Pacific Ale Ice Cream .... oh yes we did!

So it is no secret that I am a massive fan of all things Stone&Wood AND particularly their Pacific Ale, plus I pretty much just love finding any excuse to write recipes that showcase local produce!

This recipe is super easy to make, you will need an ice cream machine though or you can use a Thermomix BUT me being more than just a little bit old school I prefer the Cuisinart Ice Cream machine. Why? Simple, I love the comforting rhythm of listening to the ice cream machine gently churning, it just feels like home xx

(It is all about the local babe; local beer, local cream and local free range eggs of course!)

INGREDIENTS:

1200 ml pure cream
16 egg yolks
330ml Pacific Ale – reduced to 100ml
300g caster sugar

METHOD:

place the internal cylinder of the ice cream machine in the freezer for a min of 24 hours
pour your Pacific Ale into a small sauce pan – bring to the boil then simmer until the liquid has reduce to 100ml – strain and place in fridge to go completely cold
gently warm the cream in a non stick sauce pan DO NOT allow to boil
meanwhile – beat the egg yolks and sugar until super light and fluffy
pour the warm cream into the egg yolk mixer ONLY adding 1/3 of the warm cream at a time – using a whisk to make sure the cream and egg mixture is well combine – this is now your “anglaise”
wash and dry the saucepan you used to heat the cream
set up a double bowl – with ice in the bottom of one bowl and place another bowl on the top – you will need this ready to go for when the anglaise is ready – place a fine sieve over the top bowl – ready to pour the mixture through when ready
add the anglaise mixture back into the original cream saucepan – place on a low / medium head
using a silcone spatula – continually stir the anglaise to ensure you maintain an even temperature throughout the mix – paying special attention to the bottom and corners of the saucepan – you don’t want any of the anglaise to ‘catch’ which will result in a scrabbled egg mixture
once the anglaise has thickened i.e. you can trace your finger down the back on the spatula and the line where you finger was stays separate to the liquid then your anglaise is ready!
pour the anglaise through the fine sieve into the top bowl
using a whisk – whisk the anglaise over the bowl of ice until it is cool – it is important to whisky until the liquid is cool as you don’t want the heat to stay in the mixture i.e. you will get scrambled eggs!
once cool – pour the mixture into a container and put in the fridge to go completely cold
set up your ice cream machine – pour the mixture into the machine (read your machine instructions first) leave enough room at the top of the machine for the ice cream to churn efficiently
churn until thick and fluffy
using a clean spatular – scoop out the ice cream into a large mixing bowl – add the reduce Pacific Ale ONLY 1/3 at at time – ensuring you completely incorporate the reduced beer before adding the next batch
once fully combined – bearing in mind you need to work quickly so the ice cream does not melt – transfer the beer ice cream to containers that are suitable for freezing and ensure the lid is a good fit – freeze until fully set

(Beating your egg yolks and sugar until they are light and fluffy is key to ice cream awesomeness xx)

TIPS:

be careful not to boil the cream
make sure you stir the anglaise constantly to ensure it does not scramble
set up your double bowl with ice before you start stirring the anglaise – this is super important – as you will need it set ready if the anglaise gets to hot you’ll need to be able cool it down super doper quick
using a non stick saucepan makes this recipe really easy – unless you are confident, I wouldn’t attempt using a regular saucepan
make sure you use a container that the lid fits – so the ice cream does not get any freezer ice crystals on / in it
you will likely have some left over anglaise – if you do simply finish the first batch by adding the reduce Pacific Ale and then churn the second small batch and keep as vanilla ice cream soooooo good