Lemon Gingersnap Icebox Pie

Adapted from Gourmet in 2003 via Epicurious  I actually substituted some all-natural lemonade into this and cut the sugar as I was plum out of real lemon juice, but I'd stick to the original.  There's so much goodness here, folks. (And it makes an awesome self-made birthday dessert!)

Ingredients

For crust:

1 1/2 cups finely crushed gingersnap cookies (6 ounces)

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Handful of almond slices

For ice cream: 

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

4 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 large egg yolks

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

For the crust, whir up the gingersnaps and almonds into a food processor, then toss together with butter, using a fork until crumbs are moistened. Press evenly onto bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch glass or ceramic pie plate. Bake crust in middle of oven 7-10 minutes, then cool on a rack. The crust will harden as it cools.

For the custard ice cream, bring cream, milk, sugar, zest, and salt to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved (make sure to use a bigger pot than you think you might need...milk likes to overflow when boiling). Whisk yolks in a bowl until blended, then add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking, to prevent cooking the eggs. Transfer custard back to saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 175 to 180°F on thermometer, 3 to 5 minutes (do not let boil).

Immediately pour through a fine-mesh sieve into cleaned bowl, then stir in lemon juice. Cool custard to room temperature, stirring occasionally, then chill at least three hours or overnight in the fridge, covered. 

When cool, freeze the custard according to your ice cream maker's manufacturing instructions.  When the consistency looks like a soft frozen yogurt, scoop the ice cream directly into the gingersnap crust in the pie plate, and freeze completely (at least two hours).  

When ready to give it a try, remove the frozen pie at least 20 minutes prior to serving. This will soften it up enough to cut into slices.  Sprinkle with any leftover gingersnap crumbs, lemon slices, or, do like I do and just dig in!

Peach Bourbon Ice Cream

Adapted from The Perfect Scoop by the one and only David Lebovitz.

My only changes are to add one more peach to make it extra peachy, and a splash of bourbon and use brown sugar (and a bit less of it).   Enjoy the summer, kids!

Ingredients

1-1/3 lbs (about 4-5 large peaches) fresh peaches
3/4 cup sugar (or brown sugar)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tblsp. bourbon (optional)
a few drops freshly squeezed lemon juice


Directions

Peel and slice the peaches, remove the pits, and cut into large chunks.  Cook the peaches for 10 minutes in 1/2 cup of water to soften them, stirring often.  Remove from heat and stir in the sugar, and allow to cool to room temperature. 

Blend the peaches and liquid with the sour cream, heavy cream, vanilla extract, bourbon, and the lemon juice, (but try to leave some peach chunks!)

Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions.

Freeze for several hours or overnight until desired level of firmness is achieved.  Serve alone, with pie, with pecans, with berries...or alone.  And savor this summer.

Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream

Master dessert man and author of amazing books such as Ready for Dessert and The Perfect Scoop, David Lebovitz created this recipe when asked to by a devoted fan. He is a godsend. And funny, too.

Jut make sure to use a fine kosher or, preferrably, a good sea salt. Regular table salt is just a bit too harsh here.

Final note: Mr. Lebovitz describes his ideal for making a good caramel as "[Taking] it to the edge of darkness, then stop it there with the addition of a few pats of salted butter." I love that. "The edge of darkness." Caramel should be very slightly burnt, but not actually burnt, and if it doesnt get to that point, it'll be nothing but sugar syrup. You'll know when it's right, but keep a close eye on it. Sugar melts faster than you might think.


Ingredients

For the Caramel-Praline Mix-In:

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon sea salt, such as fleur de sel


For the Ice Cream Custard:

2 cups whole milk, divided
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons salted butter
scant 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions

To make the caramel praline, spread the 1/2 cup of sugar in an even layer in a medium-sized, heavy duty saucepan. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or brush it sparingly with unflavored oil (I used Canola which worked perfectly).

Heat the sugar over moderate heat until the edges begin to melt. Use a heatproof utensil to gently stir the liquefied sugar from the bottom and edges towards the center, stirring, until all the sugar is dissolved. (Or most of it—there may be some lumps, which will melt later.)

Continue to cook stirring infrequently until the caramel starts smoking and begins to smell like it’s just about to burn. It won’t take long.

Without hesitation, sprinkle in the 3/4 teaspoon salt without stirring, then pour the caramel onto the prepared baking sheet and lift up the baking sheet immediately, tilting and swirling it almost vertically to encourage the caramel to form as thin a layer as possible. Set aside to harden and cool.

To make the ice cream, make an ice bath by filling a large bowl about a third full with ice cubes and adding a cup or so of water so they’re floating. Nest a smaller metal bowl (at least 2 quarts/liters) over the ice, pour 1 cup of the milk into the inner bowl, and rest a mesh strainer on top of it.

Spread 1 1/2 cups sugar in the saucepan in an even layer. Cook over moderate heat, until caramelized, using the same method described above.

Once caramelized, remove from heat and stir in the butter and salt, until butter is melted, then gradually whisk in the cream, stirring as you go.

If the caramel hardens, return it to the heat and continue to stir over low heat until any hard caramel is melted. Stir in 1 cup of the milk.

Whisk the yolks in a small bowl and gradually pour some of the warm caramel mixture over the yolks to temper them, stirring constantly. Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook the custard using a heatproof utensil, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture thickens.

Pour the custard through the strainer into the milk set over the ice bath, add the vanilla, then stir frequently until the mixture is cooled down. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

While the ice cream is churning, crumble the hardened caramel praline into very little bits, about the size of very large confetti (about 1/2 inch).

Once your caramel ice cream is churned, quickly stir in the crushed caramel, then chill in the freezer until firm.


Then...enjoy, mon amis!