Friday, February 13, 2009

Chocolate ice cream with macadamia brittle

Chocolate ice cream with macadamia brittle

I’ve already told you how much I love blogging and the several reasons for that – being you, the people who read me, an amazing one.

Another favorite reason is that I’ll write what I want, about what I want... About people I find beautiful and talented, or ugly and shallow – it is MY blog, after all. You have the right to disagree with me and we can have a nice “conversation” this way - because you are a very important part of my blog.

Of course there are those people who will only comment to show how inconvenient they are - I guess they have too much time in their hands. But I don’t care – for each one of those, there are 50 like you.

Because you make my days a lot sweeter I want to share this ice cream with you – with an extra help from crunchy caramel and buttery nuts.

Chocolate ice cream with macadamia brittle

Chocolate ice cream with macadamia brittle
from here and here

Ice cream:
2 cups (480ml) heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
140g (5 oz) bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped – I used one with 70% cocoa solids
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
¾ cup (150g) sugar
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Warm 1 cup (240ml) of cream with cocoa powder in medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to boil then reduce heat and gently simmer for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until smooth. Stir in remaining cup of cream. Pour mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as much as possible. Set mesh strainer atop the bowl. Warm milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan. Stir mixture constantly over medium heat making sure the scrape the bottom and corners, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (I used a wooden spoon). Pour custard through strainer and stir it into the chocolate until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Continue to stir over ice bath until cool – I just let the mixture reach room temperature then refrigerated it, covered.
Refrigerate the mixture to cool thoroughly and then freeze it in your ice cream machine per the manufacturer’s instructions.

Yields 1 quart

Chocolate ice cream with macadamia brittle

Macadamia brittle:
¾ cup (180ml) water
1 ¼ cups sugar
¾ cup unsalted macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

Butter a large baking sheet; set aside.
In a heavy saucepan, mix water and sugar with a wooden spoon. Place over medium heat and cook without stirring – you can swirl the pan around – for 12 minutes or until golden. Quickly mix in the chopped macadamias and pour the mixture over the prepared baking sheet. Set aside to cool completely then break into pieces or cut with a sharp knife.
Serve with ice cream.

28 comments:

Manggy said...

Yikes! That was unfortunate. Forget 'em. Now, if you only had a *name* to forget! Heh heh. I enjoy reading your musings :) Now, I've never made chocolate ice cream as the stuff out of the tub is just so good to me (hmm, I wonder if that makes my taste questionable), but yours looks perfect! :)

Poornima Nair said...

hey patricia...thats looks perfect...love chocolate icecream...

Anonymous said...

Your ice cream, and you, are wonderful. Forget the haters. They obviously don't have enough chocolate in their lives. :-)

Unknown said...

Yummm I'm making chocolate gelato tomorrow but yours looks amazing. I have a question, if you don't mind. I feel like I end up with gummy icecream because I'm doing something wrong. Just how thick should it be when you take it from the icecream maker and put it in the freezer? Or is yours looking this perfect right from the maker?

Katie said...

I could use some of this ice cream this afternoon I am having a chocolate craving!

Anonymous said...

Macadamia nut brittle? And I thought Lebovitz's chocolate ice cream was heaven on its own!

Snooky doodle said...

the ice cream lookd decadent and I like the addition of the macadamia brittle which must be addictive to eat :)

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh that looks amazing! I love the recipes you put on your blog. They always look so good!

Elyse said...

i love macadamia nuts! i've yet to pair them with chocolate, but this caramel-y, nutty, chocolatey combination sounds just perfect!

Anonymous said...

Macadamia nuts are something of a luxury for me, but this brittle sounds heavenly! A real treat for sure.

Anonymous said...

Macadamia brittle sounds fantastic, and even better with the ice cream!

CY said...

I love any nut brittle, macadamia sounds fantastic!

Chris said...

I haven't had macadamias in a looong time! Hopefully I'll grab some of those (and an ice cream maker) in the near future :P

Abby said...

Oh, my, goodness. Both look so wonderful. Happy Valentine's Day!

Chocolate Shavings said...

That looks amazing!

Gattina Cheung said...

Pat, I am helplessly and permentantly glued on your blog... your food is insanely deliously!

RecipeGirl said...

Making brittle w/ macadamias sounds entirely like a good idea. Delicious!!!!

diva said...

i love nut brittles!! SO YUMMY..and this is like heaven to me :) mmmmm...x

Anonymous said...

Oh Patricia, forget the haters....you create such lovely yummy stuff!

Katie said...

I am lover of macadamia nuts & chocolate, and this looks like heaven!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Mark, you are right - comments like these tend to be anonymous...
I don't think your taste is questionable, much to the contrary, my friend!
xx

Poornima Nair, thank you!

Foodess, thank you for making my day a lot sweeter!
xoxo

Jenny, the ice cream is very soft when it comes out of the machine - in my case (the one I own is by Hamilton Beach) when it sort of doubles in volume is time to get it out. The paddle works clockwise and when it starts running in the opposite direction I remove the ice cream from the machine and place it in the freezer for at least 4 hours. Hope it helps!

Katie, chocolate is always welcome, isn't it? :D

Brittany, tks for stopping by - I'm glad you like it!

Natalie, I love nuts in just about anything. :D

Kayla, thank you so much!

Miss Kate, you crack me up! Tks for commenting! :D

Elyse, I love macadamias, too! They are so rich, aren't they?

Hannah, thank you, darling!

Anna, I agree! :D

CY, brittles are good in general, right? :D
Tks for visiting!

Abby, thank you, gorgeous!
xx

Jennifer, thank you for stopping by!

Gattina, you are too sweet, my dear!
xx

RecipeGirl, I'm in for anything nuts and caramel. :D

Diva, thank you!

Veron, xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Katie, I'm glad you like it!

Anonymous said...

Patricia darling, forget the negative people. It always floors me that people will take 2 minutes out of their life to leave something nasty or negative. Says a lot about them I think!

Meanwhile, this ice cream and brittle looks amazing. I adore macadamias! :)

Helene said...

TK without musings is like a cup of tea without a biscuit...not fun! Keep doing what you do because WE like it :)
xoxo

Heidi Leon Monges said...

Hola Patricia,

Hey your blog is so beautiful both recipes and pictures, there's no single one post I don't like or will to try!!...

Felicidades

Jen Yu said...

Sweetie, you are making very good use of your ice cream machine! More ice cream!! :) As for blogging, I think what makes your blog special is you. You must be your own person and not censor yourself because a few nimnuls cannot handle humor, snark, or whatever else the rest of us find amusing and charming. I love dropping the f-bomb JUST FOR THOSE JERKS. tee hee. More power to you.

Anonymous said...

Macadamia brittle? I'm there!

I admire you for blogging honestly. I'm not implying that I lie on mine but I feel as if I hold back, being afraid just to be me. Sometimes I want to type "fuck" but refrain thinking I'll alienate readers and lose them. Other times I want to display my black humour I possess but stop yet again fearing people will think I'm one sick puppy. I end up with sterile and impersonal content. Ugh! I've got some loosening up to do...Kudos to you!

Peabody said...

Oh yes, every now and then people forget that this is your blog and that your opinion is simply that, your opinion. It's not like you were writing a decorating book. People are weird sometimes.
Loving the brittle, makes it extra special.

Sarah said...

Macademia brittle?? Yes, please!

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