Ice-cream sandwich

It feels good to be appreciated for your work (read my technical assignments) and moreover its great to be pampered once in a while with a surprise treat.......Sometimes back I had this delicious ice-cream sandwich and since then I wanted to try it out. I made a batch of homemade vanilla ice cream but wanted to serve it in a different way.

My hubby bought some cream filled chocolate bars from his last trip to Austria so I used the chocolate bars...... Instead of just serving it plain, I prepared 2 dishes, one being this yummy ice-cream sandwich.....A great way to surprise your friends and guests too...

The simplest ice cream sandwich is to place 1 or 2 scoops of your choicest ice cream in between chocolate bars / ice cream wafers.

Ice Cream Base - Custard Base / Cream Base: The ice cream base is the essential part of what makes ice cream really creamy and delicious. The basic principle for making an ice cream base is to combine cream and milk, egg yolks and sugar.

• Some people create a mix from these ingredients without heating, which is generally referred to as a cream base.
• Others, prefer to use heat in the process, which is known as a custard base.

Stated below is an authentic French vanilla cream recipe (typical custard base method which involves heating).

There are several variations on the standard vanilla flavor, including a particularly rich and creamy variety called French vanilla. Traditional vanilla flavor is derived from the seeds of a vanilla bean pod / a synthetic chemical equivalent called vanillin. French vanilla is more of an egg custard before freezing and contains egg yolks for a richer consistency.

To prepare ½ ltr French vanilla ice cream, all you need......

Ingredients:

• 4 egg yolks
• 300 ml full milk
• 300 ml double cream
• 2 vanilla bean pods
• 100 gms powdered sugar
• 4 chocolate bars / chocolate coated ice-cream wafers

Procedure:

1. Place a damp towel on kitchen table / work surface and place a bowl on top. Add sugar and the egg yolks, whisk together until well combined and thick. Keep aside.
2. Prepare the custard base by heating milk. Place a saucepan on medium heat, add milk, bring just under boiling point (do not overheat).
3. When the milk has heated up, pour it gradually into the bowl containing combined sugar-egg yolks mixture and whisk / stir continuously.
4. Transfer the whole mixture back to the pan. Place pan on medium heat and stir continuously for 3-5 mins and allow to thicken (do not bring to the boil or it may curdle).
5. When you have reached the desired consistency, pour into a bowl and set aside to cool completely.
6. To combine vanilla and cream, place vanilla pods on a chopping board and slice lengthways. Split the pod open. Scrape the pulp out on the knife and put in the bowl of cream. Pour the cream and vanilla into the bowl containing, egg-milk custard. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
7. To prepare the ice-cream, pour the mix into ice-cream maker, close and switch the machine. Churn for 15-20 mins. Strain through a fine sieve; transfer the churned mixture to a plastic container; cover and refrigerate to set.
8. To make the ice-cream sandwich, place a chocolate bar / wafer in a serving plate, put a scoop of ice-cream carefully on the top and place another chocolate bar / wafer to make a sandwich. Serve immediately…

Tips: For varieties, use chocolate chip cookies instead of wafers and just sandwich a dollop (single scoop) of ice cream between them. Serve immediarely or you can also refrigerate to serve later...

You can also add various ice-cream toppings, coming up in my next recipe…

This is going to My Favourite Things - Frozen Desserts guest hosted by Aqua of Served With Love, event by Bindiya....

Also going to RCI - Pondicherry event, hosted by Lavi of Home Cook's Recipes, event started by Lakshmi