Licorice Ice Cream

7.05 oz Callard & Bowser Licorice Toffees
3 cups Heavy Cream
1 cup Whole Milk
4 large Eggs
1/2 cup Sugar
Dash of Salt
1 TBSP Ouzo, Pernod or other anise-flavored liqueur (OPTIONAL)

At least 12 hours before you plan to serve the ice cream, put the
candies in a medium bowl with the cream and milk. Cover the
mixture and chill it overnight, stirring it once in a while, if
you remember. Most of the candies will dissolve overnight; the
last bits will dissolve during cooking the next day.

The next day, beat the eggs, sugar, and salt together in a large
bowl. Pour the licorice-cream mixture into a medium saucepan.
Heat over medium heat until small bubbles appear around the edge
of the pan. Whisk the licorice-cream mixture very gradually into
the egg-sugar mixture. You want to combine the two thoroughly,
but not make them foamy.

Transfer the custard- for it *is* a custard now!- to a clean,
medium saucepan. Over very low heat, and stirring constantly,
cook the custard for 6-8 minutes. A candy thermometer dipped
into the custard will read 170-180 F. Cool the custard, then
chill it thoroughly. Do this carefully by placing the saucepan
into a larger pan of ice and water and stirring until the mixture
is cold, about 20 minutes. If you use the fridge, it will take
several hours to chill the mixture completely. Once it's fully
chilled, add the optional Ouzo or Pernod.

Transfer the chilled custard to an ice cream maker and freeze it
according to the manufacturer's directions. Transfer the
finished ice cream to a sealed container. Leave it in the
freezer for several hours to mellow the flavor and firm the
texture.

NOTE: for my ice cream maker I poured the custard into the metal
ice cream container and filled the surrounding container with ice
and rock salt. Turned the machine on and it turned itself off 20
minutes later. I then scooped the ice cream out and placed it in
a plastic resealable bowl and placed that in my deep freezer for
about 3 or 4 hours. Of course, I didn't place all of the ice
cream into the bowl prior to freezing... I sampled several large
spoonfuls. This stuff is incredible!! I would have been happy
just eating it out of the saucepan once it was cool enough to not
burn my mouth! It's THAT good!

Unfortunately, this recipe ONLY makes about 1 quart of this
heavenly concoction! The recipe was found in the "Beat That!
Cookbook" by Ann Hodgman.

I keep meaning to make this. Perhaps soon.....


-j
Half the people you know are below average. -Steven Wright