Vanilla Armagnac Ice Cream Food

VANILLA-ARMAGNAC ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Warm the cream, sugar, vanilla, and vanilla seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Be sure that all the sugar is dissolved; you will no longer feel any grittiness from the sugar when you rub some cream between your fingers. Strain into a bowl, cover, and chill well.
• Add the Armagnac and freeze the mixture in an ice cream freezer according to the manufacturer's directions. Spoon into a freezer container and allow to chill in the freezer for a few hours before serving.

ARMAGNAC ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Have ready a large bowl of ice and cold water. In a 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan simmer 1/2 cup Armagnac (being careful not to let ignite) until reduced by about half. Stir in cream and milk and bring mixture to a simmer.
• In a bowl whisk together yolks and sugar. Add hot milk mixture to yolk mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Transfer mixture to cleaned saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until slightly thickened and a thermometer registers 170°F (do not let boil). Pour custard through a fine sieve into a metal bowl set in ice water. Stir in remaining tablespoon Armagnac and cool custard completely.
• Freeze custard in an ice-cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden. Armagnac ice cream may be made 1 week ahead.

ULTIMATE VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Put the canister from the machine into the freezer a day before you want to make the ice cream. Next day, pour the cream and milk into a medium heavy-based pan, then tip in half the sugar. Slit the vanilla pod down its length with a small sharp knife and scoop out as many of the tiny black seeds as you can into the cream mixture. Cut the pod into three and drop it into the pan.
• Heat the cream and milk over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until it almost boils - you'll see a few bubbles at the edge. Take off the heat and set aside for 30 minutes so the vanilla can infuse.
• Put the egg yolks into a bowl with the rest of the sugar and beat with an electric hand beater for about 2 minutes until the mixture has thickened, is paler in colour and falls in thick ribbons when you lift the beaters. Using a measuring jug, scoop out about 125ml/4fl oz of the cream mixture and beat into the egg yolks to slacken them. Reheat the cream until it just comes to the boil, take off the heat and stir in the egg yolk mixture.
• Return the pan to a low heat and cook, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, for 8-10 minutes, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Watch that it doesn't boil - as soon as you see any bubbles about to burst to the surface, it should be thick enough, so take the pan off the heat so the mixture doesn't curdle.
• Pour the custard into a heatproof bowl, then sit it in a bigger bowl one third full of iced water to cool (this takes about 20 minutes). Stir occasionally to stop a skin forming. Put the bowl of custard in the fridge for 3-4 hours, preferably overnight, so it gets really cold.
• Get the ice cream machine running, scoop out the vanilla pod pieces, then slowly pour in the cold custard. Leave it to churn for 10-30 minutes (depending on your machine). When it stops, it is probably too soft to eat, so spoon into a plastic container, cover with cling film, then a lid, and freeze for a minimum of 3 hours. (It will keep in the freezer for 3 months but don't take it out, then refreeze.) Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before serving.
• To make it by hand: in step 1, heat the milk, vanilla, and half the sugar without the cream (the custard will be slightly thicker). At the start of step 6, whip the cream so it's light and floppy, not too stiff, and fold it into the cold custard. Freeze for 3-4 hours, stirring once an hour until almost frozen, then freeze as above.

ARMAGNAC-POACHED PRUNES WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Combine Armagnac, sugar, 1/2 cup water, cinnamon and ginger in medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Stir mixture over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add prunes and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer prune mixture to medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours. (Can be prepared 4 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)
• Remove cinnamon, ginger and vanilla bean from prune mixture. Divide prune mixture among 6 bowls. Top with scoops of vanilla ice cream.