Even Though You Didn't Ask for It...Another Ice Cream Post!

I know I just posted an ice cream recipe. A green tea with lemongrass and mint ice cream, to be exact. Well, I’m doing it again. This time it’s Thai tea with coconut milk. I know, two similar recipes in two weeks. Is that a food blog faux pas? If it is, ya’ll better get used to it. I got me an ice cream maker, and there’s no stopping mama now!

As I was farting around the Internet looking for some ice cream inspiration, I came across this Thai tea ice cream. I would have gotten around to making some kind of Thai tea ice cream eventually, being Thai and all, but after running across it, I got a craving. Eventually became pronto. I was intrigued by the idea of using condensed milk, but I didn’t have any on hand. Instead of doing just straight cream, I used coconut milk. I used the guideline 2 egg yolks/cup dairy, and it worked out beautifully (thanks Mike!). What else can I say about this ice cream? Try it. You'll love it, and if you don't you're just plain crazy.



Thai Tea and Coconut Milk Ice Cream
makes about 2 pints

• 6 egg yolks
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 oz loose Thai tea leaves*(see note) or 5 tea bags

*Note: Loose Thai teas tend to be very fine. It will go right through a strainer, tea infuser or even 5 layers of cheesecloth. I highly recommend using fillable teabags or a tea sock. I prefer the fillable teabags over the tea sock. No cleaning. The teabag can go right into the compost.

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream to just boiling. Add the teabags and allow to steep, covered, for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, in a large bowl, whip the egg yolks with an electric mixer until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar in increments, beating well after each addition for a total of about 3 minutes.

Remove the teabags from the cream, making sure to squeeze out excess liquid. Slowly add the liquid to the egg mixture while mixing with the electric mixer. Return the custard to the pot, and heat over medium-low heat, with frequent stirring, until it reaches about 175°F or until it coats the back of your spoon without running off. Strain the custard into a large bowl. Don’t push the debris through the strainer, unless you like soft scrambled eggs in your ice cream. At last, add the coconut milk and vanilla and mix well. Chill the custard, covered, until it’s cold, preferably overnight. Churn the chilled custard in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

If you like tea infused creamy concoctions, then this Thai tea creme brulee may pique your interest.

What's Your Christmas Dessert?

I made out like a bandit this Christmas! But I feel kind of bad because I only got Hubby a book. We agreed we weren’t going to do anything big, so I didn’t. He got me a gift certificate to my favorite clothing store, this awesome stainless steel roasting pan and Morimoto’s AWESOME new book (click the thumbnail in the sidebar to check it out). From my mom I got McCormick & Schimick’s Seafood Restaurant Cookbook, slippers, gloves and a scarf. My Danish in-laws got me an ice cream machine!!! Brother-in-law- wrote me a cookbook. Just joking. He sent me the cookbook he wrote and published showcasing seasonal Danish ingredients. It’s a modern take on classic Northern European ingredients. The presentations look delicious. Between the cookbooks and ice cream making, I expect I’m going to be busy in the kitchen in 2008.

Sonny made out too!

After a leisurely morning of opening presents and watching the snow fall, we had a leisurely brunch with Girlfriend M and family. Did I ever mention she’s an amazing baker? She is the one who taught me to make the world’s most awesome chocolate cake (I promise to post the recipe one day). Today she made monkey bread, which is kind of like one big sticky bun sans nuts but oozing with caramel and cinnamon. She baked it in a ceramic mold. When she flipped and un-molded it, I almost passed out. It looked and smelled that delicious. She says it can be made in a regular bundt pan, so I will definitely have to try.

I have no idea why they call this monkey bread. If anyone knows, please chime in. Don't it look yummy?

My contribution to the dessert table was a Thai tea crème brulee. If you like green tea ice cream and crème brulee, you will definitely like this dessert. I like it so much, I've made it twice in less than a week! It’s quite easy to make and you can use any other tea that you would add milk and sugar to. I’ve used green chai tea and I imagine it would be great with chamomile tea or Earl Grey.

I used tea bags, but you could use loose tea as well. But be careful because loose Thai tea can be very fine. A regular tea infuser won't hold it. You'll need to use fillable teabags or filter the cream through a clean kitchen towel. I think even cheesecloth will be too porous.

Thai Tea Crème Brulee

• 1 egg
• 5 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 to 5 Thai tea bags
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean

Preheat the oven to 300°.

Using a small knife, split the vanilla bean. Scrape out the inside and put it in a saucepan along with the pod, heavy cream and tea bags. Bring to just boiling. Turn off the heat. Cover and allow the tea to steep for about 5 minutes.

In the meantime, whisk the egg, yolks and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.

After the tea has steeped, remove the bags (squeeze out all the liquid from the bags) and vanilla pod. If necessary strain the cream mixture into a large bowl to remove any remnants of the pod.

Using a large wooden spoon (or the like), stir the egg mixture quickly while slowly (!!) adding the hot cream. Pour the mixture into individual ramekins (it’s enough for 8 ½-cup ramekins) or a shallow 1½ quart ovenproof dish (which is what I did this time). Bake in a water bath until the center is set, about 35 minutes for ramekins and 55 minutes for the large dish. When done, allow the custard to come to room temperature before covering with plastic wrap and chilling in the fridge. For the large dish, it will take at least 4 hours.

To serve, caramelize some granulated or turbinado sugar on top with a kitchen torch or under the broiler. If you do it under the broiler, I recommend freezing the custard for about 30 minutes beforehand to keep it from getting too warm in the oven.

The crust should be warm and crackly while the custard stays chilled.