RECIPE FRIDAY - I WANT TO MARRY THIS! from Ample Hills Creameryby Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna, Photography by Lucy Schaeffer.
At Ample Hills, we’re always experimenting with bacon, trying tocreate the ultimate bacon ice cream. When we made this versionand let the staff taste it, our assistant manager, Katie, exclaimed,“I want to marry this!” The name stuck. It’s a maple ice cream withpieces of bacon bark coated in semisweet chocolate. When theflavor premiered in the shop, our artist in residence, Lauren, drewa sign depicting Katie walking down the aisle with a slice of bacon.Marital bliss. When Katie saw the flavor and sign make their debut,tears welled up in her eyes.
For the maple ice cream:
2 tablespoons organic canesugar
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons
(75 g) skim milk powder
1⅓ cups (315 ml) whole milk
¾ cup (180 ml) grade Bmaple syrup
2 cups (480 ml) heavy cream
3 egg yolks
For the bacon bark:
Butter for the baking sheet
1 pound (455 g) bacon
14 tablespoons (210 g)unsalted butter
2 ¼ cups (450 g) organiccane sugar
½ cup (110 g) packed darkbrown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon baking soda
8 ounces (225 g) semisweetchocolate, chopped
1. Make the maple ice cream: Prepare an ice bath in the sink or ina large heatproof bowl.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, skim milk powder,and milk. Stir with a hand mixer or whisk until smooth. Makesure the skim milk powder is wholly dissolved into the mixtureand that no lumps remain (any remaining sugar granules willdissolve over the heat). Stir in the maple syrup and cream.
3. Clip a candy thermometer to the saucepan and set the pan overmedium heat. Cook, stirring often with a rubber spatula andscraping the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking and burning,until the mixture reaches 110.F (45.C), 5 to 10 minutes. Removethe pan from the heat.
4. Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl. While whisking, slowlypour ½ cup (120 ml) of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolksto temper them. Continue to whisk slowly until the mixture is aneven color and consistency, then whisk the egg-yolk mixtureback into the remaining milk mixture.
5. Return the pan to the stovetop over medium heat and continuecooking the mixture, stirring often, until it reaches 165.F (75 degrees C),5 to 10 minutes more.
6. Transfer the pan to the prepared ice bath and let cool for 15 to20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour the ice cream base througha wire-mesh strainer into a storage container and place in therefrigerator for 1 to 2 hours, or until completely cool.
7. Make the bacon bark: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Buttertwo 12-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheets and line them withparchment paper.
8. On one baking sheet, lay out the bacon strips in a single layer. Bakeuntil crispy, about 15 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup (60 ml) of the bacongrease from the pan and discard the rest or reserve it for anotheruse. Let cool, then break the bacon into small pieces and set aside.
9. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cane sugar, brown sugar,salt, reserved bacon grease, and ¼ cup (60 ml) water. Clip a candythermometer to the pan and set the pan over medium-high heat.Cook, stirring, until just combined, then continue to cook withoutstirring until the mixture reaches 305.F (150.C). Be very careful—thetoffee will bubble up as it boils. It is very hot and will cause seriousburns if it spatters on you. Using oven mitts, remove the pan from theheat, remove the thermometer, and add the vanilla. The vanilla mightspatter when it hits the hot toffee, so be careful. Add the baking sodaand whisk vigorously for a few seconds to combine. Then add thebacon pieces and fold into the toffee. Pour the toffee evenly onto theprepared baking sheet.
10. Before the toffee cools, sprinkle the chocolate across the top.Wait a minute or two, then use a spatula to spread the now meltedchocolate across the top of the toffee. Let cool completely, thenrefrigerate for 1 hour, until the toffee has hardened. Chop the toffeeinto bite-size pieces and set aside.
11. Transfer the cooled base to an ice cream maker and churn itaccording to the manufacturer’s instructions.
12. Transfer the ice cream to a storage container, folding in the piecesof bacon bark as you do. Use as much of the bacon bark asyou want; you won’t necessarily need the whole batch. Serveimmediately or harden in your freezer for 8 to 12 hours for a morescoop-able ice cream.
