Vanilla Ice Cream With Flambeed Fresh Mincemeat Recipes

MINCEMEAT PIE

Steps:

• Place all of the ingredients except the crust into the bowl of a food processor and pulse 8 to 10 times. Place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for at least 3 days before using. Can be stored for up to 6 months.
• If you prefer a finer texture of mincemeat place the apples, dried fruit and suet into a meat grinder with a large die and grind. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients. You may also finely chop the apples, dried fruit and suet by hand.
• Place the flour, cornmeal, 1 1/2 ounces sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Grate the cold butter on the large side of a box grater directly into the dry ingredients. Work together with your hands until the mixture is crumbly. Add the cider and water and stir with a spatula to combine. Knead the dough 5 to 6 times and spritz with additional water if the dough is dry. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Unwrap the dough and divide into 4 equal pieces. Place 2 pieces of the dough onto a piece of parchment paper and roll each out into a 1/8-inch thick round that is 6 to 8 inches in diameter. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the mincemeat into the center of each round, fold up the edges of the dough in order to form a crust all the way around. Brush the edges of the crust with egg wash and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Transfer the dough on the parchment to a half sheet pan. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• If you prefer 1 large pie, roll out the dough on a piece of parchment into a 15 to 16-inch round, about 1/4 to 1/8-inch thick. Trim the edges with a pizza cutter. Carefully slide the rolled out dough, still on the parchment paper, onto an upside down half sheet pan. Spoon about 1 1/2 pounds of the mincemeat onto the center of the dough, leaving a 2 to 3-inch margin around the edge of the crust. Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until the crust is golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 to 45 minutes before serving.

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.

HOMEMADE VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients, stirring to dissolve sugar completely. Fill cylinder of ice cream maker no more than two-thirds full; freeze according to manufacturer's directions. (Refrigerate any remaining mixture until ready to freeze.) Serve immediately or store in covered containers in freezer.

HOLIDAY MINCEMEAT CAKE WITH EGGNOG RUM SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 deg. Spray oven-safe 11-inch skillet or a 9 X 13 cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• Prepare cake mix according to package directions, except reduce the water by 1/4 cup. After mixing, fold in the mincemeat and nuts.
• Bake 35 to 40 min. Cake is done with toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.
• Let cool 5 min. Run a knife around edge of pan and invert onto serving plate.
• Sauce: Combine butter, sugar and eggnog in small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Boil for 2 min. Remove from heat stir in rum or rum extract and a dash of nutmeg. Serve warm.

HOMEMADE VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Whisk the cream, milk, sugar, vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk 1 cup of the hot cream mixture into the beaten yolks, then pour back into the saucepan, whisking, and return to medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens, coats the spoon and reaches 180 degrees F on a thermometer, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl or measuring cup; discard the solids. Stir often until the mixture cools to room temperature. Lightly press plastic wrap directly against the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Chill until cold, about 3 hours. (For faster chilling, set the bowl of custard in a bowl of ice water and stir until cold.)
• Freeze the mixture in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. (Take care not to over-churn the ice cream or it can have a grainy texture.) Place the ice cream in the freezer to set up for at least 1 hour. Serve.

VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Split the vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds. Put the seeds, pod halves, milk cream and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan. Bring just to the simmering point over low heat.
• In the meantime, combine the remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar, egg yolks and vanilla extract in a large bowl and whisk until just blended.
• While gently whisking the yolks, drizzle the hot cream mixture into them so that they are gradually warmed up. Return everything to the saucepan and cook while stirring with a wooden spoon. Make sure that you are constantly scraping the spoon across the bottom of the pan so the custard does not scorch. The custard is done when it has thickened slightly and can evenly coat the back of the spoon. Do not let it come to a boil. Strain the custard through a fine sieve. Press our all the liquid in the vanilla beans and nestle the container holding the custard into a large bowl of ice. Let cool, stirring occasionally.
• Transfer the custard to an ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Put the finished ice cream in a storage container and freeze until firm.

