I’ve recently fallen in love with homemade ice cream. While a bad recipe can go very, very wrong and leave you with a too-sweet eggy mess, good homemade ice cream is heavenly. It’s rich and creamy and once you have the base down you really can do anything with it. This recipe happened by accident, I was craving some simple vanilla ice cream and ran out of cream so I used a little egg nog. I also had a jar of caramelized white chocolate in the fridge and thought that just might be a lovely combination (it was). Then, my husband brewed some espresso which I immediately snatched off the stove and poured into a jar of ice cream and told him he’d thank me later (he did).
This is the same ice cream base I used in this jasmine ice cream recipe. If you’ve never made green tea-infused ice cream it’s light and refreshing and unexpectedly delicious. Also, if you happen to have any caramelized white chocolate left after using a little for the ice cream and then eating it by the spoonful I recommend using it for this. I hope sharing these recipes again isn’t redundant but it was simply too good to keep to myself.
To make an affogato, put two small scoops of ice cream into a small cup or bowl and pour a shot of hot espresso or about 3 tbsp strong coffee over. Serve alone or with shaved dark chocolate.
- 3 c heavy cream
- 1 c eggnog
- 4 large eggs
- 1 c sugar
- pinch of salt
- ½ c caramelized white chocolate (recipe below)
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale yellow and fluffy. Set aside.
- Combine heavy cream and egg nog in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan and scald the cream (heat it until steam rises and small bubbles form around edges). Remove from heat.
- Slowly whisk the hot cream into the egg and sugar mixture, add a pinch of salt, and return mixture to double boiler. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture coats the back of a spoon.
- Strain using a fine-mesh sieve, allow it to cool, then refrigerate until cold.
- Once thoroughly chilled, whisk the cream mixture briefly and churn according to your manufacturer's instructions. Just before churning is complete, warm the caramelized white chocolate just to a pourable consistency and slowly drizzle into ice cream while churning. Stop the ice cream maker and gently mix by hand with a spatula or wooden spoon until it is evenly distributed, then put the ice cream in a freezer-safe container, cover, and chill until thickened.
- Take ice cream out to the freezer and allow it to soften for 10 minutes before serving.
- 9 oz good-quality white chocolate
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ c heavy whipping cream
- pinch of flaky salt
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
- Distribute chocolate in a rimmed baking sheet or cake pan and drizzle with 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove it from the oven and spread it evenly with the back of a wooden spoon or a spatula. Continue baking for an additional 30-45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. The chocolate may look grainy or chalky, but keep stirring and it will smooth out.
- Continue cooking until it has caramelized and the color of peanut butter. Remove the pan from oven and allow it to cool.
- Place the caramelized chocolate and heavy whipping cream in a bowl and blend with an immersion blender or blend in a food processor until smooth. Add more cream if necessary, until it is a pourable consistency. Stir in a pinch of flaky sea salt. Eat by the spoonful.
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