Social Kitchen

Is it weird that I don’t think of ice cream as summer food?  It’s creamy and comforting, especially with hot fudge sauce.  That’s pure winter hibernation food to me.  But seeing as Memorial Day is just around the corner and ice cream will be all the rage, I’m humoring you.  You’re welcome!

This ice cream (as the name might suggest) is actually magic!  No, really.  I literally put it together in 10 minutes.  (It would have been 8, but I couldn’t find the heavy cream anywhere in my crowded fridge.)  And it combined all of these things that you wouldn’t really think would go into a vanilla ice cream base: white chocolate chips? condensed milk? sour cream?  I was pretty skeptical before I tried it.  But it was luscious and soft and creamy and vanilla-y.  Like soft serve ice cream coming straight out of the freezer.

The hot fudge sauce – well, that recipe had no magic involved – it was instead just magical.  I was swooning over the richness and the depth of this hot fudge sauce.  It was exactly like a McDonald’s sundae, with the soft vanilla ice cream and the thick, rich, droopy glops of chocolate on top.  Mmm.  Oh please, don’t judge – you know exactly what I’m talking about.

So go ahead.  Stick with the norm and have your ice cream in the summertime.  But come cold weather, don’t blame me if you find yourself making this again.

Magic Vanilla Ice Cream (recipe from America’s Test Kitchen Best Summer Desserts)

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

3 tablespoons white chocolate chips

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste

pinch salt

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

Stir together white chocolate chips and condensed milk.  Melt in 30 second intervals in the microwave, or in a double boiler, until smooth.  Add sour cream, vanilla and salt and stir until combined.

In another bowl, using an electric or stand mixer, mix cream on medium low speed for about 1 minute.  Raise the speed and whip until stiff peaks form.

Stir 1/3 of the whipped cream into condensed milk mixture.  Fold in the remaining whipped cream gently.  Pour mixture into an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours.

Hot Fudge Sauce (adapted from Serious Eats)

2/3 cups cream

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder

pinch salt

2 tbsp. butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a small pot, mix together cream, chocolate, light corn syrup, sugar, and salt.  Let it simmer for about 5 minutes.  Take off the heat and mix in butter and vanilla and stir until smooth.  Let cool slightly before serving.

This entry was posted on May 24, 2012 at 9:17 am and is filed under Uncategorized.