Monday, August 27, 2007

Summer's Last Fling

Summer is so fleeting. I looked at the calendar and couldn't believe that it's already the last week of August. What happened? I haven't been to the beach, read a trashy novel, or gone on a roller coaster. No hiking (thank goodness), sailing, or biking. What have I been doing? Well, to be honest, I've been making ice cream.

You thought that because I wasn't posting it, I'd stopped. I'd gotten over my obsession with The Perfect Scoop. Not so. I was just keeping it under wraps, afraid that if I posted everything I'd made, the blog police would make me change my name from Cooke Baker Lynn to Ice Cream Freezer Lynn. And that's just not good. It makes me sound too bulky, for one thing.

But my summer fling with The Perfect Scoop has completely taken over my time. And my freezer. Every available container close to a 1 quart size has been pressed into service. I've got squares, rounds, smalls, talls, and leftovers. (I highly recommend saving the 32 oz plain yogurt containers. They're perfectly sized for a quart of ice cream.) And none of them are labeled. So when someone wants some of the lemon-ginger ice cream they have to hunt.

Dessert time around here sounds something like this:

"Isn't it the yellow tupperware with the green lid?" "It was, but we ate most of that so I moved the little bit leftover into a small treat-cup size. The yellow one now has the banana ice cream in it." "Well, what's in the blue yogurt one?" "What color is it?" "Um, creamy?" "Oh, that's the lavendar-honey." "What's in the red yogurt?" "That would be the peach. That sounds good. Get that one out."


You see, I'm seriously back-blogged, so I'm just going to do one more week of ice cream, then we'll be ready for fall. Almost. I still don't have a single ripe tomato on my four tomato plants.

When I let my husband pick which ice cream du jour I should make he picked the Malted Milk Ice Cream. He's always had a soft spot for Whopper's and I'd already made Whopper Ice cream for him, which he liked. This one, though, he loved. He thought it was the best ice cream he'd ever had. It is seriously good. Creamy, saturated with smooth, malt flavor, and speckled with malt ball crunch.

Malted Milk Ice Cream
adapted from The Perfect Scoop
by David Lebovitz

1 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup malt powder
6 large egg yolks
2 cups malted milk balls, coarsely chopped

Warm the half-and-half, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. In a large bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, vanilla, and malt powder and set a mesh strainer on top.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and whisk it into the malted milk mixture. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer' instructions. As you remove the ice cream from the machine, fold in the chopped malted milk balls.

19 comments:

Blue Zebra said...

Lynn I seriously heart you and am waiting with baited breath for your maters to ripen in order to see your posts on them!!

Maybe you should open your own 31 flavors? You could call it Lynns 23 and 1/2 flavors? :D

The malted milk sounds like serious trouble, especially with hot fudge sauce!!! mmmm....

Anne said...

I wouldn't mind having this ice cream all year round...it looks super yummy :)

Anonymous said...

Nummy num! I loved this one, though I only got like a spoon full in total. Guess you'll have to make it again sometime.

Anonymous said...

Oh yum!!! I am going to have to try this out when my grandparents are visiting this week. My grandpa LOVES ice cream and it would be fun to make him some.

**doffs her cap and vanishes**

Cookie baker Lynn said...

BZ - In case the maters never turn red, do you have any good green tomato recipes?

Anne- Year round ice cream? You're my kind of woman!

Sarah - well, twist my arm and I'll make it again. Ow, ow, not so hard!!

Gabe - I was thinking of you this morning as I read this: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2007/08/sugarfree_choco.html. Would this work for you?

Blue Zebra said...

Lynn, I can find some for you! I love green tomato relish - Chow chow it's called. I've never made it cuz I'm askeered of canning...salmonella doncha know! ;) But I love it so.

Also I adore fried green tomatoes and recently had some as the base for crab cakes with a remoulade sauce on it.

Fried Green Tomatoes

2-3 Large Firm Green Tomatoes
1 Egg
1 Cup Milk or Cream
Cornmeal
Flour
Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Cayenne
Paprika
Granulated Garlic Powder

(or you can go crazy and make a spice blend I keep in my cabinet from dried herbs and use that to season up the wet ingredients, flour and cornmeal.)

BZ's Cajun Secret Spice Blend

1 part dried basil, leaves
1 part dried parsley, leaves
1/2 part dried oregano, leaves
1/2 part dried thyme, leaves
1/4 part dried rosemary leaves
1 part granulated garlic
1-2 part kosher salt
1/2 part black pepper
1/2 part white pepper
1/4 part cayenne

Cut and dry tomatoes. Lightly beat egg and combine with milk. Add some seasoning to this mixture. Add seasoning to both the flour and the cornmeal. Do it to "look".
Dip tomatoes in flour then in wet then in cornmeal.

Let them sit a minute or two to let the breading "settle" a bit. Fry in 375deg F grease of your choice. Drain,sprinkle with salt and eat piping hot out of the grease! Best if eaten standing up in the kitchen, leaning over the counter just to the left or right of the fry cook! ;)

I also heard of a green tomato jam just recently. Let me go see if I can stir it up. It was on one of my boards I write on. I think it was Epi.

Also, I think making a green tomato salsa would be fun and use some watermelon and maybe a bit of cucumber too! :D

Enjoy lynn!!!

Amy said...

I didn't make enough ice cream this summer but I live vicariously through your blog. :)

Anh said...

Lynn, this is another wonderful dessert of yours! I simply love it.

Anonymous said...

I just simply love the Malted milk ball ice cream ( and all your other's,especially the Lavender Honey :p)really hope you make it gain soon! :)

eatme_delicious said...

Yumm malted milk ice cream sounds so good. So good it makes me crave ice cream and I don't even want any right now. Looks yummy too! Those are cute glasses. :)

Anonymous said...

I am having the same freezer dilemma this summer! I have too many ice cream containers in there, but I guess that is a good thing! I just made Dorie's Honey Peach ice cream, it is a great one. I will have to try this Whopper one next!!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Any time the husband says it's the best he's ever had it's a glory day and a glory ice cream! Congratulations. And never worry there can never be too much ice cream.
In Dallas, summer never feels fleeting enough.

Cate said...

Mmmm, homemade ice cream beats store-bought any day.

Brilynn said...

Your freezer sounds like mine, no one knows but me what all the random tubs of ice cream are.

And that malted milk ice cream sounds to die for, I just made Dorie's Whopper Cookies and they were delicious, this sounds quite similar. OMG- sandwich the two together and you'd be in heaven!

Peabody said...

Well I love Whoppers, I used to consider it the 5th food group(bacon was the 6th). So I am quite sure I would LOVE this.

Patricia Scarpin said...

I'd be more than glad to have the mission of going through your freezer, Lynn! :)

WokandSpoon said...

Like Blue Zebra, I completely "heart" you too! YUM!

Jen the Bread Freak said...

Lynn, I adore pretty much all things malted, the more malt powder the better! This ice cream is being bookmarked, thank you! Serious Yum :D

Helene said...

Hubbs love malted anything so this is perfect! Thanks for sharing!