Vanilla Ice Cream With Amaretti And Plum Sauce Recipes

VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Pour heavy cream, milk, sugar and salt into a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, whisking frequently, until sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks until well blended. While whisking egg yolks, slowly pour 1 cup of the hot milk mixture into yolk then pour egg yolk mixture into saucepan while whisking mixture in saucepan.
• Cook mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a heat proof spatula, until mixture reaches 180 degrees F on an instant read thermometer and thickens slightly (mixture should coat the back of a wooden spatula). Remove from heat, stir in vanilla.
• Pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Let cool to room temperature stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
• Cover with plastic wrap pressing directly against the surface of the custard mixture to prevent a skin from forming on top. Transfer to refrigerator and chill through, about 4 hours**.
• Churn mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturers directions until thickened (it should take approx. 25 - 30 minutes). Chill a container in the freezer during the last few minutes of processing.
• Transfer ice cream to chilled container from freezer. Spread even. Place in freezer and freeze until firm, about 3 - 4 hours.

VANILLA CREAM OR SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat 2 cups milk in a heavy saucepan over low heat until simmering, about 5 minutes.
• Beat remaining 1/2 cup milk and cornstarch together in a bowl using a whisk until dissolved; add sugar and egg yolks and beat until smooth. Slowly pour milk mixture into simmering milk while gently whisking the simmering milk; simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and stir vanilla extract into sauce.
• Pour the sauce through a wire mesh sieve into a bowl to remove any cornstarch lumps. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the sauce, ensuring the plastic wrap is touching the sauce to prevent a skin from forming; cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
• Move sauce to refrigerator and chill completely cold, at least 30 minutes.

AMARETTO ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Mix heavy cream, half-and-half, and sugar in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add amaretto liqueur and vanilla extract.
• Pour milk mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions until ice cream reaches 'soft-serve' consistency. Transfer ice cream to a lidded container. Freeze for about 2 hours before serving.

AMARETTI ICE CREAM DESSERT

Steps:

• Crumble 4 amaretti cookies into each of 4 dessert cups and douse them with almond liqueur. Top with ice cream, whipped cream and almonds.

ULTIMATE VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Put the canister from the machine into the freezer a day before you want to make the ice cream. Next day, pour the cream and milk into a medium heavy-based pan, then tip in half the sugar. Slit the vanilla pod down its length with a small sharp knife and scoop out as many of the tiny black seeds as you can into the cream mixture. Cut the pod into three and drop it into the pan.
• Heat the cream and milk over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until it almost boils - you'll see a few bubbles at the edge. Take off the heat and set aside for 30 minutes so the vanilla can infuse.
• Put the egg yolks into a bowl with the rest of the sugar and beat with an electric hand beater for about 2 minutes until the mixture has thickened, is paler in colour and falls in thick ribbons when you lift the beaters. Using a measuring jug, scoop out about 125ml/4fl oz of the cream mixture and beat into the egg yolks to slacken them. Reheat the cream until it just comes to the boil, take off the heat and stir in the egg yolk mixture.
• Return the pan to a low heat and cook, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, for 8-10 minutes, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Watch that it doesn't boil - as soon as you see any bubbles about to burst to the surface, it should be thick enough, so take the pan off the heat so the mixture doesn't curdle.
• Pour the custard into a heatproof bowl, then sit it in a bigger bowl one third full of iced water to cool (this takes about 20 minutes). Stir occasionally to stop a skin forming. Put the bowl of custard in the fridge for 3-4 hours, preferably overnight, so it gets really cold.
• Get the ice cream machine running, scoop out the vanilla pod pieces, then slowly pour in the cold custard. Leave it to churn for 10-30 minutes (depending on your machine). When it stops, it is probably too soft to eat, so spoon into a plastic container, cover with cling film, then a lid, and freeze for a minimum of 3 hours. (It will keep in the freezer for 3 months but don't take it out, then refreeze.) Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before serving.
• To make it by hand: in step 1, heat the milk, vanilla, and half the sugar without the cream (the custard will be slightly thicker). At the start of step 6, whip the cream so it's light and floppy, not too stiff, and fold it into the cold custard. Freeze for 3-4 hours, stirring once an hour until almost frozen, then freeze as above.

PLUM ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a saucepan over low heat combine water and 2 tablespoons sugar, swirling occasionally until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Adjust heat so liquid barely shimmers.
• Add plums to pan and cook for 3-5 minutes (or until tender). Cool completely.
• In a saucepan bring cream, milk and vanilla beans to a simmer. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes.
• Scrape seeds from vanilla beans into the cream mixture, discarding pods. Return mixture to a boil. Remove from heat.
• Beat egg yolks and 2/3 cup sugar until pale yellow and then beat in hot milk mixture. Return all to saucepan and cook stirring over medium low heat until mixture thickens (6-8 minutes). DO NOT BOIL. Strain mixture into a bowl. Cool completely in a refrigerator (at least 4 hours), stirring occasionally.
• Pit cooled plums but do not peel. Puree plums with liquid in a food processor or blender until smooth. Fold plum mixture into custard.
• Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.
• Freeze in a covered container for several hours.

EASIEST VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a saucepan or a microwave-safe container, combine cream, half-and-half and vanilla bean and seeds (or tea and vanilla extract). On the stove or in the microwave, bring mixture to a simmer. Immediately turn off heat.
• Add sugar or corn syrup and salt and mix until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Taste and add more sugar and salt as needed to balance the flavors. The mixture should taste slightly too sweet when warm; the sweetness will be muted when the ice cream is frozen.
• Strain mixture into a container and refrigerate until very cold, at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.
• Churn mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Serve immediately or transfer to an airtight container and let freeze until hard.

VANILLA ICE CREAM WITH PLUM COMPOTE

Steps:

• Bring sugar and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Meanwhile, pit each plum, and cut it into 8 to 12 chunks.
• When sugar mixture boils, add plums, and return to a boil. Cook 2 minutes. Cover; reduce heat, and simmer until plums begin to break down, about 7 minutes. Remove lid; simmer until mixture is saucy, about 10 minutes more.
• Transfer plums to a large bowl using a slotted spoon (so excess syrup can drip back into pan). Cook syrup over high heat until it is very bubbly and has the consistency of warm jelly, about 10 minutes. Pour syrup over plums, and let cool slightly.
• Divide compote among six dessert bowls. Top each serving with a large scoop of ice cream. Drizzle with honey, and sprinkle with thyme leaves or sprigs.