FRENCH VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, lightly whisk together the yolks and half of the sugar.
• In a non-reactive saucepan combine the cream, 1 cup of the milk, the remaining sugar, and the salt.
• Split the vanilla bean in half, lengthwise, to expose the tar-like seeds inside the pod. Scrape the seeds loose with a knife; add the bean and the seeds to the cream mixture.
• Heat the cream over medium-high heat until just at a boil. Remove from the heat. Gradually pour the hot liquid into the yolks, while whisking constantly. Return the cream-egg mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring the mixture constantly, with a wooden spoon in a figure-8 motion, until thickened, about 10 minutes. When the ice cream mixture is properly cooked it should coat the back of a spoon, be satiny thick, and be free of any bubbles on the surface. (If you taste the ice cream base it should have a slight egg-y taste.) When thickened, pour in the reserved milk to prevent the mixture from overcooking. Strain into a medium bowl. Add the cognac if desired.
• Fill another bowl with ice. Set the bowl of ice cream base in the ice and stir until thoroughly chilled. Freeze the base in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. (Take care not to over churn the ice cream or it will get a grainy texture.) Transfer the ice cream to the freezer to set up for at least 1 hour. Serve.

CLASSIC VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Place a container in the freezer. Split the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape the seeds out with the point of the knife and tip into a pan with the milk, cream and pod. Bring to the boil, then remove heat and leave to infuse for at least 20 mins. For the best flavour, this can be done a few hours beforehand and left to go cold.
• In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks together for a few mins until they turn pale and fluffy. Put the vanilla cream back on the heat until it's just about to boil, then carefully sieve the liquid onto the yolks, beating with the whisk until completely mixed.
• At this point, get a large bowl of iced water and sit a smaller bowl in it. Pour the custard back into the pan and cook on the lowest heat, stirring slowly and continuously, making sure the spoon touches the bottom of the pan, for about 10 mins until thickened. Strain the custard into the bowl sitting in the iced water and leave to cool, then churn until scoopable. Transfer to the container and freeze.

BEST EVER VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a large heavy saucepan, combine cream, milk, sugar and salt. Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise. With a sharp knife, scrape seeds into pan; add bean. Heat cream mixture over medium heat until bubbles form around sides of pan, stirring to dissolve sugar. , In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of the hot mixture into the egg yolks; return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Cook over low heat until mixture is just thick enough to coat a metal spoon and temperature reaches 180°, stirring constantly. Do not allow to boil. Immediately transfer to a bowl. , Place bowl in a pan of ice water. Stir gently and occasionally for 2 minutes; discard vanilla bean. Press waxed paper onto surface of mixture. Refrigerate several hours or overnight., Fill cylinder of ice cream maker two-thirds full; freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. (Refrigerate remaining mixture until ready to freeze.) Transfer ice cream to a freezer container; freeze until firm, 4-6 hours. Repeat with remaining mixture.

REAL VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Put the milk and cream in a saucepan. 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 milk mixture. Add the pod to the pan, too. Heat the whole lot 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 mins so that the vanilla can infuse.
• Mix the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl. Gradually pour the milk over the egg mixture, whisking continuously until combined. Pour everything back into the cleaned pan, return to a low heat and cook for 8-10 mins, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Make sure it doesn't boil or you will end up with scrambled eggs.
• Pour the custard through a fine sieve into a bowl, then sit it in a bigger bowl, one-third full of ice and water, to cool it down - keep stirring every now and then to stop a skin forming. Chill to make sure it is completely cold, putting cling film directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming.
• Pour the custard into an ice-cream machine. Churn following manufacturers' instructions until frozen, then spoon into a metal or plastic freezer-proof container. Cover and freeze until solid. If you don't have an ice-cream machine, pour the custard into the container and freeze. Every 2-3 hrs, take the mixture out of the freezer and give it a stir. Once it is softly set, beat it well with electric beaters, then freeze solid. It will keep in the freezer for 3 months. Remove from the freezer 15 mins before serving to allow it to get soft enough to scoop.