Saffron And Toasted Almond Ice Cream Food

CHOCOLATE CUSTARD TARTLETS IN ALMOND COOKIE CRUST WITH SAFFRON ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Combine cream and saffron in custard cup. Place in microwave oven and heat on high until cream is hot, about 30 seconds. Remove cup from microwave and let mixture steep at room temperature 1 hour. Place ice cream in medium bowl; add saffron mixture and stir with rubber spatula until well blended. Spoon ice cream into container; cover and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours and up to 3 days.
• Bring milk to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat; add chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Cool 5 minutes.
• Whisk sugar and cornstarch in medium bowl to blend. Add yolks; whisk until blended (mixture will be thick). Gradually whisk warm chocolate mixture into yolk mixture until smooth. Return mixture to saucepan. Whisk constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens and starts to bubble, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat (mixture may look grainy; whisk vigorously until smooth). Whisk in butter and vanilla. Transfer pastry cream to bowl. Let cool at room temperature until lukewarm, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.)
• Combine flour, almonds, sugar, and baking powder in processor; blend until almonds are very finely ground. Add butter; cut in using on/off turns until small crumbs form. Whisk cream and yolk in small bowl to blend; add to processor and blend just until moist clumps form. Gather dough together; divide dough into 6 equal pieces. Form each piece into ball. Press 1 dough ball evenly onto bottom and up sides of each of six 4 1/2-inch-diameter tartlet pans with removable bottoms. Trim any excess dough. Pierce crusts all over with fork. Cover and chill overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake crusts until golden and cooked through, about 25 minutes. Cool completely in pans on rack. (Can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.)
• Divide pastry cream among crusts (about scant 1/3 cup for each); spread evenly. Remove tartlet pan sides. Place 1 tartlet on each of 6 plates. Top with scoop of saffron ice cream. Garnish with mint sprigs and serve.

TOASTED ALMOND ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast 10-15 minutes, until fragrant and toasted, but be careful not to burn them. Let cool, then chop into small pieces and set aside.
• In a medium sauce pan, mix the sugar, milk, half of the cream and pinch of salt and heat over medium heat just until the edges start to bubble and steam. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture begins steaming and bubbling around the edges. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl and set aside.
• When milk mixture is steaming and bubbling around the edges, remove 1 cup of it and slowly drizzle the hot milk mixture into the beaten yolks while whisking continuously, to temper the eggs. Make sure not to scramble the eggs by adding all the hot liquid too fast. Add remaining milk mixture and stir to combine into a thin custard. Pour the custard mixture back into the saucepan and continue cooking until it starts to coats the back of a wooden spoon (between 170 and 175 on a candy thermometer) - typically only 1-2 minutes.
• Pour the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream into a medium bowl, then add the warm custard by first pouring through a clean mesh strainer into remaining heavy cream and stirring to combine. Add vanilla and almond extract, then cover and cool completely in the refrigerator (4-6 hours or overnight) before churning.
• Once the custard base is thoroughly chilled, pour into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. When the ice cream is about halfway churned, add in the chopped roasted almonds and allow the ice cream to continue to churn until it is done. My ice cream maker only takes about 20 minutes to reach a soft serve stage. Pour churned soft-serve ice cream into a freezer-safe container, cover and place in a freezer to cure for at least 4-6 hours so the ice cream can harden all the way through.

TOASTED ALMOND

Steps:

• Add liqueurs to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a 10-ounce rocks glass over ice. Top with heavy cream and serve with a short straw.

SAFFRON ALMONDS

Steps:

• Heat oil and saffron in a small skillet over medium. When oil shimmers, add almonds and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; season with salt. Let cool completely. Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

TOASTED ALMOND ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a Cuisinart® EveryDay Stainless 10 - inch skillet. Add the slivered almonds and kosher salt. Cook over medium low heat until almonds are toasted and golden, stirring frequently, about 4 - 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, strain (the butter may be strained and reserved for another use, it will have an almond flavor) and chill the nuts. In a medium bowl, use a Cuisinart® Hand Mixer on low speed to combine the milk and sugar until the sugar is totally dissolved, about 1 - 2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream, and extracts. Cover and chill if not mixing immediately. Assemble a Cuisinart® Automatic Frozen Yogurt - Ice Cream and Sorbet Maker (be sure the chiller bowl is totally frozen). Turn on the machine; pour the liquid mixture into the freezer bowl and let mix until thickened, about 25 - 30 minutes. While the mixture is freezing, chop the cooled slivered almonds roughly. Add the chopped nuts to the mixture during the last 5 minutes of freezing. Turn the machine OFF. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in the freezer for about 2 hours until firm. If made ahead, take ice cream out of freezer 10 - 15 minutes before serving.

ALMOND ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, cook ½ cup sliced almonds with the sugar and the salt over medium heat until deeply golden and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Reserve.
• In the same pot, toast 1 cup sliced almonds until deeply golden, about 5 minutes. Add cream, milk, sugar and salt to the pot and simmer until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk yolks. Whisking constantly, slowly whisk about a third of the hot cream into the yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream.
• Return pot to medium-low heat and gently cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer). Remove from heat and let steep 1 hour.
• Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing down hard on the solids. Add almond extract to base and cool mixture to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Break reserved caramelized nuts into pieces and add to base during the last 2 minutes of churning. Serve directly from the machine for soft serve, or store in freezer until needed.