Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream with Bourbon Caramel Swirls + Praline Bits in PRETZEL CONES

Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream with Bourbon Caramel Swirls + Praline Bits in PRETZEL CONES

I feel like I have been so busy lately. Wedding planning has taken over my life... and to top all of that, I found out that I have Shingles again. I have literally had it twice in less than 10 months. Kill me now. What 25 year old has something that 60 year old's get? Me. That's who. But you know what cheers me up when I don't feel good? Ice cream. Cool, creamy, dreamy ice cream. And one of my favorite flavors has to be salted caramel. Matter of fact, triple the salted caramel ice cream. It starts off with a salted butter caramel custard base, and then cluttered with even more caramel-y goodness. I mean, who doesn't like praline? It's like crunchy caramel. It's perfection. The praline bits give the ice cream some crunch + texture, which I adore. And then there's the bourbon caramel sauce that is swirled in as well, which makes it even more luscious. I can't even tell you all the millions of reasons as to why you need to make this right-friggin'-now. Summer is coming to an end in about a month and you can't miss out on this treat before it starts to get cold. My favorite element of the whole dessert though... are these fabulous Pretzel Ice Cream Cones. You have to order them online, but trust me, they are so worth the purchase! Head over to Pennsylvania General Store to get you some gurrrllllll (or guys). When you open the packaging, the most intoxicating maple-like smell wafts through your nose. But then when you bite into it tastes like a LEGIT PRETZEL. No joking here. This has to be the most ingenious idea ever. So go buy some now because I'm pretty sure it would pair beautifully with any ice cream you have in your freezer!! Enjoy :)

For the Praline Bits:

½C Sugar

¾t Smoked Sea Salt (I prefer Maldon)

For the Bourbon Caramel Swirls:

1C Sugar + ¼C Water

½C Heavy Cream

1T Bourbon

Heavy Pinch of Smoked Sea Salt 

For the Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream Custard:

2C Whole Milk, Divided

1 ½C Sugar

4t Salted Butter

½t Smoked Sea Salt

1C Heavy Cream

5 Large Egg Yolks

1t Vanilla

1T Bourbon

Directions:

1. For the Praline Bits: Spread the sugar in an even layer in a medium-sized, unlined heavy saucepan; I use a 6-quart pan. Line a baking sheet with a silpat. Heat the sugar over medium heat until the edges begin to melt. Use a heatproof utensil to gently stir the liquefied sugar from the bottom and edges towards the center, stirring, until all the sugar is dissolved (or most of it-there may be some lumps, which will melt later). Continue to cook stirring infrequently until the caramel starts smoking and begins to smell like it’s just about to burn. It won’t take long. Without hesitation, sprinkle in the ¾ teaspoon salt without stirring (don’t even pause to scratch your nose), then pour the caramel onto the prepared baking sheet and lift up the baking sheet immediately, tilting and swirling it almost vertically to encourage the caramel to form as thin a layer as possible. Set aside to harden and cool.

2. For the Bourbon Caramel Sauce: Simmer sugar and ¼ cup water on medium heat, swirling pan (NOT stirring) for about 15 minutes, or until a deep amber color is reached. Then turn off burner, remove from heat and slowly add in cream while stirring. Add pinch of salt and bourbon and place back on still-warm burner for another minute while stirring. Transfer to a heat-safe dish or bottle and let cool. Store covered in the refrigerator, and bring to room temperature or heat in a warm water bath before using (if needed).

