Caramel-Ginger Cookie-Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

It's quite a mouthful...to say and eat...and you won't regret trying this recipe!

With any ice-cream maker, ice cream is super easy to make!  It takes some waiting time for the ingredients to cool, etc., but there is hardly any actual work involved, just patience.

I usually allot 2 days for ice cream-making.  My Kitchen Aid bowl has to be frozen for long enough, and my cooked custard needs to chill in the fridge.

Yummy ice creams happen for those who wait!

To read more on ice cream-making and explore another recipe, check out a previous blog post: 

Gingerbread Ice Cream

 and pardon the wonky camera filter :)

In this post, I'll walk you through the steps of making a caramel ice cream, and also reiterate some general ice cream-tips.

Then you can make and eat this:

I think this is the last recipe I'll try from: 

This book as served me well, and it's time to end on a high note.  

Caramel-Ginger Cookie-Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream:

time-consuming, but easy

Needed ingredients: 

2 cups heavy cream*

1 cup whole milk*

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

6 large egg yolks

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

12 soft-molasses cookies**

1/2 cup ganache(half of recipe) : 10 oz bitterseet chocolate and 1 cup plus 2 TBSP heavy cream***

* Feel free to play around with substitutions here.  I use some half and half, etc.  It changes the richness of your ice cream a little, but not much, and is worth a calorie exchange if you're really watching.  I don't recommend using skim milk--too watery.  

**If you want to go all out, you can find the recipe for these cookies here.  This makes the recipe take even longer, mind you, because you have to make the cookies first.  For this recipe, I spared no expense.  But more likely, next time, I'll just see what I can find at the ole' grocery store.  Please note the amount of cookies used will vary based on the size of the cookies you put in your ice cream.  It's your ice cream.  Use your own discretion as to how much cookie filling you want in it. :-)

***Use that same discretion on the amount of ganache you put into your ice cream.  I made the whole recipe, so I put the whole recipe into my ice cream.  I did not regret the extra chocolate!

So like I said before, ice cream takes time to make, but is really simple.  You heat some stuff, temper some stuff, stir some stuff, and eat.

Like so:

Stir together milk and cream (or half and half or whatever you're using) in a medium saucepan and bring to boil over medium-high heat.

Meanwhile, stir together sugar and water in medium, stainless steal saucepan. (Like most of us have anyway.)  Cook over low to medium-low heat until the caramel is dark amber in color.  DO NOT STIR.

I was scared to make a caramel, so I thought you might be too.  Fear not.  Leave it alone, and the magic happens.  Here's what you can expect:

Not a whole lot of action, but it starts to bubble.  DO NOT STIR.

Oooh a little more bubbly.  Some more action in the pot.  Watch it, admire it, DO NOT STIR.

Now it's really going.  Guess what?  Still DO NO STIR.

Oh yes, now we're cooking.  Sugar's melting point is VERY HIGH so DO NOT TOUCH and DO NOT STIR. But watch it.  Once your caramel gets to this point, it can burn really quickly.  Keep an eye on it.

This is a light caramel color.  Yummy.  The directions said: "Dark Amber"

So here is where I said: DONE!

Now we're going to temper some stuff.

Tempering is slowing introducing cooking mixtures of different temperatures.  We do this in small amounts to slowly let the mixes marry and reach a common temperature.  If we were to be impatient and dump the caramel into the cream mixture, we might curdle something or separate something, and those are all bad somethings.

Remove your caramel from heat and CAREFULLY pour in about 1/4 c of the hot cream mix. The caramel will bubble fiercely (good work, recipe!) so do this SLOWLY.  

Gradually add in the rest of the cream mix in 1/4 cup increments, stirring until all is well combined.  The caramel should dissolve.  If it doesn't, heat the mix A LITTLE again while you stir.  

I am lucky enough to have a 1/4 cup measuring ladle (as pictured above).  Use whatever ladle you have.  The 1/4 cup measurement doesn't have to be exact, just slowly introduce the cream to the caramel and you should be fine.

You have the start of a caramel ice cream!

Next, whisk together the egg yolks and salt in a large bowl until smooth.

We're going to temper the eggs now and slowly heat them to the same temperature as your caramel mixture.  If we do this too fast we'd have scrambled eggs.  Eew.  So, again, take your time.

Drizzle the caramel cream in with the yolks slowly to temper them.  Whisk together.  Add a little more.  Whisk a little more.  You should be an expert at this by now.

