Jeni’s Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Caramelized White Chocolate Shell

Good morning! How have you been? Thank you all for being so patient during my stay-cation spring break. I actually did take a little trip home this weekend, and while it was nothing out of the ordinary, a massage, many uninterrupted hours of Bravo, and having my mom cook for me for three days straight made it feel like a little vacation. It was exactly what I needed!

I’m feeling refreshed and excited to share all I’ve been eating, cooking, and doing. I thought I would start the week off on a sweet note and provide a full report on my first homemade ice cream making experience. In case you didn’t catch this post, a few weeks back I purchased an ice cream maker and a cookbook to go with. I opted for Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams as I had heard such good things about her cooking process for making incredible ice cream at home. It certainly lived up to all the hype, as this batch of vanilla ice cream I made was truly some of the best ice cream I’ve ever had.  I also love the book because it provides a great balance between technique, ice cream recipes, and homemade toppings and mix-ins for the ice cream. To go with the vanilla ice cream, I made her caramelized white chocolate shell. Do you remember that chocolate sauce you could pour on ice cream, and then once it hit the ice cream it would harden? This is exactly that! Who knew you could make it at home with just chopped chocolate and coconut oil? I’ve shared that recipe below, too.

This is truly just the beginning with this book. Now that I’ve got the technique down, there are so many more recipes I want to try. Luckily I’ve got  a handful of parties coming up and I already know exactly what I’m bringing. I’ll, of course, share everything here. Have a great week!

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams

Makes about 1 quart

• 2 cups whole milk (I used organic)
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream (I used organic)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out, seeds and bean reserved

Prep: Make sure the canister of your ice cream maker has been in the freezer for at least 24 hours before making the ice cream. Mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the corn starch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Place the cream cheese in a medium size bowl (large enough to whisk together all the liquid later on). Fill a large bowl with ice- that will later become the ice bath.

Cook: Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla seeds and bean in a medium size sauce pan. Bring to a roiling boil over medium high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the corn starch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium high heat and cook, stirring with a heat proof spatula, until slightly thickened- about  1 minute. Remove from heat.

Chill: Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese, stirring well to make sure there are no lumps. Once combined, pour the mixture into a ziploc bag and submerge in the ice. Add water to the ice to create an ice bath. Let chill until the mixture is very cold- about 45 minutes.

Freeze: Remove the vanilla bean. Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister and turn on your machine. Let it run for about 25 minute, until the ice cream is thick and creamy. Once spun, pack the ice cream into a tupperware container. Press a piece of parchment paper directly against the top and seal with an air tight lid. Place in the freezer for at least four hours or overnight if possible.

Caramelized White Chocolate Bombe Shell

• 12 ounces white chocolate (chopped or chocolate chips)
• 1/3 cup coconut oil

This stuff is a little tricky- you really have to watch it while it cooks so it doesn’t caramelize too quickly. If you’d like to make just a white chocolate shell (or any other chocolate for that matter), use the same proportions and just heat the chocolate and coconut oil until melted. If you’re feeling ambitious, this can also be used to dip cones!

Combine the white chocolate and coconut oil in a sauce pan and cook over medium low heat, stirring until melted and smooth. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches a deep amber color- 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat if the chocolate seems to be getting lumpy and caramelizing too quickly. Serve immediately or store in the fridge up to one month. It will harden once in the frideg so to melt it, place the container in a bowl of hot tap water and stir occasionally, just until liquified and smooth.