3. For the Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream: Make an ice bath by filling a large bowl about a third full with ice cubes and adding a cup or so of water so they’re floating. Nest a smaller metal bowl (at least 2 quarts) over the ice, pour 1 cup of the milk into the inner bowl, and rest a mesh strainer on top of it. Spread 1½ cups sugar in the saucepan in an even layer. Cook over moderate heat, until caramelized, using the same method described in the praline bit process. Once caramelized, remove from heat and stir in the butter and salt, until butter is melted, then gradually whisk in the cream, stirring as you go. The caramel may harden and seize, but return it to the heat and continue to stir over low heat until any hard caramel is melted. Stir in 1 cup of the milk. Whisk the yolks in a small bowl and gradually pour some of the warm caramel mixture over the yolks, stirring constantly. Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook the custard using a heatproof utensil, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture thickens. If using an instant-read thermometer, it should read 160-170 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour the custard through the strainer into the milk set over the ice bath, add the vanilla, then stir frequently until the mixture is cooled down. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or until thoroughly chilled. Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

4. Assembling the Ice Cream: While the ice cream is churning, crumble the hardened caramel praline into very little bits, about the size of very large confetti (about ½-inch). As soon as the mixture is done churning, pour or scoop in one-third of the ice cream into a large container, and then spoon some of the bourbon caramel sauce on top of the ice cream. Using the spoon, smooth it out into any even layer and swirl it some for a pretty marbling effect. Scatter in more of the crushed praline during this layering process. Repeat this process until all of the ice cream and caramel sauce (and as much praline bits as you want) have been used. Once it has been assembled, store in the freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

5. Enjoying your Masterpiece: To take the dessert to a’whole’nother level, scoop your salted butter caramel ice cream into a Pretzel Ice Cream Cone (by The Cone Guys) and enjoy this ultimate salty + sweet treat!

source: salted butter caramel ice cream.

Goo Goo Cluster Pie with a Coca Cola Reduction Drizzle

Goo Goo Cluster Pie with a Coca Cola Reduction Drizzle + Brown Butter Ice Cream

This is pretty much a glorified candy bar pie. With a twist of pecan pie on the side. And add in a large soda + a scoop of ice cream to boot. For all I care, you could just sub out the Goo Goo Cluster chunks with another candy treat. Do as you please, my friends. Y'all ever had a Goo Goo Cluster? Well, if you haven't, I sure feel bad for you. It comes from the South (Nashville to be exact) and contains caramel, roasted peanuts, marshmallow, and milk chocolate. Like a Snickers, but only way better. It starts off with my favorite peanut butter shortbread cookie crust. What's not to love about that? Candy. Cookies. Pie. Ice Cream. All in one bite? Whambamthankyama'am. Then, it's studded with fried, salted peanuts and candy pieces before it's filled to the brim with bourbon-flavored custard (similar to a pecan pie). After it's all said + done, and by that, I mean baking & chilling, you must drizzle the top of a slice with the homemade Coca Cola reduction... ya'know, to make it extra-southern. This pie is insane by itself, but make sure to make it super indulgent by adding a scoop of homemade ice cream. It was perfection with brown butter, but vanilla bean or bourbon would be amazing as well. It's the ultimate sweet treat indeed!! Enjoy :)

For the Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookie Crust:

1C Peanuts, Unsalted & Dry-Roasted

½C AP Flour

¼t Salt

¼t Baking Soda

¼C Light Brown Sugar, Packed

¼C Sugar

2T Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

1 Large Egg Yolk

¼t Vanilla

For the Goo Goo Cluster Pie:

2 8oz boxes of Goo Goo Clusters or Cream-Nuts, Chopped into Chunks

3 Eggs

1C sugar + 2T Light Brown Sugar

½C Light Corn Syrup

2T Bourbon

1t Vanilla

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

½t Salt

2C Fried Salted Peanuts, Roughly Chopped (roasted peanuts may be substituted)

Prepared Goo Goo Cluster Chunks

For the Coca Cola Reduction:

2C Coca Cola (or any other soda substitute: Cheerwine would be my second choice)

Directions:

1. Spray a pie pan with Baking Pam and set it aside.

2. For Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookie Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse the peanuts into the food processor and blend until a peanut butter forms, about 2 minutes (add a little oil or honey to loosen it up if it is too thick). In another bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda until incorporated. Using an electric mixer, beat together both sugars, peanut butter, and butter until well combined and mixture resembles wet sand, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl, until well blended, about 3 minutes (the mixture will be clumpy). Gradually add in the dry ingredients with your hands and beat until just combined (it will be crumbly, but do not over-mix). Gather dough with your hands, place into the prepared pan, and press evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Bake until edges are golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Set this aside to let it cool completely before adding the filling.

