Chocolate Apricot Torte Ice Cream

29. July 2013 · 92 comments · Categories: Dessert, food, Ice cream, recipes · Tags: , ,

Chocolate Apricot Torte Ice Cream ~ ElephantEats.com

I think I mentioned this when I posted the Butterscotch Ice Cream recipe, but we got an ice cream machine as a wedding gift.

It has been both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it’s been awesome to make homemade ice cream in all kinds of flavors. But then we have to eat all of this ice cream, and I imagine it’s contributed to my gaining some weight. I think every bite of ice cream I’ve taken has been worth it though.

Chocolate Apricot Torte Ice Cream ~ ElephantEats.com

The best part of having the ice cream machine has been coming up with different flavors ideas. Up until this point I haven’t experimented much because I figured I needed to just get the hang of making ice cream first. I wanted to understand the proportions of milk/cream/sugar, etc. I think I’ve got it down pat now, though!

I’ve had this idea swirling around in my head to make an ice cream version of one of the most delicious desserts ever- Apricot Chocolate Torte. If you haven’t made this recipe before, you absolutely must. It’s my family’s go-to recipe for Passover because the original recipe contains so little flour that it easily converts with a flour substitute (for those who don’t know, wheat flour is forbidden during Passover). 

Chocolate Apricot Torte Ice Cream ~ ElephantEats.com

Anyway, I happen to love chocolate and fruit. Chocolate covered apricots are one of my favorite things- I even had them on our wedding dessert buffet! So for this ice cream, I imagined a rich chocolate ice cream base, with a fruity apricot swirl and chunks of the amazing crust from the torte. 

The ice cream ended up being everything I imagined. Nate said it was really good but he’d rather not have chunks of fruit in his ice cream. Oh well, more for me ;)

Chocolate Apricot Torte Ice Cream ~ ElephantEats.com

On another note, what do you guys think of this new recipe format? Better? Worse? I’d love the feedback.

[yumprint-recipe id='1']

Butterscotch Ice Cream

25. June 2013 · 97 comments · Categories: Dessert, food, Ice cream, recipes · Tags: ,

Butterscotch Ice Cream ~ ElephantEats.com

I don’t know about what the weather is like in other parts of the country (or in other countries like some of my readers), but here in New York the last few days have been disgustingly hot. I really shouldn’t even say that since I know it’s only going to get worse as July and then, worst-of-all August, approach.

But the best thing about hot days is that you have an excuse to eat ice cream…for dinner. Or at least that’s how I roll. Plus, it takes some of the guilt out of eating this full-fat deliciousness when you just make it your meal (and adding hot fudge doesn’t count). I mean, ice cream has protein and fat so it will probably keep you full for an hour or two.

Butterscotch Ice Cream ~ ElephantEats.com

I based this off of Sunset Magazine’s recipe (via SmittenKitchen) but altered the dairy products I used based on what I had already bought. I’m still learning the ins and outs of ice cream making so I haven’t quite gotten down the ratios you need. I tried making ice cream with just whole milk and learned that you definitely need more fat in there.

My substitutions in this recipe, however, were absolutely perfect. In fact I think that if I had followed the original recipe exactly, it would have been waaaay too rich for me, since this already tasted richer than Haagan Daas.

The custard base for this is so so good. I couldn’t stop sneaking spoonfuls before I got it into the fridge to chill out. It had this rich, buttery butterscotch flavor. Oh man.

Butterscotch Ice Cream ~ ElephantEats.com

I was slightly disappointed that after being frozen, it tasted more like a very rich vanilla. If you close your eyes and really concentrate on the flavor, you can definitely get hints of the butterscotch, but it wasn’t as pronounced as I would have liked. I think maybe I didn’t cook the sugar/butter mixture long enough because I was so worried I was going to burn it. So make sure you cook it until it it’s bubbly.

That being said, I would make this again regardless. Next time I might play around with some things I could add into it to make it extra special.

Now go put this on your dinner menu for tomorrow…i’m sure the kids won’t mind a bit ;)

Butterscotch Ice Cream ~ ElephantEats.com

Butterscotch Ice Cream

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Print this recipe!

Makes 1 quart

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 tsp spiced rum (optional but recommended to keep the texture soft)
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
6 large egg yolks

In a 1- to 2-quart pan over medium heat, stir brown sugar and butter until butter is melted, sugar is dissolved, and mixture is bubbly, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 cup heavy cream until smooth; remove butterscotch mixture from heat. Add vanilla and rum, if using.

In a 3- to 4-quart pan over medium-high heat, combine remaining 1 1/2 cup heavy cream and the whole milk; bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat egg yolks to blend. Whisk 1/2 cup of the warm cream mixture into egg yolks, then pour egg yolk mixture into pan with cream. Stir constantly over low heat just until mixture is slightly thickened, 2 to 4 minutes. Immediately remove from heat.

Pour through a fine strainer into a clean bowl and whisk in butterscotch mixture. Chill until cold, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours; or cover and chill up to 1 day.

Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve softly frozen, or transfer ice cream to an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 1 week.