Once the eggs are warmed up, pour everything back in the big saucepan and heat over low heat until the mixture is thick and coats the back of your spoon.  STIR CONSTANTLY.  

I run my finger down the middle to check.  You want to see the line distinctly.  

Strain your mix into a bowl and add the vanilla.  

This strain is to make sure any un-melted chunks of caramel, or scrambled egg (hey, we're only human) don't make it into your final ice cream.  Don't skip this step.

Cover the bowl and let it chill in your refrigerator for at least 6 hours, up to overnight.  See?  Takes time, but it's not hard. :-)  

The next day...

Break a part your cookies into chunks for your ice cream and make the ganache:

Combine the chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 20 second intervals.  Stir between each until smooth.  Set aside and let it cool.

I microwaved it 2 1/2 times:  20 sec, 20 sec, 10 sec and it was melted.

Get out your handy dandy ice cream maker.  I don't like to waste a lot of time, so assemble my bowl quickly and make sure the ice cream mix is ready to pour in.

Mix according to manufacturer's instructions.

I stirred in the cookies and chocolate the last 10 or so minutes of stirring time, then pop everything in the freezer for at least an hour.

Like I said before, I went ahead and used all of the chocolate.  I stirred some in, so it got cold and broke into little pieces throughout the ice cream, and dropped some chunks in to find--like a prize!--while I ate my bowl of ice cream later.

I also used some soft cookies and some that were baked a little longer for crunch.  I liked the varying textures in my ice cream.

The caramel flavor is soo delicious and smooth.  The cookies add just a hint of ginger and spices for a savory element, and the chocolate balances everything out.  

My husband and I love this ice cream!

Caramel-Ginger Cookie-Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream:

time-consuming, but easy

Needed ingredients: 

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

6 large egg yolks

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

12 soft-molasses cookies

1/2 cup ganache(half of recipe) : 10 oz bitterseet chocolate and 1 cup plus 2 TBSP heavy cream

Stir together milk and cream (or half and half or whatever you're using) in a medium saucepan and bring to boil over medium-high heat.  Meanwhile, stir together sugar and water in medium, stainless steal saucepan. (Like most of us have anyway.)  Cook over low to medium-low heat until the caramel is dark amber in color.  DO NOT STIR.

Remove your caramel from heat and CAREFULLY pour in about 1/4 c of the hot cream mix. The caramel will bubble fiercely (good work, recipe!) so do this SLOWLY.  Gradually add in the rest of the cream mix in 1/4 cup increments, stirring until all is well combined.  The caramel should dissolve.  If it doesn't, heat the mix A LITTLE again while you stir.  

Next, whisk together the egg yolks and salt in a large bowl until smooth.  Drizzle the caramel cream in with the yolks slowly to temper them.  Whisk together.  Add a little more.  Whisk a little more.  

Pour everything back in the big saucepan and heat over low heat until the mixture is thick and coats the back of your spoon.  STIR CONSTANTLY.  

Strain your mix into a bowl and add the vanilla.   Cover the bowl and let it chill in your refrigerator for at least 6 hours, up to overnight.

The next day, prepare the ganache and let sit at room temperature.  Mix your ice cream according to your manufacturer's instructions.  Don't forget your cookie and chocolate add-ins!

Enjoy!

Gingerbread Ice Cream

Crazy Stephanie loves ice cream, even during a polar vortex.  So when it was too cold to go outside (-20 in Ohio?!) She (I) dreamed of food to pass the time.

And Gingerbread Ice Cream is the stuff dreams are made of!

Erin has this wonderful book Gingerbread by Jennifer Lindner McGlinn.

We wanted to try out some recipes.  The Gingerbread Ice Cream recipe called to me.

But, New Year's resolutions and all, I did want to lighten up the ice cream as best as I could.
The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups cream and 1 1/2 cups milk.  I decided to use 3 cups of fat free half&half.  Every little bit counts...


Please note that the ingredients of your ice cream will very much affect the texture and consistency.  Skim milk vs. whole, for example.  I do not recommend using skim milk in ice cream.  However, I have found success with using half and half, and I find that I don't have to compromise on the consistency or flavor.

Friends and family all love my ice cream and no one is the wiser.

Now get on with the recipe!!

