Amaretto Ice Cream w/ Cherries & Pistachios

Just in time for the hot days of summer, here is “cheater ice cream" from Chef Justin Chapple’s Mad Genius Tips cooking series.

Cheater because you don’t need an ice-cream maker!  Instead freeze homemade custard in a large baggie, and then pulse it in a food processor until it looks (and tastes) like ice cream.

Cheater because the recipe here substitutes almond milk and coconut cream for dairy products. 

And cheater because - sorry - there’s no alcohol, just almond extract that gives a hint of an adult beverage that’s icy and creamy and totally delicious ~

MPM Rating: 5 Persimmons

Ingredients:

6 large egg yolks
1/2 cups coconut cream, Trader Joe's Coconut Cream brand
1 1/2 cups almond milk, Califia Farms Creamy Original brand
1/2 cup pure cane sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

3/4 cup fresh cherries, pitted and halved
1/4 cup shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Prepare a metal bowl with ice water that will support another metal bowl containing the custard mixture.

2. In the second bowl, add the egg yolks and mix them with a whisk.

3. I made the custard the following way: In a medium saucepan, whisk the cream with the milk, sugar, salt and vanilla bean and seeds. Bring to a simmer and cook until all the sugar is dissolved. Let the mixture cool down for about a minute or so, then ladle 1 tablespoon at a time into the egg yolks, whisking the mixture the whole time. The custard will be runny, but smooth without the yolks having curdled. 

To make the custard the way the author suggested, see link here. Sadly, my yolks curdled making it this way.

4. Put a large freezer bag in a pot or bowl with the sides overlapping the edges. Pour in the custard, seal it up releasing all the air, and lay flat in the freezer for 8 hours or overnight. 

5. Remove the frozen custard from the freezer, and breaking pieces apart in the bag, add to a food processor in sections. Pulse for about 5 second intervals until the custard looks like soft ice cream. Working quickly, transfer this to a 9 x 4 inch metal loaf pan. 

6. Fold in the cherries and pistachios, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze for 6 hours or overnight. 

Ice cream can be frozen for about a week. 

Makes about 1 quart.

#dairyfree #glutenfree #icecream #desserts #coconutcream #almond #pistachios #vanilla

Recipe adapted from Food & Wine Magazine June 2016 issue.

MPM Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.