Toasted Almond Ice Cream Cake Food

THREE ITALIAN DESSERTS

Steps:

• Place one scoop of ice cream in a glass dish and drown the ice cream in espresso. Add a generous splash of Frangelico and scatter shavings of dark chocolate over the top. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the hazelnuts over the chocolate and garnish with a Biscotti. Serve immediately.
• Place a thick slice of cake on a dessert plate and drizzle generously with Amaretto. Place a scoop of ice cream on top of the cake and sprinkle the almonds over the ice cream. Serve immediately.
• Pour the Vin Santo in a glass placed in the middle of a large serving plate. Arrange the Biscotti, Clementines and caramels decoratively around the glass.

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.

ALMOND-CRUNCH ICE CREAM CAKE

Steps:

• Cake:Preheat oven to 300 degrees with rack in center. Spread whole almonds in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until golden, about 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack; let cool completely.
• Pulse whole almonds and cake flour in a food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds.
• Butter two 7-inch round cake pans. Line pans with parchment; butter parchment.
• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together egg whites and salt on medium speed until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, beating until stiff and glossy, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Clean mixer bowl and return to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat together egg yolks and vanilla. With mixer on high speed, gradually add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, beating until pale and thick, about 5 minutes.
• Fold egg-white mixture into egg-yolk mixture. In three additions, fold in almond mixture. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing tops with an offset spatula.
• Bake until a tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack; let cool completely. Turn out cakes and wrap in plastic until ready to use.
• Almond Crunch:Increase oven temperature to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss together sliced almonds, granulated sugar, and 2 tablespoons water. Spread almond mixture evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack; let cool completely.
• Assembly:Bring granulated sugar and 1/3 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When sugar has dissolved, remove from heat; add amaretto, if using, and almond extract. Let cool completely.
• Using a serrated knife, split each cake horizontally into two equal layers.
• Cut three 24-by-6-inch strips of parchment. Place strips on top of one another and use to line the sides of a 7-inch springform pan. Generously brush tops of cake layers with syrup. Place a cake layer in prepared pan.
• In the chilled bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat ice cream on medium-low speed until spreadable, about 2 minutes. Spread about 2 cups ice cream over first cake layer. Crumble 1/2 cup almond crunch over ice cream. Top with a second cake layer; transfer to freezer until firm, about 20 minutes. Repeat, spreading 2 cups ice cream and 1/2 cup almond crunch between each layer. Finish with a cake layer. Freeze 1 hour.
• Just before serving, whisk cream and confectioners' sugar to medium peaks in a chilled bowl. Remove cake from freezer and release sides of pan. Transfer cake to a serving platter. Tuck parchment strips under perimeter of cake. Frost top and sides of cake with whipped cream; remove parchment strips. Garnish top with remaining almond crunch; serve immediately.

TOASTED ALMOND

Steps:

• Pour over ice, mix well,& enjoy!

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.