Armagnac Chocolate Super Soft Ice Cream

My liquor collection and I have been having a stare-down. I took action. This recipe contains a lot of fat and alcohol, so it will be very scoopable. I do not bother with only using egg yolks in my gelato-style ice creams because I don’t like risking an overly-yolky taste and the egg white adds so
me nice protein to the situation.

IN DA CAWFEE

INGREDIENTS

2 large whole eggs

¼ cup brown sugar

2 cups heavy whipping cream

½ cup chocolate sauce or chocolate ganache

¼ cup Armagnac (another brandy would work OK--Armagnac is just yum!)

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (I use Medaglia D’oro) 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Use a hand mixer to mix sugar and eggs in a medium bowl until yellow and thick, about 3 minutes. Heat heavy whipping cream in a large saucepan over medium heat until mixture bubbles just gently (not boiling).

Take about ¼ cup of the hot cream and pour into the sugar-egg mixture while beating with the hand mixer quickly. Add another ¼ cup slowly. Add another ¼ cup. Pour all back into the saucepan. Stir over medium heat until everything hits 170°. 

Stir in chocolate sauce or ganache, then espresso powder, then Armagnac and vanilla. Pour through a good sieve set over a bowl. As with other gelato style ice cream mixtures, reluctantly cover the bowl and refrigerate about 6 hours or overnight.

After six painful hours pass, stir, then throw into your ice cream maker. After the ice cream has formed in the maker, spoon into a small, shallow container with a tight lid. I like a plastic take-out box from our local Thai place. Cover and freeze until firm. 

Stir into your cup of coffee (if you’re having a rough morning--or not).

INSANITY COOKIES

I came up with this recipe in a fit of baking insanity (today). Despite the threat of garbanzo beans, you probably won't regret making these because the hazelnut and almond flavors ultimately run the show.

INGREDIENTS

Wet Bits
1/4 cup soft coconut oil 
2 cups fully cooked garbanzo beans, homemade or canned
¼  cup packed golden raisins
6 tablespoons brown sugar
¾ teaspoon liquid stevia
2 large eggs, at room temperature 
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Dry Bits
1 cup almond flour
1 cup hazelnut flour (or blanched ground hazelnuts)
1/2 cup brown rice flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon kosher salt

Just Bits
1 cup dark chocolate chips 
¼ cup roasted unsalted cashews or chopped hazelnuts

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Grind the wet bits together in a food processor until it's all completely smooth.

Put all the dry bits in a big bowl. Pour in the wet bits and stir.

Shape dough into small (that is, large marble sized) balls and put on the paper-lined pans, spacing them about ¾ inch apart. You can do a tight spacing because they’re not going to spread out. That also means they will look almost the same going in as they do coming out, so shape them to make them look attractively cookie-like now! Bake until the cookies are firm, about 20 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and slide parchment to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store cooled in the fridge or freezer. The low sugar content makes them prone to quick funkiness if you leave them on the counter top too long. 

Still Holed Up...Recipe Bonus! Zabaglione Gelato

Why not make some gelato? I mean, what else are you gonna do? I think a lot of gelato is too yolky, so I always make it with whole eggs instead. You won’t notice the difference. What you will notice in this recipe, though, is the taste of the Marsala. Whee!

INGREDIENTS

3 large eggs

1 cup white sugar

1 cup whole milk

3 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup Marsala wine

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

DIRECTIONS

Use a hand mixer to mix sugar and eggs in medium bowl until yellow and thick, about 3 minutes. Heat milk and heavy whipping cream in a large saucepan over medium heat until mixture bubbles just gently (not boiling).

Take about 1/2 cup of the hot milk-cream and pour into the sugar-egg mixture while beating with the hand mixer quickly. Add another 1/2 cup slowly. Add another 1/2 cup. Pour all back into the saucepan. Stir over medium heat until everything hits 170°. 

Measure marsala and extracts into a large bowl. Pour the custard through a good sieve set over the bowl . Stir. Put your face over the bowl to enjoy the crazy delicious scent of this dessert. Think about how Sicily is totally f*cked up but does generate some delicious foods. Reluctantly cover and refrigerate about 6 hours or overnight.

After six painful hours are over, stir the custard before throwing into your ice cream maker. This amount is just ever so slightly too much for my ice cream maker, so I freeze a little bit separately in a couple small containers and call it semifreddo. After the gelato has formed in the ice cream maker, spoon into a large, shallow container with a tight lid. Cover and freeze until firm. Note that because this has a huge amount of alcohol in it, it will remain lovely and scoopable for all eternity (or tomorrow, which is when you'll finish it).