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Friday, August 22, 2014

Maple Whisky Ice Cream v2 #IceCreamWeek

Prior to getting the book Scoop Adventures, my usual methods of making ice cream were to either make a custard base and cool it, or make an eggless, uncooked base.

Sometimes I made a cheater ice cream that used instant French vanilla pudding mix, but that was for one specific recipe.

The peanut butter and jelly ice cream from Scoop Adventures had another method - using cornstarch to slightly thicken the mixture - like a very loose pudding. (I left the jelly out of the PB&J ice cream recipe, but I was totally crazy about the peanut butter part.)

So I decided to give it a whirl with a version of one of my favorite ice cream flavors - Maple Whisky.

And then, while I was waiting for the ice cream base to cool, I had another thought. A lot of ice cream recipes suggest that you cool the base by immersing the bowl in an ice bath and stirring it to chill it. Which makes sense. It cools a lot faster. Others suggest letting it cool to room temperature, then refrigerating.

But then I thought, gee, what's going to cool my ice cream base faster than putting it in the ice cream machine? I mean, it's a cold place and it's constantly being stirred. So why not?

Obviously (or perhaps not-so-obviously) this method wouldn't work if you have a freezer-bowl style of ice cream maker. Probably not for the ice-cubes-and-salt style either, unless you replenished the ice and salt after the base was cold but not frozen. Otherwise, you'd lose the chilling power before the ice cream was solid.

But if you've got an ice cream maker with its own compressor, it doesn't lose its chill. It keeps chilling as long a you're churning.

So I gave it a try.

I don't know if it's okay to put a HOT ice cream base into an ice cream maker, but I added mine when it was warm rather than cool or cold, and everything seemed to work just fine. You might want to check your ice cream manual's instructions, and if there are dire warnings about not adding hot/warm liquids, then heed those warnings or proceed at your own risk.


Welcome to Ice Cream Week 2014! 

You could win these!
This post is part of ICE CREAM WEEK and it's a little bit sad that it's almost over. Ice cream is fun to make and fun to eat and fun to share, but there's one day left, with a lot more recipes to come.

And then you're on your own.

Remember, you can enter the giveaway through the end of the month.

This year the event is hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Susan of  The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen.

We have teamed up with 25 amazing bloggers to bring you ice cream treats all week long. I hope you have as much fun as we did. Break out those stretchy pants and celebrate Ice Cream Week with us.

Our sponsors for the event have provided us with some great prizes. Wow! Check out the great stuff!

A huge thanks to Cake BossAnolonMicroplaneWÜSTHOFPage Street Publishing and Quarry Spoon

Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Susan of The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen have tossed in a bonus prize of a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker because they think everyone should own one!

Be sure to swing by all of today's Ice Cream Week Participants:


Maple Whisky Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk, divided
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup maple whisky
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Put the heavy cream, 1 cup of milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and heat to a vigorous simmer, stirring as needed to dissolve the sugar.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of milk, 1/4 cup maple whisky, and the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.

When the milk has reached a simmer, whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Continue cooking, stirring, until the mixture returns to a hard simmer and the mixture thickens. You'll feel it thicken. Make sure you're scraping the bottom and sides of the pan.

Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool, stirring occasionally - or fill bowl with ice and put your pot into the bowl and stir to cool it faster. Then refrigerate until fully chilled, then churn according to your ice cream maker's instructions.

Transfer to a storage container and freeze.

Check out my previous Maple Whisky ice cream HERE.

And now for the GIVEAWAY!!!

More goodies to win!
The Ice Cream Week Giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada. It closes at midnight on 31st. It's ONE WINNER TAKES ALL!
The giveaway is now OVER.