3. For the Goo Goo Cluster Pie: In the bowl of a standing mixer, add in the butter and both sugars and beat until light & fluffy, about 1 minute. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, corn syrup, bourbon, vanilla, and salt until smooth and incorporated. Add this wet mixture into the bowl of the butter mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until you have a smooth filling, and then add in your chopped peanuts and mix until just incorporated evenly throughout. Set your filling aside and place the Goo Goo Cluster chunks evenly into the bottom of your cooled, pre-baked peanut butter crust. Slowly pour the filling over the clusters until the whole pie has been filled to the rim. Sprinkle the top with fleur de sel. Place the pie onto a baking dish, so that it will catch any drippings or filling that has flooded over. Bake this pie at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 300 degrees. Lightly cover the pie with some tin foil and bake for another 20-30 minutes, or until the pie has set around the edges, but slightly jiggles in the center. Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack to room temperature.

4. Place the cooled pie into the freezer (you might want to cover with tin foil) and let it sit, undisturbed, overnight. The pie filling should be super gooey and runny, this is a good thing, don’t worry.

5. For the Coca Cola Reduction: Pour the coke into a pot and cook over low (just barely medium heat) until it reduces into thick soda syrup. This process took a long time for me almost an hour.

6. Serving the Pie: The next day, remove from the freezer and cut into slices. Place onto a plate and let it warm for 5-10 minutes. This gives the pie time to defrost and makes the caramel-y filling begin to ooze out. Drizzle the top of the pie with some of the Coca Cola Reduction and enjoy the gooey goodness. We added a scoop of ice cream on top of ours, and it was perfection (we had three homemade ice creams in our freezer: brown butter-bourbon, southern buttermilk, + malted vanilla bean).

Summer Staples : Roasted Summer Berry Swirled Buttermilk Ice Cream Sandwiches with Rehydrated Berry-Sweet Corn Cookies + Lemon Curd Center

Summer Staples : Roasted Summer Berry Swirled Buttermilk Ice Cream Sandwiches with
Rehydrated Berry-Sweet Corn Cookies + Lemon Curd Center

I've been on a really big ice cream sandwich kick as of this summer. It's really the perfect cool treat during a hot day. Especially when you have a homemade cookie and a killer creamy-icy filling... it can't be beat! These summer treats start with Momofuku's famous sweet corn cookie that has been dialed up a notch with some vanilla bean rum rehydrated summer berries. The chilled cookie dough is then rolled in raw bourbon vanilla sugar, which gives it the perfect crackly-crunchy exterior. These cookies are truly fabulous on their own and I can guarantee you'll want to make them over and over again like I have in the last month. They taste like a mixture between cornbread + yellow cake. It's divine and you just have to make them! Better yet, make them with ice cream stuffed in between the middle. This ice cream is Southern to its core because it has the ever-so-popular buttermilk as the base. It's perfectly tangy and is balanced amazingly with the swirls of sweet berry preserves. But what I'm most excited about is the lemon curd center. With the use of my handy-dandy doughnut cutter, I was able to cut out perfectly round ice cream fillings, and then pop our the center and fill it with creamy lemon curd. It's the  best little surprise when you bite into the ice cream sandwiches and get a lemony burst of flavor! All of these components work together brilliantly and quite frankly, I can't wait to use this doughnut-ice cream filling technique for sandwiches in the future!! Enjoy :)

For the Roasted Summer Berry Swirled Buttermilk Ice Cream:

