CARROT CAKE ICE CREAM

Ingredients:

(Makes about a half quart)

For your Custard:

1 cup Heavy Cream (240 mL) (divided in half)

2 cups Whole Milk (475 mL)

1/3 cup Sugar (60 grams)

2 Large Egg Yolks

1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean (10 mL)

1/8 teaspoon (small pinch) of Ground Cinnamon

4 oz. Cream Cheese at room temperature (115 g)

1/2 cup Brown Sugar (100 g)

1/8 cup Salted Butter (30 g)

1/2 cup Grated Carrot (120 mL)

1/4 cup Golden Raisins (60 mL)

3/4 cup toasted Walnuts crumbled (180 mL)

Tools:

Heavy Bottom Pot or Double boiler (Don’t have a Double Boiler? Don’t worry, just place a medium bowl over the top of a pot with a an inch or two of water simmering in the bottom.)

Electric Hand Mixer*

Small - Medium Mixing Bowl

Whisk

Sieve

Large bowl of Ice Water

Wooden spoon or Heatproof Spatula

Thermometer*

*Ideal, not essential

Instructions:

1. Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice. (This will become an ice bath for cooling the custard later on.)

2. Set a sieve over a a medium or large mixing bowl and set aside.

3. Pour the other half of the heavy cream, the milk, the sugar, and the salt into a heavy-bottom pot or double boiler and set over medium-low heat. Stir until the sugar and salt have melted and steam begins to rise from the surface.

4. Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl.  Once it is uniform, add a  tablespoon of the steaming dairy mixture while still whisking. Repeat until you have added 3 - 4 tablespoons of the dairy mixture to the yolks. Add the yolk mixture back into the rest of the dairy mixture, stirring continuously with a spatula or wooden spoon. Reduce the heat as necessary to prevent the custard from coming to a boil. Make sure to scrape the bottom as well to prevent overcooking. The custard will be done once the mixture is thick enough to glaze the back of the spoon. Run your finger across the back of the spoon. If the custard remains separated, it is done cooking.

5. Strain the custard into the bowl with the sieve and float that bowl in the Ice Bath. Stir the custard until cool (5-ish minutes). Remove from the ice bath and add the vanilla, cinnamon, and cream cheese. Using the hand mixer, beat the custard until the cream cheese is well combined. (Just a few seconds should be sufficient… Don’t worry about small lumps of cream cheese - they will make the texture more interesting in the end.)

6. Refrigerate in an airtight container for at least four hours. Letting it sit even longer, perhaps overnight, is even better.

To finish the ice cream:

7. Melt the brown sugar and butter together over medium heat. Once they are melted, stir in the grated carrot and golden raisins. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens (5-ish minutes). Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

8. While that cools, pour your chilled custard into your machine (removing the vanilla bean if you used one) and let it churn until it has the texture you desire.

9. Transfer to a large chilled mixing bowl and gently fold in the carrot mixture and the toasted walnut crumbles. (You can also add a liqueur of your choice if you desire… Bourbon, Dark Rum, and Grand Marnier are popular choices.)

10. Store the ice cream in a pre-chilled, air-tight container and freeze! 

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This Carrot Cake ice cream will keep for about one week.

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Notes :

+ Carrot Cake on its own is divine! But, when turning it into an ice cream, it can be difficult to get that same toothy quality carrot cake has. The trick is to be delicate when adding your watery ingredients, like grated carrots, to avoid iciness. Originally, I added another quarter cup of grated carrot on top of what you see in this recipe, but found that it made the ice cream too watery and crunchy to feel nice on the tongue. We want a comforting, warm feeling when we think of carrot cake… so avoid icy!!

+ As with many desserts, everyone has their own favorite style. Think about your favorite flavors of carrot cake and the order in which they hit your palate and then alter your ingredient ratio accordingly. For me, it’s the warm vanilla and spices followed by the toasted walnut accented delicately by the carrots and golden raisins and then rounded off by the cream cheese icing… So I add more walnut, vanilla, and cream cheese and less of the brown sugar carrot mixture. But you do you!

Great pairings for Carrot Cake:

Cream Cheese, Caramel, Coconut, Nuts (Walnut, Pecan, Almond), Flaky Sea Salt, Coffee, Liqueur (Bourbon, Whiskey, Dark Rum), Baking Spices (Clove, Cinnamon, etc), White Chocolate

Carrot Cake Ice Cream

Laura | March

Prep time: 20 minutes

Chilling time: 4 hours

Total time: 4 hours 20 minutes

Servings: Makes about a half quart of ice cream

Level of Skill: Easy

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Heavy Cream (240 mL) (divided in half)
• 2 cups Whole Milk (475 mL)
• 1/3 cup Sugar (60 grams)
• 2 Large Egg Yolks
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean (10 mL)
• 1/8 teaspoon (small pinch) of Ground Cinnamon
• 4 oz. Cream Cheese at room temperature (115 g)
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar (100 g)
• 1/8 cup Salted Butter (30 g)
• 1/2 cup Grated Carrot (120 mL)
• 1/4 cup Golden Raisins (60 mL)
• 3/4 cup toasted Walnuts crumbled (180 mL)

Instructions:

1. Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice. (This will become an ice bath for cooling the custard later on.)

2. Pour half of your heavy cream into a medium or large mixing bowl and set a sieve over the top for later. Set aside.

3. Pour the other half of the heavy cream, the milk, the sugar, and the salt into a heavy-bottom pot or double boiler and set over medium-low heat. Stir until the sugar and salt have melted and steam begins to rise from the surface.

4. Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Once it is uniform, add a tablespoon of the steaming dairy mixture while still whisking. Repeat until you have added 3 - 4 tablespoons of the dairy mixture to the yolks. Add the yolk mixture back into the rest of the dairy mixture, stirring continuously with a spatula or wooden spoon. Reduce the heat as necessary to prevent the custard from coming to a boil. Make sure to scrape the bottom as well to prevent overcooking. The custard will be done once the mixture is thick enough to glaze the back of the spoon. Run your finger across the back of the spoon. If the custard remains separated, it is done cooking.

5. Strain the custard into the bowl with the uncooked heavy cream and float that bowl in the Ice Bath. Stir the custard until cool (5-ish minutes). Remove from the ice bath and add the vanilla, cinnamon, and cream cheese. Using the hand mixer, beat the custard until the cream cheese is well combined. (Just a few seconds should be sufficient… Don’t worry about small lumps of cream cheese - they will make the texture more interesting in the end.)

6. Refrigerate in an airtight container for at least four hours. Letting it sit even longer, perhaps overnight, is even better.

To finish the ice cream:

1. Melt the brown sugar and butter together over medium heat. Once they are melted, stir in the grated carrot and golden raisins. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens (5-ish minutes). Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

2. While that cools, pour your chilled custard into your machine (removing the vanilla bean if you used one) and let it churn until it has the texture you desire.

3. Transfer to a large chilled mixing bowl and gently fold in the carrot mixture and the toasted walnut crumbles. (You can also add a liqueur of your choice if you desire… Bourbon, Dark Rum, and Grand Marnier are popular choices.)

4. Store the ice cream in a pre-chilled, air-tight container and freeze!

Nutrition:

(per 1/2 cup serving)

Servings: Four 1/2 cup sized scoops

Fat: 19 grams

Calories: 314

Nutrition estimated by Happyforks.com