Most ice creams have a similar base.  I've seen 6-8 egg yolks, some cream, (half and half in my case), salt, sugar, and flavorings.  Once you get that basic recipe down, I recommend experimenting with flavors and chunky deliciousness added into the ice cream (chocolate chips, cookies, etc.).

Here's my journey with Gingerbread Ice Cream adapted from the book by Jennifer Lindner McGlinn.

Total time: 2 days.  (This is because I mixed the base one day, let it chill overnight, then make the ice cream the next day.  Really, it's not hard, but everything needs time to set up.)

 Ingredients: Half&Half, ginger, egg yolks, light brown sugar, molasses, vanilla extract, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and salt.

 Stir together half&half and fresh ginger in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium/high heat.  Remove from heat and set aside to infuse 30 minutes to an hour.

 Strain the cream/milk mixture and discard the ginger.  Return the mix to a saucepan and boil again over medium high heat.

 Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolks, brown sugar, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and sat in a large bowl until smooth and thick.  (I recommend reserving the egg whites for meringues or really healthy omelets.)

 As soon as cream mix comes to a boil, temper the egg mix.  The book says "gradually drizzle" the cream into the yolk mix and whisk constantly.  I recommend taking 1/4 cup of the mix and whisking it in with the eggs.  This brings the temp of the eggs up slowly without scrambling them.  Do this a few more times.  When eggs are hot enough, add the whole bowl into the cream mix.

 Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mix coats the back of a spoon.  (It's better here to remove the mix from the heat too early rather than too late.  You don't want chunks.  Please note that the chunks in this recipe are spices and not scrambled eggs.  Eew.)  Also, KEEP STIRRING.  You don't want sticking or a skin.  Eew again.

By "coats the back of spoon" see the photo.  I ran my finger along the back of a wooden spoon.  The mix is thick enough to coat the spoon and hold its shape.  Perfect.

Strain the custard again (in case you did cook some eggs wrong--better safe than sorry!) and stir in that vanilla extract you forgot about.


The book says to set your bowl with the mix in it into a larger bowl of ice water and chill for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then, chill in the refrigerator for at LEAST six hours if not overnight.  I just covered the dish and put it directly in my fridge.  This is how I've always done ice cream before.

Next, the recipe says to use the directions on your ice cream machine to finish the process.  Here's Mine:

Freeze the bowl AT LEAST 15 hours before use.  I got it out of the freezer, hooked it up as fast as possible, and added my cream mix.

Ice cream can "stir" 20-30 minutes depending on texture.  You don't want to over mix!  If your machine starts clicking, stop it!  You can also stop with 10 minutes to go, add any chunky ingredients (dried fruit, chocolate chips etc.) at that time, then finish stirring.  Pop it in the freezer for at least 20 minutes after to set up.

Even with the half&half, as far as texture goes: NAILED IT!!!!

This stuff was awesome!  I recommend topping with it fun ingredients like chocolate chips, graham crackers, peppermint candies, currants, molasses cookies that are crumbled, whatever you want!

What would you add?


I also recommend adding less clove and nutmeg than the book calls for.  The suggested amount made the ice cream almost spicy.  No no.  We just want a taste.

So with that said, here's the Gingerbuilders' Version:

Gingerbread Ice Cream

3 cups fat free half and half

1 3-4 inch piece of fresh ginger (about 1 1/4 ounces) peeled and chopped

6 large egg yolks

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup molasses

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8-1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

Stir together half&half and fresh ginger in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium/high heat.  Remove from heat and set aside to infuse 30 minutes-1 hour.  Strain the half&half and discard the ginger.  Return the mix to a saucepan and boil again over medium-high heat.

Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolks, brown sugar, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl until smooth and thick.  As soon as the half&half comes to a boil, take 1/4 cup of the it and whisk it in with the eggs.  Do this 2 more times.  

Pour the entire egg mix into the saucepan with the rest of the half&half and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it coats the back of a spoon.  (Better to remove too early than too late.)  Strain the custard and stir in the vanilla extract.  Cover the custard, and place it in the refrigerator to chill at least 6 hours, up to overnight.Follow the instructions on your ice cream machine to complete the dessert.  Freeze the ice cream at least 1 hour.  Serve with graham crackers, candy canes, currants, molasses cookies, chocolate chips, etc. etc etc!

I'll try a delicious variation on Gingerbread Ice Cream in another blog, so stay tuned!

~Steph