Good Eats: Chocolate Hibiscus Ice Cream

Last month’s Spicy Peanut ice cream was such a big hit that I decided to come up with yet another interesting flavor:  Chocolate Hibiscus.

My recipe uses Wild Hibiscus Flower Company’s Heart-Tee and their Flowers in Syrup.  I made a candied ginger-almond topping to make it even more yummy.  I recommend eating it with good friends from the cutest bowls you can find.  I found my darling one at Kobo Shop & Gallery in Seattle.

Chocolate Hibiscus Ice Cream with Candied Ginger-Almond Topping

 Ice Cream Ingredients:

4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup of whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 hibiscus tea bags, such as Wild Hibiscus Flower Company’s Heart-Tee
4 diced hibiscus flowers, such as Wild Hibiscus Flower Company’s Flowers in Syrup

Ice Cream Instructions:

1. Whisk together eggs and sugar in a tempered-glass container then set aside.
2. Bring milk, cocoa and tea bags (tied together with tags cut off) to a simmer over medium heat, or until edges start to bubble. Remove tea bags and set aside to use again later.
3. Very slowly add milk and eggs, whisking constantly.  Pour the mixture and tea bags back into the saucepan and heat over low, stirring constantly for 8-10 minutes.  Use a thermometer to check your temperature, which should be between 165-180 degrees.  As the mixture thickens, it will coat your whisk.
4. Please note: If at any time your milk or mixture boils and burns, pitch it and start over.  Some people say you can save it with an immersion blender and hope but it never tastes right. Also, the tea bags may break apart. If so, you may strain them out OR embrace the hibiscus nubbies because they are tasty.
5. When your timer buzzes, pour the custard mix into a deep-sided, freezer-safe container with a cover (fits perfectly into a 1-1/2 quart ceramic baking oval) and chill completely for a few hours in your fridge. Once your custard mix is cool, whisk in 1 cup heavy cream and the diced hibiscus flower. If you have an ice cream maker, this is when you would pour and freeze according to manufacturer instructions.
6. If you don’t, roll up your sleeves because we’ve got some work to do! For the next five hours, your job is to stir the mix every 45 minutes.  Sure, it sounds like some bicep-building craziness but it makes for a really nice soft texture. If you’re lazy and don’t want to stir, leave it overnight. You’ll have a dense block but the custard-based ice cream won’t turn icy like a cream-based recipe would.

Candied Topping Ingredients:
1/2 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup fine diced ginger

Candied Topping Instructions:

1. Measure out ¼ cup almonds and chop them into thirds. Peel 1-1/2” ginger then julienne and fine dice. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring water and sugar combo to a boil over high heat. Stir constantly until sugar dissolves. Add almonds and ginger, reduce to medium and stir constantly until sugar crystallizes, about 5 minutes or when the mix becomes difficult to stir.
3. Continue to stir and watch carefully as sugar will re-melt and turn golden brown. Pour mix onto pre-prepped cookie sheet covered with foil and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Use a fork to separate the mix while sugar is soft. Let mix set at room temperature and break apart for topping once cooled.

An EGG For Every Occasion – Spicy Peanut and Toasted Coconut Ice Cream

Thai peanut sauce is a favorite here in the kitchen.  I’ve always wondered what it would taste like as an ice cream…what’s more delicious than peanut butter, coconut and spicy chili peppers?

Earlier this month I was asked to participate in the brand new marketplace initiative called An EGG for Every Occasion, presented by Safest Choice Eggs.  I was really excited because I knew exactly which recipe I was going to make:  Spicy Peanut and Toasted Coconut Custard Ice Cream!

Last June, I met Chantel Arsenault, the spunky representative for Safest Choice Eggs, at the Eat Write Retreat in Philadelphia.  She told us all about the benefits of using their pasteurized eggs in recipes calling for raw or gently cooked eggs.  We made flips and fizzes during the opening night’s cocktail mixer and learned how their all-natural egg pasteurization process eliminates the risk of salmonella before the eggs even enter a cook’s kitchen.

For me, pasteurized = peace of mind.  Since custard ice cream is made with egg yolks, it was a no brainer to use Safest Choice Eggs that have exceptional farm-fresh flavor and are trusted by tops chefs in their signature recipes.  Find a store, pick up a dozen and make some dessert first!

Spicy Peanut and Toasted Coconut Custard Ice Cream

Ingredients:
4 Safest Choice Eggs yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup of whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup peanut butter
½ cup toasted coconut
¼ cayenne pepper

Instructions:

Whisk together eggs and sugar in a 4-quart tempered-glass container.  Set aside.  Bring milk to a simmer in a non-reactive saucepan over medium heat, or until the edges start to bubble.

Slowly add hot milk to egg mixture whisking constantly.  Patience, grasshopper, or you’ll get scrambled eggs!  Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and heat over low stirring constantly for 8-10 minutes.  Use a thermometer to check the temperature, it should be between 165-180 degrees.  As the mixture thickens, it will start to coat your whisk.  When your timer buzzes, pour the custard mix into coverable container (fits perfectly into a 1-1/2 quart ceramic baking oval) and chill completely for a few hours in your fridge.

If at any time your milk or mixture boils and burns, pitch it and start over.  Some people say you can save it with an immersion blender and hope but it never tastes right.

While you’re waiting, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Spread ½ cup of coconut flakes on a small cookie sheet then bake, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown.  It takes about 10 minutes.

Once your custard mix is cool, whisk in 1 cup heavy cream then 1 cup peanut butter, ½ cup toasted coconut flakes and ¼ tsp cayenne pepper.

If you have an ice cream maker, this is time when you would pour and freeze mixture according to manufacturer instructions.  If you don’t, roll up your sleeves because we’ve got some work to do.

Pour the mix into a deep-sided, freezer-safe container.  For the next five hours, your job is to stir the mix every 45 minutes.  Sure, it sounds like some bicep-building craziness but if you have the time and a few other things on your around the house to-do list, you’re good to go!

If you don’t want to stir, that’s also okay.  You can always eat it as a softer ice cream as soon as it reaches your preferred texture.  Custard-based ice cream is an encouraging recipe for beginners because it has a creamy and smooth texture, not icy like a cream-based recipe.

Love Eggs? Like receiving seasonal recipe ideas and coupons? Join Safest Choice Eggs mailing list and you could win a Chef approved cookware set and a $200 gift card! To participate, just click and fill out the form and you will be automatically be entered into the giveaway.

Sponsored Post – This post is a collaboration with #SafestChoice Eggs. All thoughts and opinions are my own.