1 Stick Unsalted Butter, Melted & Cooled Slightly

2C Heavy Cream

1C Buttermilk, Well-Shaken

6 Egg Yolks

1C Sugar

½t Salt

2T Buttermilk Powder, Sifted

1t Vanilla

2T Vanilla Bean Infused Rum (or any kind of infused booze that is clear)

1 Whole Vanilla Bean, Split & Scraped for Seeds

Homemade Roasted Summer Berry Jam (or any other kind of preserves may be used)

Homemade or Store-Bought Lemon Curd, For the Center Filling

For the Rehydrated Berry-Sweet Corn Cookies:

2 Sticks of Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

1 ½C Sugar

1 Egg

1 1/3C AP Flour

¼C Corn Flour

2/3C Freeze Dried Corn Powder

¾t Baking Powder

¼t Baking Soda

1 ½t Salt

½C Each of Dehydrated or Freeze Dried Berries (blueberries, raspberries, & strawberries)

2-3T Vanilla Bean Infused Rum (or just enough to barely rehydrate the berries until soft)

Raw Bourbon Vanilla Sugar, For Rolling the Cookies in

Directions:

1. For the Roasted Summer Berry Swirled Buttermilk Ice Cream: In a saucepan, bring the cream, buttermilk, sifted buttermilk powder, vanilla bean pods, and vanilla bean seeds to a simmer. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and salt until fluffy. Slowly whisk in the melted butter. Once combined, gradually and slowly into the simmering milk. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, until thickened (it should coat the back of a spoon). Strain the custard into a bowl that is placed into an ice bath. Stir in the vanilla bean infused rum and vanilla. Cool the custard base until completely chilled. Once the mixture is chilled, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. As soon as the mixture is done churning, pour or scoop in one-third of the ice cream into a large container, and then spoon some of the summer berry preserves on top of the ice cream. Using the spoon, smooth it out into any even layer and swirl it some for a pretty marbling effect. Repeat this process until all of the ice cream and preserves have been use. Once it has been assembled, store in the freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

2. For the Rehydrated Berry-Sweet Corn Cookies:In a small bowl combine the dried summer fruit with the vanilla bean infused rum. Using a spoon, toss the berries and liquid together until they are completely coated. Let them sit and plump up while you make the cookie dough batter. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, and cream together on medium-high for about 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg, and beat for 7 to 8 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, corn flour, corn powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix just until the dough comes together, beat no longer than 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add in the rehydrated berries and gently beat them in until they are just incorporated. Using an ice cream scoop, portion out the cookie dough onto a Silpat-lined sheet pan. Pat the tops of the cookie dough balls until they are flat on top. Wrap the sheet pan tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 12-24 hours. Do not bake your cookies from room temperature or they will not bake up properly.

3. Baking the Cookies:Remove the chilled cookie dough balls from the refrigerator and immediately roll them in the raw sugar (this will give them a crackly crust, yet chewy interior). Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on Silpat-lined sheet pans. Bake for 18 minutes. The cookies will puff, crackle, and spread. After 18 minutes, they should be faintly browned on the edges yet still bright yellow in the center; give them an extra minute if not. Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or to an airtight container for storage. At room temp, the cookies will keep fresh for 5 days.

4. Preparing the Ice Cream Center:Using a doughnut cookie cutter, cut out rounds of the buttermilk ice cream. And then using a knife or spoon, push or scoop out the center of the ice cream. Place the hollowed out rounds onto parchment paper and freeze them again to re-harden or re-firm the texture of the ice cream. Once it has frozen again, place the ice cream rounds onto a cookie and spoon some lemon curd into the hollowed out center. Top with another cookie and enjoy before it melts!

