I don’t feel like I ate enough ice cream this summer. I can’t believe it’s already September; I swear summer just started. And in my mind, the summer was going to involve eating a whole lot more ice cream than I did. But I started a new job at the start of the summer and I didn’t take any summer holidays so overall I felt a bit less summery than usual. So summer felt busy, and I spent a lot of summer slightly worrying (about things like, should we buy an air filter for our increasingly regular wildfire season that brings an unpredictable number of days of smoky, sooty air each summer? And, how exactly do I do my new job? And how can we stop the raccoons that, while very charming to look at, have decided to use our tiny shed roof as a bathroom - FYI it’s surprisingly dangerous). The summer zoomed by without quite as much frolic and ice cream and lake swimming as would have been ideal. I mean, I certainly ate some ice cream, just not in the kind of summery, near-daily quantities that I had dreamed about.
Read morebrown butter & roasted peach ice cream
To round off this little brown butter series, I wanted to show off the sweet side of the magical brown butter crumb. You have seen what they can do to pasta, and now here they are in a rich, super vanilla ice cream alongside roasted-soft, sweet peaches.
I know it’s a bit early for peaches, but I really got it stuck in my head that peaches and brown butter was the only way to go for this ice cream. So I used frozen peaches and it was wonderful, but you feel free to wait around for peach season if you are more patient than me.
For a super quick version of this, stir a few tablespoons of brown butter crumbs into softened store bought vanilla ice cream and pop back into the freezer until firm. Spoon the warm peaches and brown sugar goo over top.
roasted brown sugar peaches:
- 2 cups sliced peaches (frozen is fine)
- 2 tsp butter
- 2 tbs brown sugar
Lay peaches in a small baking dish and dot butter and brown sugar on top of them. Roast at 400° until juices are bubbling and peaches are very soft and browning at the edges. Let cool.
brown butter and roasted peach ice cream:
Adapted from Bon Appetit
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- pinch of flaky salt
- 1/2 vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
- 4 tbs brown butter crumbs, divided
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 batch roasted brown butter peaches
Combine whipping cream, milk, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tbs brown butter crumbs and salt in a medium saucepan. Score the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the milk and add the pod as well. Cook over medium-low heat until just simmering. Cover the pot and let it sit about 1/ hour to infuse the vanilla bean (skip this step if using vanilla extract).
Whisk egg yolks and remaining sugar until very pale, 2-3 minutes. A little at a time, incorporate 1/2 cup warm. Whisk yolk mixture into remaining cream mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat a wooden spoon, 2-3 minutes. Fish out the vanilla bean (rinse and save it - it still has some good vanilla flavour left!)
Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions, until very thick and cold, but still scoopable. Stir in the remaining brown butter crumbs until well distributed. Scoop about ½ of the ice cream into a shallow dish like a loaf pan and layer in the peaches. Spread the remaining ice cream over the peaches. Freeze tightly wrapped in cling wrap, at least 3 hours.
cherry and almond ice cream pie
When I was a kid, I used to make ice cream pie quite a bit. The recipe was very easy and had lots of variations - it had a graham crumb crust filled with ice cream mixed with a can of fruit juice concentrate. If you want to try it, I would highly recommend a vanilla ice cream & lime aid concentrate combo. The vanilla and lime mixture is perfectly sweet-tart and sunny. I also enjoyed making this pie for the opportunity it gave me to eat a few spoonfuls of undiluted limeade concentrate. I had a very sophisticated childhood palate.
This cherry & almond version of ice cream pie is a teeny bit more sophisticated but only the slightest bit more involved to make. I still used graham crumb crust, and store bought ice cream (feel free to make your own vanilla ice cream if you are so inclined), and added some caramelized almonds and some lovely, syrupy cherries. A slightly grown up but still very quick-to-prepare version of my childhood ice cream pie.
The amounts here don't need to be too exact, and the fruit and flavourings can be swapped out to whatever suits you and is on hand. Peaches would be really nice with the crunchy almonds if you prefer.
cherry & almond ice cream pie:
- 2/3 cup flaked almonds
- 1/2 cup sugar, divided
- large pinch salt
- 3 cups pitted cherries, fresh or frozen both work
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- about 8 cups vanilla ice cream
- 1 1/3 cup graham crumbs or finely crushed amaretti cookies
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
In a medium frying pan on medium heat, toast the almond until they just begin to colour. Sprinkle in 1/4 cup sugar and pinch of salt, stirring constantly until sugar melts and coats almonds and the nuts are deep brown. Cool nuts on parchment lined baking sheet.
Bring ice cream out of the freezer to soften for about 15 minutes.
In a small saucepan, combine cherries, 1/4 cup sugar, almond and vanilla extracts and bring to boil. Reduce heat and cook over low heat until cherries soften and syrup thickens, about 10 minutes. Cool in the fridge.
Combine graham crumbs and melted butter and press into a pie plate in an even layer. Scoop ice cream onto the crust and smoosh it down with your fingers. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the nuts onto the ice cream. Spoon cherries and syrup onto the ice cream and top with another 1/3 of the nuts. Scoop on more ice cream until the cherries are more or less covered, it doesn't need to be totally even or covered, it's nice if some cherries peek through. Freeze the pie for at least 5 hours or overnight. Slice and serve sprinkled with the remaining candied nuts.
