Maple Walnut Ice Cream with Wet Walnuts
I once visited a sugar shack in Canada, a magical place where sticky maple sap gets boiled down into glistening maple syrup. I watched the process until I could stand it no more, and then my wildest dreams came true: We sat down to a lunch where everything came to the table drenched with pure, precious maple syrup. And in case there wasn’t enough, a big pitcher of warm maple syrup also sat within reach so we could help ourselves to as much as we wanted. If my shoulder bag had been syrup-proof, I would have been very tempted to take some of the obvious overflow off their hands. Maple syrup is usually graded dark amber or light amber. The darker the syrup, the deeper the flavor, so I always use the darker type, since there’s no such thing as too much maple syrup flavor. Adding Wet Walnuts (page 198) drenched in maple syrup ensures a delivery of delicious maple flavor with each bite.
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 1 quart (1 liter)
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Warm the milk and sugar in a medium saucepan. Pour the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.
Step 2
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
Step 3
Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream to cool. Add the maple syrup, salt, and vanilla, and stir until cool over an ice bath.
Step 4
Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. During the last few minutes of churning, add the Wet Walnuts.
Perfect Pairing
Step 5
Use Salted Butter Caramel Sauce (page 174) to make Maple Walnut Ice Cream Sundaes, resting the ice cream on a Chewy-Dense Brownie (page 221) and topping it off with a Candied Cherry (page 215).
