Boozy Wedding Cake Ice Cream

A while back Justin found an article about how Valerie Lum and Jenise Addison had come up with a way to make alcoholic ice cream. Not ice cream with a flavor similar to your favorite alcohol. Not ice cream with a hint of your favorite alcohol in it. We're talking about ice cream that can contain a cup of hard liquor, coming in around 13-proof, which makes its alcoholic content approximately equal to wine. What a genius idea!

The first time we tried making any alcoholic ice cream was this past Christmas. We used the Wild Turkey American Honey bourbon to make ice cream for Justin's dad. We mixed in a swirl of honey and some pecan pieces. It was delicious, and I don't even like bourbon that much. (It was also really funny making him dig in the freezer to get his Christmas gift.)

One of our recent obsessions is cake-flavored liquor. Pinnacle's cake vodka is fantastic, but then we also discovered Cake Jack, which is cake-flavored rum. Since rum is made from sugar cane, I find it usually mixes into sweet drinks better than other alcohols do, and so it's excellent for making things like strawberry cake daiquiris. The vodka on the other hand has that clean, crisp vodka taste. When it came time to make this ice cream, I was undecided on which one to use until I saw that we were almost out of the vodka. Therefore, I used the rum, but either one should work just fine. I should also note, in case you haven't made a cooked ice cream before, that you'll want to start this ice cream well ahead of when you want to eat it. You have to give the custard ample time to chill before you can put it in your ice cream maker--overnight is usually the best option. Additionally, because of the alcohol content, this ice cream probably won't come out of your ice cream maker as frozen and thick as you'd like it to be, but if you put it in the freezer after that, that should solve the problem.


Ingredients

2 c heavy whipping cream
1 c skim milk*
1/2 c sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c cold water
1 packet (1 tbsp) unflavored gelatin
2/3 c cake-flavored rum, refrigerated (Cake Jack suggested)
1/3 c amaretto, refrigerated (Disaronno suggested)
3/4 c dark chocolate-covered almonds (optional)

*We always use skim milk when we make ice cream to save a little bit on calories and because we only ever have skim milk in the apartment--it's the only kind we drink--but you can use whole milk or even half and half instead if you want thicker, richer, creamier ice cream.


Directions

Combine the cream, milk, and sugar in a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Stir frequently and heat until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is steamy and sizzles a little when you shake the pan.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks vigorously in a bowl until they are fluffy and pale. Temper the yolks by slowly and gently pouring a thin but steady stream of the scalded milk mixture into them while whisking constantly. Once you've add about a third of the mixture this way, pour the egg mixture in the bowl into the saucepan with the remainder of the milk mixture. Add the almond and vanilla extracts. Reduce heat to low, and stir frequently, being sure to scrape the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking until custard is thick enough that you can draw a line on the back of your spoon with your finger and have it hold its shape. Remove from heat, and allow to cool to room temperature. Pour custard into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

Once the custard is chilled, pour the cold water into a small sauce pan and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Allow to sit for about 2 minutes, until the gelatin has absorbed as much of the water as possible. Place pan over low heat, and stir until gelatin has completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Pour the gelatin into a bowl and whisk in the rum and amaretto until well-combined.

Remove the custard from the refrigerator and place a mesh strainer over the bowl. Pour the alcohol mixture through the strainer and into the custard, and whisk thoroughly. Immediately pour the mixture into your prepared ice cream maker, and churn according to directions, generally about 25-30 minutes. (Churn a little longer to make your ice cream thicker.) About 5 minutes before the end, add the chocolate-covered almonds to the ice cream, if desired. When finished churning, transfer ice cream to a freezer-proof container and freeze until as firm as you like.


Servings: 6


Recipe adapted from the Ice Cream Happy Hour cookbook.