Alice in the Kitchen

Pumpkin Ice Cream

I figure after Thanksgiving, I won’t have many more chances to make pumpkin focused recipes, so I wanted to make pumpkin ice cream before it was too late.

I probably should have strained the custard mixture, so if you make this, I’d pour the custard through a sieve.

Overall, I liked this recipe.  It tasted like frozen pumpkin pie!

Ingredients:

* 1 cup canned pumpkin
* 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
* 2 cups heavy cream
* 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
* 5 egg yolks
* 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
* 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
* Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

In a bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree and vanilla bean paste. Sit aside.

In a heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 1/2 cups of the cream and 1/2 cup of the brown sugar. Cook until bubbles form around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the egg yolks, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg, the remaining 1/2 cup cream and the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar. Whisk until smooth and the sugar begins to dissolve.

Remove the cream mixture from the heat. Gradually whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot cream mixture into the egg mixture until smooth. Pour the egg mixture back into the pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and keeping the custard at a low simmer, until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.

Place the bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice water, stirring occasionally until cool. Whisk the pumpkin mixture into the custard. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the instructions.  Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days, before serving. Makes about 1 quart.