When I sent you my July Letter from Laura on Monday, this decadent ice cream was still being churned, so I had to wait in order to get a photograph and polish up the recipe for you. It’s such a special treat, sweet and gooey-good, with every spoonful a melting moment that takes you back to marshmallow roasts of childhood.
Roasted Marshmallow Ice Cream
This was served to me years ago at a summer dinner under the stars, and I’ll never forget the moment. The very sight of this ice cream arriving, garnished with toasted mini marshmallows and shavings of dark chocolate, made the whole table gasp, and then the taste of it, savoured in that enchanting scene, had everyone moaning with delight. The texture of this ice cream is incredibly silky, even straight from the freezer, so don’t worry about having to take it out early to soften. Note that it also makes an exceptional affogato: a scoop of the ice cream in a bowl with a shot of espresso poured over.
Makes: four cups/1 litre (enough for eight people)
1 cup/250 ml heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch salt
2 cups/500 ml milk
5 large egg yolks
1/3 cup/75 ml sugar
1 bag of regular-sized marshmallows, 9 to 11 ounces/250 to 300 g
Put the cream, vanilla, and salt into a large bowl and set a sieve over it. Set aside. Next, heat the milk in a medium saucepan until steaming, but not boiling. Whisk the yolks and sugar in another bowl. When the milk is hot, slowly pour it over the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon, about 5 minutes. Do not boil or it will curdle. Pour the custard through the sieve into the cream mixture. Stir, and set aside.
Place the oven rack in its second-highest slot and set the oven to broil. Spread the marshmallows over a parchment-lined baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and watch closely (in fact, sit in front of the oven door), turning the marshmallows with tongs as they toast, and allowing them to get quite brown, but not black.
When the marshmallows are toasted, spill them into a blender, pour over the custard, and purée until smooth. Refrigerate overnight in a sealed container.
Next day, churn the mixture in an ice-cream machine, transfer to a container, and freeze until firm, about two hours.
That looks delicious!!
Thank you for this recipe! It looks perfect for our 4th of July celebration.