C – Ice cream in this kind of weather?!
Jim, you have to be kidding me? I guess he wasn’t.
Jim’s been addicted to ice cream ever since I started allowing it back into the freezer last May. I was on a low sugar diet and was craving sugar. Ice cream was the main culprit. Since then, ice cream has been a staple in the freezer. When I purchased an ice cream maker in July, Jim immediately requested a continuous stream of ice cream flavors. Even if I didn’t eat it, he would. So, on the coldest, rainiest day in Sacramento, I am making freezing cold ice cream. That’s not even the worst part of it. Jim asks for the most interesting ice cream flavors, and sometimes the most expensive. He once spent $20 on making 4 pints of vanilla bean ice cream. Of course, it was the best vanilla bean ice cream ever!
What am I making today? Apple cider ice cream. It’s sounded good. But, would it really work?
So into the Be Mindful. Be Human. kitchen to “experiment.” Jim said it would be easy. Just cook down the cider, use my normal ice cream base and mix it together. I didn’t think it was going to be that easy, but it was worth a try. The last of the apple cider we bought from Rainbow Orchard will be reduced down to a few tablespoons.
How long did it take? FOREVER. It was getting on my nerves and I needed to get out of the house. I asked Jim to watch it closely while I ran a few errands. Thirty minutes later I returned to a house full of smoke and the smell of burnt sugar. I came in asking if everything was OK. Jim replied no. Sad face. All the hours of cooking down two cups of apple cider ended in a black burnt mess in Jim’s really expensive copper pot.
Jim wouldn’t let this go. He was on a quest to make another batch. Of course, he had to go to three stores to find more freshly pressed apple cider. Oh well, he learned a valuable lesson. Never leave the stove unattended when something is boiling.
| Apple Cider Ice Cream |
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 2 cups apple cider
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- Pinch of salt
- 1½ cup heavy cream
- 1½ cup milk
- 4 egg yolks
- Add butter, apple cider, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks and salt to a small sauce pan. Cook on medium-high heat until reduced by half. Watch carefully or it will burn.
- Remove cinnamon sticks and set aside.
- In a large sauce pan. heat heavy cream and milk to a simmer.
- Beat eggs yolks well in a large bowl.
- Ladle milk into egg yolks carefully and slowly, making sure that the eggs do not curdle. After a few ladles and stirring well, combine all the milk mixture into eggs.
- Return milk and egg mixture to sauce pan. Heat on medium heat until simmer. DO NOT boil, eggs will curdle.
- Add apple cider reduction into milk mixture and combine well.
- Remove from heat and let cool. Chill in the refrigerator.
- Follow instructions on your ice cream maker.
- Place in freezer until ready to serve.
- Enjoy!
The apple cider ice cream tasted good, but was hard to mix. The cider reduction was too concentrated and harden up when it cooled, before I put it into the ice cream mixture. I think we needed to try it again.
Round two was better. I didn’t reduce it quite as much and added brown sugar and butter to the mix. It made the syrup smell more like apples and cinnamon.
The second batch of ice cream tasted quite good, especially with Apple Cake (see tomorrow’s post). But, it’s still challenging to make. I think I see why no one makes apple cider ice cream.