Brown Butter-Brown Sugar-Bourbon Bread Pudding with Salty Butterscotch Sauce & Vanilla Bean-Bourbon Glaze

Brown Butter-Brown Sugar-Bourbon Bread Pudding with Salty Butterscotch Sauce
+ Vanilla Bean-Bourbon Glaze

SOOOOOOOOO I'm backkkkkkkk. Yippee (does anyone actually say that anymore?). Okay, so let's get onto the recipe. One of my favorite recent desserts to date. I hate traditional bread pudding. SOGGY BREAD? Ew. Canned fruit cocktail... Get'outta'here. But, this... this, my friend, is a Southern girl's dream. This is layered with buttery brioche and chewy & crusty french baguette, and then covered in a custard made with brown butter, brown sugar, bourbon, eggs, cream, milk, and vanilla. The layering process is key. First start with stale or slightly hardened bread, cube it up, air it out... just let it all hang out. The next day, you have to layer. I did this by making an even layer of brioche bread, stuffed in the middle was the torn baguette bread. Press those chaotic guys in tightly and do another layer of brioche bread to pack it all in again. This will make perfectly cut cubes, superb for serving!! Soak the bad b*tch, long + had, until it's ooey-gooey. After that, you bake it until golden brown, but super moist and melty-yummy. The sauces are optional, but I feel they are a requirement. We made a Salty Butterscotch Sauce and a Vanilla Bean-Bourbon Glaze to douse the bread pudding squares... ya know to soak them even more. And if you wanna go into early hypertension, do this whole 'thang a la mode with a scoop of brown butter ice cream!! Enjoy :)

For the Bread Pudding:

1lb Brioche Bread, Trimmed of Crusts & Cut into Squares (sandwich-like slices)

½lb French Baguette, Torn or Cut into 2inch Pieces

1 ½C Dark Brown Sugar

2 Sticks of Melted, Brown Butter (make sure it has cooled, so it won’t curdle the eggs)

5 Large Eggs, Lightly Beaten

4C Half & Half

1C Whole Milk

¼C High Quality Bourbon

3T Vanilla Extract

¼t Cinnamon (scant)

1t Sea Salt

For the Salty Butterscotch Sauce:

4T Unsalted Butter, Melted

½C Light Brown Sugar, Packed

½C Heavy Cream

½t Sea Salt

1 ½t Vanilla Extract

Vanilla Bean Fleur de Sel, For Sprinkling (or any high quality flaky salt)

  

For the Vanilla Bean-Bourbon Glaze:

4T Unsalted Butter, Melted

2T Bourbon

1C Confectioners’ Sugar, Sifted

½C Heavy Cream

1 Vanilla Bean, Split & Scraped for Seeds

Pinch of Salt (or to taste)

Directions:

1. Prepping the Bread: Cut the loaf or loaves of Brioche bread into thick, sandwich-like slices. Trim the slices of all of their crusts and make sure they are straight edged squares or rectangles. There is no exact measurement for these bread squares; I just cut them, so that I could lay them in a flat layer on the bottom of the baking dish (only use a half pound of the brioche bread, save the other half of the pound for repeating this process for the top layer). In reference to the baguette bread, either tear them into rustic pieces or cut them into roughly 2inch cubes. Let the bread sit for a few hours so that they can become somewhat stale or lightly toast them in the oven to dry them out some. By doing this, the bread pudding will soak up more of the custard, but also retain the texture and shape of the bread without becoming completely mushy while cooking.

2. Layering the Bread: There will be three layers of bread: a flat bottom layer of brioche, a middle layer of cubed or torn baguette bread, and a final top layer of brioche (exactly like the bottom layer).  So, to begin, spray a large square dish or 13x9-inch baking pan with Pam. Layer a half-pound of brioche bread slices in the bottom of the prepared pan. This layer should be flat and even, while also covering every inch of the pan (you will have to cut some of the larger slices of bread into smaller squares and fit them into the open spaces, squeezing them in like a puzzle). Top the bottom brioche layer with the pieces of baguette bread, making sure they are evenly distributed, but completely packed into the pan. At this time, set the bread meant for the top layer aside because we want to soak the bottom layers some with the custard to ensure even soaking.

