Maple Pecan Ice Cream Recipe With Picture

The question is often asked, "Why make your own ice cream when you can simply buy it?". Good question, and I will admit that today you can buy very high quality ice creams that taste wonderful. The problem is that they are very expensive, and you do not get to choose your flavor combinations. Take this Maple Pecan Ice Cream, where we combine two native American ingredients, maple syrup from the North and pecans from the South. It is pure delight as the pure maple syrup gives it a flavor that Diana Henry best describes in her book 'Roast Figs Sugar Snow' "reminiscent of burnt sugar and fudge". And the toasted pecans provide a lovely buttery caramel flavor

Pure maple syrup is a beautiful reddish-brown aromatic liquid that has a distinctive rich and sweet nutty flavor produced from the sap of maple trees grown in Canada and the Northeast United States. It is used, along with granulated white sugar, to sweeten and flavor the custard base for this ice cream. Once the ice cream has been churned, we add toasted and crushed pecans. Pecans not only provide a nice soft texture to the ice cream, but their buttery flavor is excellent with the sweet flavor of maple syrup. Although pecans are grown in a few other parts of the world, they are mainly grown in the Southern United States where the climatic conditions of hot summer days and nights are ideal. If you cannot find pecans, an excellent alternative would be toasted and crushed walnuts.

As this recipe only uses egg yolks, there is always the question of what to do with the leftover egg whites. Meringues (Meringue Cookies, Meringue Hearts, Meringue Mushrooms, Pavlova) are always a good way to use egg whites as is the Chocolate Angel Food Cake.

In a small saucepan, over medium-high heat, bring the half-and-half and the maple syrup to the scalding point (the milk begins to foam up). Remove from heat.

Meanwhile in a stainless steel bowl beat the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy (about two minutes). You can do this with a wire whisk or I like to use a hand mixer. Gradually pour the scalding half-and-half mixture into the whipped egg yolk mixture, making sure you keep whisking constantly so the eggs don't curdle. If any lumps do form, strain the mixture before heating.

Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, cook until the custard thickens enough that it coats the back of a spoon (170 degrees F) (77 degrees C). The term 'coat a spoon' is a technique used mainly as a way to test when an egg-based custard or sauce is done. A spoon, usually wooden, is placed in the custard and, when the spoon is raised, the film of custard on the back of the spoon will stay in place even when you draw a line with your finger through the middle of the custard.

Immediately remove the custard from the heat and stir in the heavy cream. Cover and let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate the custard until it is completely cold (several hours but preferably overnight).

Transfer the cold custard to your ice cream machine and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. Once made, stir in the toasted and crushed pecans and transfer the ice cream to a chilled container and store in the freezer. If the ice cream becomes too hard place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before serving so it can soften.

Note: To toast pecans, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Place pecans on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes or until the pecans are fragrant and lightly browned. Cool. Place the pecans in a sealed plastic freezer bag and use a rolling pin to crush the pecans.

Makes about 3 cups.

Recipe adapted from: Friberg, Bo. The Professional Pastry Chef (Third Edition). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1996.

Recipe:

3/4 cup (180 ml) pure maple syrup

2 cups (480 ml) half-and-half

5 large egg yolks

3 tablespoons (45 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream

1 cup (100 grams) pecans, toasted and crushed

Note:

Half and Half cream is a mixture of cream and whole milk and contains 10 ? - 12% butterfat.

Heavy cream or heavy "whipping" cream contains 36 - 40% butterfat.

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