Almond Ice Cream

Almond Ice Cream

Serves: 8

(Helado Almendra)
Category: Ice Creams
Makes 1 quart
My friend Camille Tarantino has shared several trips to Mexico with me, and tasting the delicious ice creams has always been near the top of our list of things to do. Camille developed this creamy almond-flavored ice cream that we remembered after one of our trips. Toast the almonds until golden brown, but watch carefully and do not let them burn. To retain the smooth texture of the ice cream, the nuts are discarded after flavoring the custard. You can, of course, leave them in if you want a little nutty crunch in your ice cream.

   2 cupss whipping or heavy cream
   2 cups whole milk
   1 cup coarsely chopped toasted almonds
    __Toasting Nuts and Seeds ..........Click the Edit tab and select this entry to follow preparation instructions.
   2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
   1 teaspoon almond extract
   3/4 cup sugar
   4 large eggs yolks

1. In a medium saucepan, bring to a boil the cream, milk, almonds, vanilla, and almond extract. Cook 2 minutes. Cover and let stand off heat 15 minutes to infuse the flavors.

2. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, with an electric beater or mixer, beat the egg yolks until well combined. Gradually add the sugar, beating, until the yolks are pale and form a ribbon, about 4 minutes. Set aside.

3. Return the milk to a boil again; then pour the hot milk through a strainer into the bowl with the beaten yolks, stirring to combine. Discard the nuts.

4. Pour the mixture into a clean saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring, until the custard thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. (Do not boil or it will curdle.)

5. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and strain into a clean container. Cover and refrigerate the custard about 6 hours or overnight. Transfer to an ice cream machine. Freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.

From "1,000 Mexican Recipes." Copyright 2001 by Marge Poore. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Grocery List Software from DVO Enterprises.