Pumpkin Ice Cream
Isn’t this the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen? I’ve never made pumpkin ice cream before, but the idea of pumpkin and all of the spices that I usually put in pie all mixed together and frozen sounded divine.
Yes, yes, I know. I’ve been mad about pumpkin this year, and I hope that y’all will either forgive me or jump on board the pumpkin bandwagon – c’mon, there’s plenty of room! — because I don’t think that I’m getting off anytime soon. The season is, after all, still in full swing.
Since I’m not going to Texas for the holidays this year, I guess I’ve been especially nostalgic for all things pumpkin, which is how I landed here, in Pumpkin Ice Cream-Land, after a short stop to Pumpkin Soup City and Pumpkin Tart Town.
Believe it or not, I made this on a whim – I had leftover egg yolks from a cake that I’d made and didn’t want them to go to waste, and I also had about a cup’s worth of potimarron purée in the fridge, which, I too, needed to do something with — so I figured that making some ice cream that tasted like pumpkin pie would be an easy way to use them both. And it was.
I may just need to create a new recipe category for all things pumpkin – at yesterday’s market, I just bought two more potimarrons.
Pumpkin Ice Cream
3 cups whole milk
4 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin purée (you may use canned)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
pinch ginger
¼ teaspoon sea salt
2 cups cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
1. Pour milk into a heavy saucepan, and turn the heat on medium.
2. While the milk is warming, in a medium bowl, beat eggs. Add the sugar, pumpkin, spices, and sea salt, and mix well.
3. When milk begins to show tiny bubbles along the side, it’s ready.
4. Temper the pumpkin-egg mixture by slowly pouring a little milk into the bowl while whisking the eggs. Then, add egg mixture to back to saucepan and continue to cook for 3 more minutes, or until it begins to thicken.
5. Remove from heat, and whisk in the cream and vanilla. Cool the mixture in an ice bath, then refrigerate for 4-6 hours or until ready to freeze.
