diy: guinness frozen custard

So, it’s been awhile a week since I’ve written a post about frozen custard.  Seeing as though most frozen custard stands in St. Louis are closed for the season, it makes it a little difficult to keep up with visiting new ones + trying out new treats.  To make up for this, the Hubs + I decided we would try making some of our own frozen custard in our new handy, dandy ice cream maker!

So, what makes frozen custard different from ice cream?  Well, your typical run-of-the-mill ice cream is made of milk, cream + sugar.  What makes frozen custard different is that it has egg yolks in addition to the milk, cream, + sugar, giving it a richer flavor and creamier texture.  So, if you are ever making “ice cream” at home and need to use egg yolks, you are really making a frozen custard. [You can find all this on Wikipedia.]

And that’s your trivia for the day…

I must admit, though, I actually had no part in this recipe except for buying the ingredients to make it.  This was all the Hubs’ idea + development.  Plus, it has one of my new favorite beers as the main ingredient, making it even better.  What can I say, the man has good taste – he chose me, didn’t he?! ;o)

GUINNESS FROZEN CUSTARD
From The Boston Globe.  Makes approximately 1 quart.  The only change made was using a whole vanilla bean instead of just half of one.  I’m not sure if it really changed the flavor at all, but I like more vanilla than less!

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cups Guinness stout beer
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons molasses (we used blackstrap)
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, scrape the vanilla bean seeds.  Add the pod, milk, and cream.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Turn off the heat, cover, and let the flavors infuse for 30 minutes.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together Guinness and molasses.  Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract.  Slowly whisk in the milk + cream mixture.  You want to do this slowly, as you do not want to scramble the eggs in the process.  [That would be very bad, and very gross!]  Start by whisking in a few tablespoons at a time, and then slowly stream in the remaining milk + cream.  GO SLOW!  Pour the now egg + milk mixture back into the medium saucepan.

Stir the beer mixture into the cream mixture.  Cook the custard over medium heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon (about 6-8 minutes).

Strain the mixture into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap so that it is lightly touching the top of the custard, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. 

When ready, process the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturers directions.  Ours took about 5 minutes to freeze.  You will then want to freeze the custard until ready to serve, or serve immediately if you can’t wait!

       

This has a wonderful coffee like flavor to it and is not beer-y at all!  Don’t be scurred of the Guinness… it is not a beer-y beer to start with, and makes the custard extra creamy.  If only I had my own industrial frozen custard machine to REALLY get that wonderful creamy texture I love so much!

This is AWESOME with chocolate chips mixed in!  Your own homemade Concrete Runner concrete!  With that, I’m going to finish off the rest of the quart in our freezer!