Two of my favorite foods are cannolis and ice cream. Growing up in the Boston area there were lots of places to get a great cannoli. The most famous being Mike's Pastry in Downtown Boston. I came up with this idea because I had some leftover ricotta in the refrigerator after making eggplant involtini and I didn't want it to go bad. Cannolis are sweetened ricotta and ice cream is sweetened milk so I figured hey this should work!
This recipe only makes a small batch of ice cream, probably 2-4 servings depending on your idea of a serving of ice cream so feel free to double the ingredients.
The only special equipment you need for this recipe is an ice cream maker. I have the Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream and Sorbet Maker. It's really easy to use, you just need to remember to put the freezer bowl in the freezer the day before.
I like the texture of ricotta so I chose not to puree mine, but if you prefer a smoother ice cream, blend the ricotta and milk in a blender or food processor before you start.
I also opted to keep the flavors simple but the addition of some mini chocolate chips, orange zest or orange liqueur would would yummy!
Ingredients
- 2 cups of milk (I used skim but whatever you have on hand is fine)
- 3/4 cup ricotta cheese (I used part skim)
- 2 medium egg yolks
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1.) Bring the milk and ricotta to a simmer in a medium stock pot over medium heat
2.) In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is pale yellow, shiny and forms thick ribbons when you lift the whisk out of the bowl
3.) Once the milk is simmering add about 1/4 cup of the hot liquid to the egg yolks while stirring the eggs. This is called tempering. The goal is to increase the temperature of the yolks so they do not curdle when you add them into the milk. Continue to add up to 1 cup of the hot milk.
4.) Stir the tempered eggs into rest of the hot milk in the stock pot
5.) Continue to stir the mixture until it has thickened slightly and all the sugar is dissolved (about 10 minutes)
6.) Off the heat, stir in the vanilla
7.) Pour the mixture into a clean bowl and let chill in the refrigerator until cold all the way through
8.) Assemble your ice cream making and follow the directions
9.) Store the ice cream in the freezer until ready to enjoy!
I recently fell in love with a honey baklava ice cream I picked up at the local market. This sounds just as heavenly - looks like it's time to break out the ice cream maker again!
ReplyDeleteI love interesting ice creams too! That honey baklava once sounds delicious!
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