Thursday, May 30, 2013

Chocolate Frosted Yellow Cake Ice Cream


Ugggghhhh, forgive the delay.

BUT.
Take that, Ben and Jerry!

Back story: Jon and I got an ice cream maker as a wedding gift.  Never have you ever seen a more thrilled couple.  Ice cream is the only dessert that Jon can't resist, and I'd been wanting to make my own fun flavors for years!  But alas, the contract was offered, life got crazy, and I left home for seven months before that beautiful piece of Cuisinart machinery could be used.

Naturally my first mission upon coming home was to use it.
Once I remembered how to use a kitchen, that is.

And can I just say...this was the first thing I made post-Hawaii that didn't involve pumpkin or cinnamon?  Going an entire calendar year without fall made me crave fall flavors as soon as I hit the mainland.

Pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin waffles, snickerdoodle cake, and a huge batch of turkey pumpkin chili later, I was finally satisfied.
But I wanted to make something complicated.
And the ice cream maker was calling to me.

The two of us got hit by a major (and majorly random) Boston Cream Pie craving, so my adventure started with the flavors of yellow cake and chocolate ganache.  I came across a recipe for cake batter ice cream, which was always my favorite flavor at Cold Stone, and started playing with add-ins from there, eventually deciding on the yellow cake base from Country Living's Boston Cream Pie and homemade hot fudge sauce from the best cookbook of all time: How to Cook Everything.

I made the custard, which took about twice as long as I expected.  I baked the cake, which turned out beautifully.  I made the fudge, which took too long cause I kept stirring when I wasn't supposed to (lesson learned).  And finally, all of the pieces were ready to become ice cream.  I assembled the machine, added the custard, and turned it on.

...And nothing happened.

Turns out you really ought to read directions for machines before you use them.  I hadn't let the bowl freeze completely.  Woops.
It worked much better the next morning.

And voila!  2 quarts of gourmet, completely from scratch ice cream!
...which I realized after my first bowl was a rip-off of Perry's Piece of Cake.
Guess my idea wasn't that unique, but making it was way more satisfying than just buying a carton.
Plus, I still have leftover cake!

We're never buying ice cream again.

Just...pardon the iPhone Instagram photo.  I try not to eat ice cream in the middle of the afternoon, and natural light isn't exactly abundant at...night.

Chocolate Frosted Yellow Cake Ice Cream
Yield: approx. 2 quarts

Components:
1 recipe cake batter ice cream
1 recipe Boston Creme Pie base, baked in one 8" layer
1 recipe hot fudge (recipe below)

Instructions:
Cook the cake batter custard until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon - this could take several minutes longer than you expect, so have patience! - and chill for at least two hours, up to overnight.
Bake the cake and allow it to cool completely before cutting half of it into 1/2" to 1" chunks.  Save the rest for sundaes or just plain snacking.
Cook and cool the hot fudge.
Freeze the custard base according to instructions in your ice cream maker.  Once the base is mostly solid, add the cake chunks while the machine continues to churn.  Turn off the machine and transfer the ice cream into a large freezer-safe container.  Drizzle thick ribbons of the cooled fudge on top and swirl in gently with a rubber spatula.  Transfer the ice cream into the freezer for at least another two hours, then scoop and enjoy!

Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce
From How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
Ingredients:
4 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
4 tbsp unsalted butter 
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Pinch salt
1/3 cup corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:
Combine the chocolate, butter, sugar, salt, and water in a small saucepan over low heat until smooth.  Add the corn syrup, bring to a boil, and allow to cook for 5-10 minutes - WITHOUT STIRRING (don't be like me!) - until the sauce is thick and shiny.  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.  Serve hot over ice cream or allow to cool to room temperature for use inside the ice cream!