3. Making the Custard: In a large mixing, bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and brown butter until a loose, wet sand is formed. Add in the lightly beaten eggs and whisk again until the eggs have blended into the sugar. Pour in all of the liquid… the half & half, milk, bourbon, and vanilla extract, and beat until the custard is creamy and smooth. Lastly, season with salt.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

5. Finishing the Bread Pudding: Pour half of the custard mixture over the two layers of bread, making sure to lightly press the bread with your hands, so that they absorb all of the liquid. Next, place the other half-pound of brioche bread slices on top of the custard-soaked bread layers by repeating the same process of laying them flatly on top of the baguette pieces (just do exactly what you did for the bottom layer). Gradually pour the remaining custard mixture over the top brioche layer. Once again, press the bread with your hands to help them equally soak up all of the liquid. Spray the top of the soaked bread with some Pam to prevent sticking. Cover the entire baking dish with plastic wrap, and then cover with aluminum foil. Place the bread pudding pan into a larger roasting pan and pour in hot water halfway up the sides (this creates a water bath and ensures perfectly moist bread pudding).

6. Baking the Bread Pudding: Bake the bread pudding (covered) for an hour.  After an hour of baking, remove the aluminum foil and plastic wrap and bake another 15-20 minutes. Remove the bread pudding from the oven and use a knife to loosen the edges. Invert the bread pudding onto another buttered baking sheet and return it to the oven to bake a final 15-20 minutes. This will ensure that both sides of the bread pudding are golden brown in color and perfectly crisped. Let the bread pudding sit on a cooling rack, so that it can firm up and set properly. In the meantime, make the salty butterscotch sauce and vanilla bean-bourbon glaze.

7. For the Salty Butterscotch Sauce: Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar, cream, and salt. Whisk until blended and bring it to a very gentle boil and cook for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Pour the sauce into a bowl and sprinkle the top with vanilla bean fleur de sel. Keep warm until you are ready to drizzle it over the bread pudding.

8. For the Vanilla Bean-Bourbon Glaze: Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl, and then whisk in the melted butter and bourbon, stirring until combined. Mix in the heavy cream, vanilla bean seeds, and a pinch of salt until a creamy glaze has been formed. Set aside until you are ready to drizzle it over the bread pudding.

9. Serving the Bread Pudding: Cut a large square of the warm bread pudding and place it onto a serving plate. Drizzle the top of the square with the salty butterscotch sauce and vanilla bean-bourbon glaze (and as for concerning leftovers, place a serving of cold bread pudding in a bowl, douse it in some of the salty butterscotch sauce, and reheat it in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute; this will ensure that it is extra soft and moist in texture). If you want to make it extra decadent, pile on a scoop of homemade brown butter or vanilla bean ice cream to make it a la mode.

extra drizzled

A la Mode with Brown Butter Ice Cream... the only way to do this. 

Creamy Goat Cheese Cheesecake Ice Cream with Strawberry-Balsamic-Pink Peppercorn Preserve Swirls + Dark Chocolate Freckles

Creamy Goat Cheese Cheesecake Ice Cream with Strawberry-Balsamic-Pink Peppercorn
Preserve Swirls + Dark Chocolate Freckles

