and The Perfect Scoop
by David Lebovitz. Both of these books have yielded delicious and perfect recipes, yet they tend to lay on the shelf, collecting dust. Plus, once it's been made, ice cream can stay in the freezer for quite a while, providing yummy dessert when I'm not up to baking. And still, my ice cream maker stays packed away in a forgotten cupboard for most of the year.Well, it's a new year, and I've decided something: no more store bought ice cream! For starters, it costs an arm, a leg, and an extra foot to get a pint of ice cream on my island. Forget about quarts...you need a loan. Also, though, I have a really great ice cream maker
that's a cinch to use, and about a thousand recipes to try. I guess you could call it a New Year's resolution. In fact, yes, I think I will. I resolve to only have homemade ice cream in my home for all of 2011, and to try to make a new flavor at least once a month. There. That's done.I'm already off to a great start, too, because I made ice cream last week. Not just ice cream...amazing ice cream. Really.
Say hello to the most delicious ice cream pretty much ever. This, friends, is light, chocolate malt ice cream with lots of chopped up malted milk balls mixed in! I've actually never been a huge fan of malted milk balls. I like them alright, but they're not my first choice. In fact, I really only choose to eat them when someone else has them and offers me a couple. But this ice cream takes all of the best things about them and turns it into a frozen treat no one could turn down. Seriously, I don't care if people say they don't like malted milk balls...if you can get them to take one little taste of this, they will convert! This stuff is smooth and creamy, just ever-so-slightly chocolaty, and chock full of crunchy candy!! And it's so much easier to make than you might think!
The cast of characters in this ice cream are egg yolks, coarsely chopped malted milk balls (like Whoppers), heavy cream, half-and-half, sugar, malted milk powder (not chocolate), vanilla extract, and cocoa powder. The original recipe that I adapted this from was a plain malt ice cream...no chocolate, but I love chocolate malt, so I decided to add a little cocoa powder to the mix. But just a little...I wanted a lighter chocolate that wouldn't overpower the malt flavor. As for the malt...
...the recipe I used called for malt powder. Unfortunately, I couldn't find malt powder on my island, so I settled on Carnation Malted Milk Powder, which is, apparently, different. From what I gathered malt powder is malt alone, while malted milk powder has additional ingredients. Honestly, if you have easy access to plain malt powder, I say go for it, but otherwise, this worked beautifully and truly imparted a fantastic malt flavor.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, malt powder, and vanilla; place a mesh strainer on top and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, heat the half-and-half, sugar, and salt over medium heat. Once hot, whisk in the cocoa powder. Remove from heat.
In another medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks. In a very slow, steady stream, whisk about half of the half-and-half mixture into the eggs. Be sure to whisk constantly to prevent the eggs from cooking. Once combined, add quickly whisk in the remaining half-and-half mixture, and pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a spatula constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the spatula.
Pour the egg mixture through the mesh strainer into the cream mixture. Whisk until combined, then, if necessary, sit the mixture over an ice bath and stir until cooled (mine was pretty close to room temperature as soon a I was done straining it). Cover and chill overnight in the refrigerator.
Once, chilled, pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and mix according to the manufacturer's instructions. Quickly fold the malted milk balls into the ice cream as you remove it from your ice cream maker.
I can't even begin to express how delicious this stuff is. Really. It may seem like an exaggeration, but it's not, this really is phenomenal ice cream.
You probably won't wanna share this. Just saying. But you should try, because everyone will love it. This ice cream made my whole family happy. For days.
Make this. ASAP. And share it...well, try to anyway! Enjoy!
Chocolate Malt Ice Cream
Makes about 1 1/2 quarts
Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup malt powder
1 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
6 egg yolks
2 cups malted milk balls, roughly chopped
In a medium bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, malt powder, and vanilla; place a mesh strainer on top and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, heat the half-and-half, sugar, and salt over medium heat. Once hot, whisk in the cocoa powder. Remove from heat.
In another medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks. In a very slow, steady stream, whisk half of the half-and-half mixture into the eggs. Be sure to whisk constantly to prevent the eggs from cooking. Once combined, whisk in the remaining half-and-half mixture. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a spatula constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the spatula.
Pour the egg mixture through the mesh strainer into the cream mixture. Whisk until combined, then stir over an ice bath until cooled. Cover and chill overnight in the refrigerator.
Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and mix according to the manufacturer's instructions. Fold the malted milk balls into the ice cream as you remove it from your ice cream maker.
Recipe adapted from The Perfect Scoop
