Ladeez and gents, my kitchen has been pimped. If it were a car, it would have decals, blue running lights and tyres large enough to squash sea-lions. It is a granite and steel monstrosity. It is all Bosch, all the time. It is indecently large. So large, in fact, that I have misplaced nearly everything and am now having unwelcome insights into the state of my brain cells in approximately 50 years. So large that my ridiculously huge collection of bakeware is now seeming actually quite reasonable, and possibly rather weak in some areas. (Bundt tins. Panettone molds. The essentials, you understand.)
All this largesse means that there is finally room for a proper gelato maker, the kind with a built in refrigeration unit. After reading lots of reviews on Amazon ranging from 5* w00ts to 1* fails for various models, I pretty much randomly picked this DeLonghi, figuring that it would be a miracle if it survived shipping to the Bahamas, so a machine that even turned on would exceed my expectations.
It duly arrived, a great hulking chunk of fake-chrome and, against all odds and the best efforts of my shipper, it works! This is not a gadget that you will want if you have limited counter space or finances, let alone ambitions to lose 20 pounds. It’s far too heavy to put away after every use. On the upside it is not obnoxiously loud (it drowns out the BBC, but you can hear FOX News a-ok) and it is dead easy to clean, as everything goes in the dishwasher. And it makes really, truly excellent ice-cream – there is an extraordinary difference in texture between the ice-cream made in this refrigerated churner and my older frozen-bowl version. In my opinion, if you’re serious about making your own ice-cream, that increase in quality is well worth the increase in price.
But if you’re wavering, this recipe might just tip you into splurging – it was judged a triumph at my dinner table. (Disclaimer: the only other guests were my boyfriend and my parents. I am an only child. Some sample bias may have affected results.)
Ginger ice-cream with caramelized pecans
Serves 4
- 480ml 2% milk
- 120ml whipping cream (30% fat)
- 4 egg yolks
- 125g caster sugar
- 1 inch square ginger root, peeled and finely grated
- 50g chopped pecans
Put the milk, cream and ginger in a smallish saucepan and bring just to the boil, then remove from the heat. In a bowl with a lip, large enough to contain the milk mixture, beat the egg yolks with 100g of the sugar until paler and a little frothy. Temper the eggs with the hot milk by pouring a little milk at a time onto the eggs, whisking with the other hand. When all the milk is combined, put the mixture back in the saucepan over a low-medium heat. Keep stirring and cook this for around 8-10 minutes, until the custard thickens. Now chill until it at least reaches room temperature, before churning in an ice-cream machine. When the paddle starts to have difficulty in turning, remove to another bowl and freeze – it will need about 30 minutes in the fridge before being perfect to eat.
Meanwhile, make the caramelized pecans: put 25g caster sugar in a small pan and cook over medium heat until it melts. Add the pecans and continue to cook, stirring all the time, until the mixture turns a rich amber. Remove to a chopping board and when cool, chop roughly. You can add these into the ice-cream for the last 30 seconds of churning, or, as I did, serve separately for people to sprinkle on to taste.
If you overcook the pecans as I did on my first attempt, they will be very dark and taste a bit burnt but (Mr. R&R selflessly experimented for you) these are fabulous on vanilla ice-cream, so no great loss. Store in an air-tight, midnight-munchie proof container.
2 Comments on "Ginger ice-cream with caramelized pecans"
Awesome, a food blog with great writing \^o^/ I used to have an ice-cream maker when I worked in pastry and I miss it…total envy. Also: ginger rulz ok.
{blush} Flattery will get you everywhere. As I live with someone whose entire caloric consumption would consist of ice-cream if the freezer were only big enough, in our kitchen the machine is as necessary as knives and forks.
p.s. yes, ginger does like totally rool.