By Mary Jane Miller
There is no sweeter end to a barbecue or picnic than homemade ice cream.
The following recipe for a slightly sophisticated treat is flavored with burnt honey and tangy buttermilk. The flavor, almost like toasted marshmallow, pairs beautifully with chocolate sauce and graham crackers for a grown-up s’mores sundae. For an even more adult twist, stir a little bourbon into the chocolate sauce. Toasted pecans or coconut are a great topping, too. Go nuts!
Burnt Honey Ice Cream
Makes about 1 quart
Ingredients
½ cup honey
1 tablespoon water
2 eggs
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 cup buttermilk
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
In a small saucepan, stir together the honey and water. I like to use a stainless steel pan to make it easy to watch the honey turn brown. Keep a small white plate nearby, so you can drop a bit of molten honey on it and assess the honey’s color. Bring the mixture a boil and cook it 5 to 7 minutes, until a drop on the plate is deep amber color. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk eggs until smooth.
In a medium pot, combine the cream and milk. Heat the mixture until it begins to bubble around the edges. Then slowly whisk it into eggs. Add buttermilk, salt and vanilla, whisking well. Continue to whisk while you drizzle the burnt honey into the cream mixture. Return the mixture to the pot and heat about 5 minutes longer, stirring constantly, without boiling, until the mixture slightly thickens. Pour it through a sieve into a clean bowl to catch any lumps. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the custard and chill at least 4 hours until very cold.
Freeze in ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions. Enjoy it as soft serve or scoop it into a loaf pan and freeze until firm, about 3 hours.
One last note: I developed this recipe for a two-quart counter-top ice cream maker. If you have a larger model that uses ice and salt, you’ll want to multiply the recipe to fill the canister about two-thirds full.
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