Thursday, December 10, 2009

Autumn Ice Cream: Browned Butterscotch Pumpkin

Yeah, yeah, alright. So everyone else is blogging about Christmas cookies... so what? I'm here to prove that ice cream can be just as festive!

We've doing quite a bit of experimenting with ice cream flavors lately (hey, if David Lebovitz can spend his time doing it, so can we). And I'm here to reveal a recipe that makes it well worth your while to drag that ice cream machine out of storage again.

We've created the perfect seasonal pumpkin ice cream... many thanks to the wonder that is browned butter. You'll need just a few ordinary ingredients (pictured)...

... plus a few spices, about 5 eggs, and a little bit of patience.

First, you'll brown five tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan. You'll add brown sugar, a bit of salt, and about a cup of heavy cream to the mix.  You'll swoon.

Once you've regained some semblance of your composure, you'll whip together five egg yolks.  You'll stir the browned butter mixture into the egg yolks (slowly, and whipping them continuously with a whisk so as not to cook them), and then return the whole mixture to the stove to make a delicious browned butter custard.  Your entire kitchen will smell absolutely fantastic, and the next 5-10 minutes will fly past at breakneck speed.

At that point, the custard should be coating the back of a spatula or wooden spoon.  You can pour it through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl containing yet another cup of cold heavy cream.

It will look so pretty, you'll want to take a picture. So, you do. And then, you'll whisk it all together -- adding a cup of pumpkin puree and a bit of vanilla.
 
At this point, you'll place the ice cream base over an ice bath  and stir it until it's completely cool. Then, you'll pop it into the fridge until it's fully chilled (about 3-4 hours, or overnight).

If you're like me, you'll take the opportunity to whip together a delicious pecan pie with pecan shortbread crust...
When the ice cream base is cold, you can whip it up in your ice cream maker.  Be sure to add a tablespoon or so of Scotch to the icecream during the last few moments of churning. The flavor is divine.

Once the ice cream has churned, you can pop it back into the freezer for a while while your pie cools.


And then, when the pie is still ever-so-slightly warm, and the ice cream is perfectly frozen, you can serve them all up together on a nice little dessert plate.


You spoon up a nice little scoop of the melting ice cream. Mmm. Buttery and rich. Cool and creamy. Spicy and dreamy.  It's like the best pumpkin pie you've ever had in a cup. Or a bowl. Or next to that perfect slice of warm pie.

Your fork gravitates toward the pecan pie. The shortbread flakes under the weight of your fork, and then falls into a fantastic abyss of brown sugar custard.  You raise the fork to your lips and take a bite. It's toasty and buttery and nutty and perfect.

You take a forkful of the icecream and the pie together. The convergence of flavors is like the best of Thanksgiving and Christmas all at once.  OOOh...  Yum!

You don't even care about the extra layer of body fat that you've acquired in the last five minutes or so. After all, you'll need it for the long winter ahead.  And you can blame it on the holidays. *smirk*


Recipe:  Peef & Lo's Perfect Browned Butterscotch Pumpkin Ice Cream




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19 comments:

  1. Are you talking to me? If I weren't so enamored of cookies in non-Christmas context, I would say I'd challeng you to a friendly food blogger ice cream showdown! Alas, I'm already too busy procrastinating the Daring Baker Challenge, and even with my stay-at-home self, I'm feeling like the days are growing ever shorter (probably because until the 20th, they actually are :))

    Still, I generally shy away from ice cream making more than I should, since I eat it all myself, and usually there isn't a healthier version that is worth the lack of butterfat... I will promise you, however, that I will make this amazing Burp! Pumpkin ice cream, since it looks perfectly amazing, is my favorite ice cream flavor (if I could pick just one...) and I'll have to prove that I can blog about more than just cookies in December!

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  2. Oh my does that every sound good...anything with browned butter is good with me

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  3. Oh my, that combo looks so good. I was actually contemplating making a pumpkin ice cream last night. There's a neglected kabocha squash in my kitchen that needs to be eaten, and I thought about making it into ice cream. This sounds perfect.

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  4. WOW, this looks superb, a definite high! I really need to buy an ice cream maker.

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  5. doesnt matter how cold it is, there is ALWAYS time for ice cream. looks great!

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  6. How heavenly! Both the pie - my favorite - and the ice cream! Such complimentary flavors - I love the combo.

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  7. OhmygoodnessbutthislooksAMAZING. I'm pretty much over my cookies, so you win. And yes, ice cream is good any time -- especially when it is in any way connected to brown buttah. Great combo of flavors in these recipes!

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  8. I've been thinking pumpkin ice cream lately too...looks delicious, especially with the addition of the browned butter!

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  9. This looks absolutely amazing!! Homemade ice cream with a pumpkin twist! Your photos are lovely too!! Happy holidays -- and who needs cookies with this??!!

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  10. Now I am officially drooling. Why must you tease me like this?! ;)

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  11. That is so decadent! Thanks for sharing :)

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  12. Hol-y crap. That looks amazing, I would definitely go for that over cookies! Well, maybe both... you could make ice cream sandwiches. Heh.

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  13. I love pumpkin ice cream! However maybe I should close my eyes when I add the ingredients. Maybe then the fat won't count, right?

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  14. Two comments...how do you NOT just eat the custard...how do you muster the willpower to bring it all the way to ice cream? AND I have 5 cans of that exact pumpkin in my pantry! I am going to make this - pumpkin ice cream is my FAVE.

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  15. Jenn - Trust me, that caramel custard is pretty hard to resist... there was definitely some sampling going on!!

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  16. I've been trying to decide on desserts for Christmas, and now I'm thinking ice cream. Sounds delicious!

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  17. Lo, I want that. I want that right now. I am stressed out and that looks like my cure!!

    Laura

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  18. Browned butter and scotch in ice cream? Now that's some serious creativity!

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