the freezer 14 hours before you want to make the ice cream!
· Boil cider until it is reduced to 1 + ½ cups (this will take a while, and make sure to keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t burn)
· Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until it is pale gold
· Off the heat, add the reduced apple cider – the caramel will FREEZE and look like something is wrong. Take a deep breath, return it to a medium-low heat, and wait until the caramel disappears into the cider while whisking once in a while (this will also take a while)
· Once the apple cider and caramel are fluid, whisk in the milk and cream
· In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, yolks, and salt together until combined
· Pour a bit of the hot mixture into the egg mixture (around two tablespoons) and whisk
· Then pour the egg mixture into the hot mixture, while whisking
· Cook over medium heat until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon
· Set up a large bowl with a fine mesh strainer, or sieve, or chinois
· Pour the mixture through the strainer
· Cover the mixture with saran wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours
· Follow your ice cream maker’s instructions, I use this and love it!