Vanilla Maple Ice Cream Food

MAPLE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Whisk 1/2 cup maple syrup and egg yolks together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Stir remaining maple syrup, half-and-half, cream, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring often, until simmering. Reduce heat to medium.
• Add about 1/2 cup of the hot cream mixture to the egg mixture. Whisk constantly to prevent the eggs from cooking. Repeat with another 1/2 cup of the cream mixture. Pour egg mixture into the saucepan, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula. Cook, stirring constantly, until custard thickens and coats the back of the spatula, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat.
• Strain custard through a fine-mesh sieve set over a clean bowl. Whisk in vanilla extract. Set the bowl in an ice bath and stir the custard occasionally until cooled to room temperature, 15 to 30 minutes.
• Remove the bowl from the ice bath, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours, or overnight.
• Churn cold custard in an ice cream maker, according to manufacturer's instructions, until it reaches the consistency of soft serve. Serve right away or cover tightly with plastic wrap and freeze until firm.

MAPLE-VANILLA SYRUP

Steps:

• Place the white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, and water in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover pan, and simmer 8 minutes. Stir in maple extract and vanilla. Cool completely, then pour into glass jars, cover, and refrigerate.

EASY ICE CREAM (MAPLE OR HONEY SWEETENED)

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients, mixing well.
• Start ice cream freezer and pour mixture into it.
• Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions until desired consistency.

VANILLA ICE CREAM WITH MAPLE SYRUP AND BACON

Steps:

• Top ice cream with maple syrup and bacon.

PECAN PIE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Place milk and cream in a heavy saucepan. Stir in the sugar. Heat on medium until scalded (about 180 degrees) - bubbles will form around the edges. Remove from heat.
• Beat eggs in a small bowl until well-blended. Gradually whisk several tablespoons of the hot milk mixture into the eggs, then slowly pour the egg mixture back into the pan, whisking all the while.
• Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the spoon, 6 minutes or so. As soon as you see the first wisps of steam, remove the pan from the heat. Keep stirring another 5 minutes or so as the mixture cools down. Stir in the vanilla. Transfer the custard to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until very cold, about 6 hours or overnight.
• Place the pecans in a small, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Toast them, stirring, until lightly browned. Remove from heat. Pour in the maple syrup and add the butter and salt. Stir to coat pecans completely. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate.
• Add the cold custard to your ice cream maker and churn until the mixture reaches the consistency of soft ice cream, 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer it to a bowl. Fold in the cooled nuts and syrup, swirling them in so they are not thoroughly mixed in.
• Transfer the ice cream to one or more containers and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours. If necessary, let the ice cream soften a bit in the refrigerator or at room temperature before scooping.