I have probably declared my love for goat cheese too many times on my blog. Some of you probably are indifferent about it and a lot of people absolutely despise it. I, on the other had, use it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and well... even dessert! And this isn't the first time that we've made it into a sweet treat, some of our favorites include: raspberry-goat cheese cheesecake with chocolate ganache and goat cheese brownies. Well, I adored the combination of goat cheese, dark chocolate, + sweet fruit together, so when I had a bunch of my Strawberry-Balsamic-Pink Peppercorn Preserves lying around, I just couldn't stand to not use it for a dessert. However, this time, I wanted to make an extra creamy goat cheese ice cream that would pair perfectly with the preserves. We raved about these wonderfully delicate preserves because their flavor has been heightened with tangy balsamic vinegar and the floral notes from crushed pink peppercorns. Once you have made the goat cheese custard base and it is close to being completely churned, melt up some fancy dark chocolate and slowly drizzle it into the ice cream maker. This process quickly freezes and hardens the chocolate into itty bitty freckles that are perfectly + evenly distributed throughout the ice cream. And lemme say, it is utterly delightful. I especially love that it is slam-packed with chocolate, yet doesn't overwhelm the other important components. After you've freckled the heck out of the goat cheese ice cream, spoon it into a container and layer it along with the preserves, making sure to girlishly swirl them throughout for an extra-special effect once it is scooped and served. This frozen treat may sound a little strange, but it all somehow works together to form the perfect springtime dessert. And newsflash, you don't have to eat this just in a bowl or on a cone, it is amazing on top of a gooey brownie that is still hot from the oven. Think of an over-the-top brownie a la mode... or sandwich a scoop of the ice cream between two dark chocolate sable cookies. Don't those sound delish? They are definitely on my to-do list for the leftover ice cream that's sitting in my freezer. But, you could be like me and just stand at the kitchen counter, pajamas on, and devour it all at once. I have finally reasoned with myself that as long as I don't put it into a bowl to eat, then the calories don't count. It's a scientific fact and I should officially become a dietician (obvi). Ha, don't pretend like you don't occasionally do it too!! Enjoy :)

Look at the gorgeous red color from the preserve swirls... 

Goat Cheese. Chocolate Freckles. Fancy Preserves.

I am obsessed with these chocolate freckles, y'all :)

For the Creamy Goat Cheese Cheesecake Ice Cream Custard Base:

2 ½C Heavy Cream

½C Whole Milk

1 Stick Unsalted Butter, Melted & Cooled Slightly

6 Egg Yolks

1 ¼C Sugar

½t Salt

10oz Goat Cheese, Finely Crumbled

2oz Cream Cheese, Broken into Small Pieces

2t Vanilla

2T Vanilla Bean Infused Rum (or any kind of infused booze that is clear)

For the Goat Cheese Ice Cream with Preserve Swirls & Dark Chocolate Freckles:

Prepared Creamy Goat Cheese Cheesecake Ice Cream Custard Base, Chilled

Homemade Strawberry-Balsamic-Pink Peppercorn Preserves

8oz Dark Chocolate, Roughly Chopped

Directions:

1. For the Creamy Goat Cheese Cheesecake Ice Cream Custard Base: In a saucepan, bring the cream and milk to a simmer. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and salt until fluffy. Slowly whisk in the melted butter. Once combined, gradually and slowly into the simmering milk. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, until thickened (it should coat the back of a spoon). Crumble the goat cheese and break up the pieces of cream cheese into the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Place the strainer on top of the goat cheese bowl. Strain the hot custard into a goat cheese filled bowl. Let this mixture sit for a minute or two, and then whisk until both cheeses have completely melted into the base. To ensure that there are no pieces of cheese, I used an immersion blender to briefly blend the base until it was smooth. Stir in the vanilla bean infused rum and vanilla extract. Place this custard filled bowl into an ice bath. Cool the custard base until completely chilled.

2. Assembling the Ice Cream: Once the mixture is chilled, pour the ice cream mixture into the frozen canister of electric ice cream freezer and run according to directions of ice cream maker. While the ice cream is churning, prepare the chocolate by melting it over a double boiler. Transfer the melted chocolate to a container with a spout, such as a liquid measuring cup or a squeeze bottle. When the ice cream is nearly finished churning, add the chocolate, drizzling it in as thinly as possible because you don’t know want large chunks of chocolate, but freckles (or small pieces scattered throughout). As soon as the mixture is done churning, pour or scoop in one-third of the ice cream into a large container, and then spoon some of the strawberry preserves on top of the ice cream. Using the spoon, smooth it out into any even layer and swirl it some for a pretty marbling effect. Repeat this process until all of the ice cream and preserves have been use. Once it has been assembled, store in the freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.