I am so glad my bf got me a gorgeous ice cream maker for Christmas, because I adore ice cream.
I love frozen yoghurt.
I love sorbet.
I love soft ice cream.
Ice cream in a cone.
In a bowl.
A big melba.
Just every kind of ice cream (except mint).
It feels just right to make my own one with the machine and it is pretty easy, if you ask me.
You can just toss the ingredients together an freeze them or make a deluxe version with egg yolks (this is the kind that takes more time – but believe me that it is absolutely worth the stress).
This recipe is based on the basic ice cream recipe that I found in the gadget’s manual. It worked pretty good, I just added the molten chocolate toffee to the mass.
Chocolate Toffee Ice Cream
(makes about 750 ml/3 cups)
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp corn starch
100 g (1/2 cup – 1 tbsp) sugar
250 g (8 oz.) chocolate toffee
350 ml (1 2/3 cup) milk
150 ml (2/3 cup) heavy cream
Prepare your ice cream maker. I had to put my bowl in the freezer for 24 hours before I could get started. Be sue sou have this prepared.
Place the egg yolks, corn starch and sugar in a bowl. Whisk by hand or with a mixer until the mass thickens and turns pale (abour 90 seconds) .
Melt the unwrapped chocolate toffee in the microwave, heating it for no more than 30 seconds at a time. Stir before you place the bowl in the microwave for another 30 s. Set the dish aside.
Combine the milk and cream in a medium saucepan and heat until the liquid starts to boil. Remove from heat. Start stirring the egg yolk mass and gently incorporate the hot dairy mixture.
When you have poured in all the milk and cream, add the molten toffee and let it dissolve.
Now pour the mass back into the saucepan and heat one more time while stirring, until the mixture thickens a bit (it should not boil).
Let it cool on the counter and then place it in the fridge for at least 12 hours. (You may not put hot ingredients in the mixing bowl of the ice cream machine.)
Now turn on the mmachine and slowly pour in the prepared ice cream mixture. You should get a nice portion of chocolatey, creamy goodness.
First things first: Please excuse the loooong name of this sweet delight. I thought of leaving out one or two toppings but each of them is an important component charecterizing the experience of eating this toffee. Yeas, I just called it an ‘experience’ and I will tell you why.
The basic mass here is the caramel toffee you can see in the images, which has a not too strong caramel flavoure and breaks down in your mouth, cracking slightly before meting on your tongue. After you have made the first bite, you taste the rich white chocolate which makes everything more creamy and sweet. Then you might bite into a soft marshmallow which is a huge contrast to the chunky toffee and the toasted coconut. The coconut tastes a bit more intense because it has been toasted in a dry pan until slightly browned.
I hadn’t made toffee for a long time since trying this recipe from Bake at 350 which turned our great the first time I tried, but turned out to be a complete failure on my second try. I supposed it was because I don’t have a candy thermometer and did not want to experience the fiasco again, but this time it turned out great. I will give you some advice how to succeed without measuring the temperature.
If you are a real lover of sweets – take a piece (or two or five) and give the rest to someone else to eat it – it is addicting. I gave it to a friend as a present and hope he enjoyed it.
White Chocolate Coconut Marshmallow Toffee
source
1 TBSP water
250 (2 sticks or 1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
60 ml (1/4) cup heavy cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
50 g white chocolate (I had white crisp on hand)
30 g ground coconut. toasted in a dry pan or in the oven until slightly browned
2 hands full of mini marshmallows (should be about 1 cup)
Prepare a baking sheet by placing it in a baking dish.
Chop the chocolate and set aside.
Place butter, sugar, cream, water, salt and vanilla in a saucepan. Combine the ingredients over medium heat. Stir with a silicone spatula. Bring the mixture to a boil and go on stirring, watching its colour carefully. You know the toffee is done when it turns a light amber brown and turns into a first gooey, then solid substance when you place a drop of it on a cold plate or the baking sheet. The recipe says the syrup is done when it has reached 150°C (300°F) which is very handy, if you use a candy thermometer.
Now wpread the mass onto the baking sheet and flaten with the spatula. Immediately spread the toppings all over – first the chocolate, then marshmallows and finally the coconut flakes. Let it cool, then break down into pieces with a knife.