milk chocolate pecan ice-cream

Last year, after purchasing my rice maker, I swore I wouldn’t buy any more kitchen appliances. That promise was short-lived. After my recent sojourn to Garson’s Farm (see corn post) and acquisition of five buckets of raspberries, I wanted to (or more like HAD TO) make sorbet. (I didn’t have the jars to make jam, so it was the only solution) My Magimix ice-cream maker only accommodates one litre and I had double that amount of mixture. In the end I made half sorbet and the rest granita. Icy treats do require a fair amount of effort and forward thinking and one litre just doesn’t seem worth it. My husband and two sons can polish off a container of ice-cream quicker than you can say ‘Haagen Dazs.’ If you can make two litres at once, it makes it a bit more worthy. I decided to scan Amazon and see what was out there. The Kitchen Aid ice-cream attachment caught my eye because I already have the mixer. A double batch just about squeezes in and you can make your frosty endeavors last at least two evenings.

This recipe is adapted from the book ‘Iced’ from Murdoch books. Made with a proper custard base, it has all the density of quality ice-cream and lashings of milk chocolate and crisp pecans.

Iced-180 very cool concoctions

milk chocolate and pecan ice-cream
preparation time 40 minutes
makes 1 litre/4 cups

250ml/1 cup milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthways and seeds scraped
500ml/2 cups double or whipping cream
115g/half cup castor sugar
200g/1 1/2 cups grated quality milk chocolate
4 egg yolks
50g/1/2 cup pecans chopped

Put the milk, vanilla bean and scraped seeds into a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla bean with scraped seeds and heat until nearly boiled. Remove from heat.

Whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl until well combined. Pour in a half cup of the hot cream mixture and whisk. This will warm the eggs up so it doesn’t curdle when pouring in the rest. Whisk in the remaining cream mixture and then return to a clean saucepan. Stir over low-medium heat constantly for 8-10 minutes or until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Do not allow to boil. Set aside to cool slightly, then pour into a covered container and refrigerate until cold. (I usually leave it until the next day)

At this point you can pour the mixture into an ice-cream machine. Its a good idea to start the motor running and then scrap the mixture in. It will take about 10-15 minutes to thicken. Add the pecans at the end of churning. Alternatively, you can do it without an ice-cream maker by pouring it into a shallow metal baking dish and freezing. Whisk it every couple of hours until it frozen and creamy. When close, add the pecans in.

Start with fabulous ingredients!

The milk, cream, sugar and vanilla pod are heated until nearly boiling.

The chocolate is chopped to melt in the cream mixture.

After the chocolate is melted, the mixture is whisked into the eggs, poured back in the saucepan and heated until thick.

The thick custard is chilled overnight and is ready for the ice-cream machine.

My new Kitchen Aid ice-cream machine attachment churning the mixture.

Since I made a double batch, it’s nearly overflowing, but works. The nuts are added after its churned and then frozen.

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