Toasted Almond Fudge Ripple Ice Cream
We promised you lots of ice cream this summer, and we're determined to keep our promise! Which means we have the difficult task of churning up and taste-testing limitless flavors of from-scratch ice cream for you. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it, right? We kicked off the 2013 ice cream season with Malted Vanilla Ice Cream with Peanut Brittle & Milk Chocolate Chunks, then followed it up with a couple more flavors, and then we realized… we need more chocolate! We're a firm believer that you can never go wrong with the combination of nuts and chocolate, and have long wanted to play around with a toasted almond fudge recipe. As it turns out, toasted almond fudge is an utterly fantastic ice cream. It’s the reliable ice cream to share, but you may just want to keep it all to yourself.
This base of this ice cream is a simple sweet cream recipe with a hint of vanilla, which is accented by chopped toasted almonds and a velvety-smooth fudge swirl. You could choose to add ¼ teaspoon of almond extract to the custard base if you want an additional punch of almond flavor. We're not a huge fan of almond extract unless it gets baked off in some manner, but if you like it, go for it here. We love the contrasting toasty crunch of the almonds and silky smooth sweetness of the ice cream and fudge ripple.
We foresee a summer full of ice cream love on the horizon. What have you churned up so far this year?
One year ago: German Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Sprinkle Thumbprint Cookies
Two years ago: Veggie Bean Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries
Four years ago: Old-Fashioned Spice Cake
Five years ago: Pesto Pasta & Chicken
Toasted Almond Fudge Ripple Ice Cream
Yield: 1 quart Toasted almond ice cream with a rich fudge ripple.For the Ice Cream:
- 5 egg yolks
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, divided
- 2 cups (476 ml) heavy cream
- 1 cup (244 ml) milk, 1% or 2%
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (71.5 g) chopped toasted almonds
- ½ cup (8.5 g) Fudge Ripple, recipe below
For the Fudge Ripple:
- ½ cup (100 g) plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ cup (125 ml) water
- 6 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa, sifted
- ¼ cup (85.25 ml) light corn syrup
- ⅛ teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 1 ounce (28.35 g) bittersweet, 60% cacao chocolate, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) vanilla extract
- Make the Ice Cream Custard: In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks to break them up. Add ¼ cup of the sugar and whisk to combine; set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, stir together the cream, milk, remaining sugar and salt and place over medium-high heat. When the mixture approaches a bare simmer, reduce the heat to medium.
- Ladle out a scoop of the hot cream mixture and, whisking the eggs constantly, add the cream to the bowl with the egg yolks. Repeat, adding another ladle-ful of the cream mixture to the bowl with the egg yolks, continuing to whisk. Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan.
- Using a rubber spatula, stir the mixture constantly over medium heat until it is thickened and coats the back of the spatula (it should register between 170 and 175 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer), about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl and whisk in the vanilla extract. Place the bowl in an ice bath and stir the mixture occasionally until cool. Remove the container from the ice bath, cover and refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Make the Fudge Ripple: In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, water, cocoa, corn syrup and salt. Place the pan over medium-high heat and whisk until the mixture comes to a full simmer. Once the mixture has simmered and the sugar is completely dissolved, remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute, then whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Allow to cool to room temperature, then place in an airtight container in the refrigerator and chill completely before using. (Any leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.)
- Churn the Ice Cream: Freeze the ice cream according to the ice cream maker's instructions, adding the chopped almonds during the last minute of churning. As you transfer the ice cream to the storage container, alternate layers of the ice cream with drizzles of the fudge ripple. Once all of the ice cream is in the container, use a butter knife to gently swirl the mixture.
Notes
Notes:- If you cannot find (or don't want to use) corn syrup in the fudge ripple, we would recommend substituting Lyle's Golden Syrup.
- Yield: 1 quart
- Prep: 1 hour
- Total: 4 hours
Ingredients
For the Ice Cream:
- 5 egg yolks
- ½ cup ( 100 g ) granulated sugar, divided
- 2 cups ( 476 ml ) heavy cream
- 1 cup ( 244 ml ) milk, 1% or 2%
- ¼ teaspoon ( 0.25 teaspoon ) kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ( 0.5 teaspoon ) vanilla extract
- ½ cup ( 71.5 g ) chopped toasted almonds
- ½ cup ( 8.5 g ) Fudge Ripple, recipe below
For the Fudge Ripple:
- ½ cup ( 100 g ) plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ cup ( 125 ml ) water
- 6 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa, sifted
- ¼ cup ( 85.25 ml ) light corn syrup
- ⅛ teaspoon ( 0.13 teaspoon ) kosher salt
- 1 ounce ( 28.35 g ) bittersweet, 60% cacao chocolate, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon ( 0.5 teaspoon ) vanilla extract
Method
- Make the Ice Cream Custard: In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks to break them up. Add ¼ cup of the sugar and whisk to combine; set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, stir together the cream, milk, remaining sugar and salt and place over medium-high heat. When the mixture approaches a bare simmer, reduce the heat to medium.
- Ladle out a scoop of the hot cream mixture and, whisking the eggs constantly, add the cream to the bowl with the egg yolks. Repeat, adding another ladle-ful of the cream mixture to the bowl with the egg yolks, continuing to whisk. Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan.
- Using a rubber spatula, stir the mixture constantly over medium heat until it is thickened and coats the back of the spatula (it should register between 170 and 175 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer), about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl and whisk in the vanilla extract. Place the bowl in an ice bath and stir the mixture occasionally until cool. Remove the container from the ice bath, cover and refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Make the Fudge Ripple: In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, water, cocoa, corn syrup and salt. Place the pan over medium-high heat and whisk until the mixture comes to a full simmer. Once the mixture has simmered and the sugar is completely dissolved, remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute, then whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Allow to cool to room temperature, then place in an airtight container in the refrigerator and chill completely before using. (Any leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.)
- Churn the Ice Cream: Freeze the ice cream according to the ice cream maker's instructions, adding the chopped almonds during the last minute of churning. As you transfer the ice cream to the storage container, alternate layers of the ice cream with drizzles of the fudge ripple. Once all of the ice cream is in the container, use a butter knife to gently swirl the mixture.
Notes
If you cannot find (or don't want to use) corn syrup in the fudge ripple, we would recommend substituting Lyle's Golden Syrup.
