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Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Toasted Macadamia Nut and White Chocolate Ice Cream

I first created this ice cream as part of a Thanksgiving dinner last year. It was such a hit that I sent home all the extras with our guests and forgot to get pictures of it. Oh darn, that meant I needed to remake it ... for photo purposes, of course.

The texture of this ice cream is slightly different than all the rest of my ice creams, while the base is still extraordinarily creamy, it's studded with a fine layer of tiny, crunchy, toasted macadamia nuts. As it begins to warm and melt it doesn't become runny milk as typical, it becomes almost foamy thanks to the texture. The result is a hearty, toasted flavor that the fills the palette with joy. The hint of white chocolate gives this ice cream a sweet holiday undertone.

This ice cream feels like a fall or winter treat, but paired with the right thing and with the right sauce (say nestled inside a delicate roasted peach), it could easily become a fat and happy summer dessert.


Fat and Happy Food Blog Tips and techniques:  Blending the nuts is the key to achieving this texture; it won't be the same if you try to use the Cuisinart or if you try to chop the nuts by hand.



Toasted Macadamia Nut and White Chocolate Ice Cream

3 cups cream
1 heaping cup of toasted nuts
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbls sugar
3 yolks
1/2 cup sugar
3 oz white chocolate, chopped


Gently warm the cream over medium heat  to just below boiling.

In the meantime, slowly toast the macadamia nuts in a dry pan tossing often to avoid burning any of them. Whisk together the yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy, pale and doubled in size.

When the cream is warm, pour half of it into a blender. Add in the toasted nuts, salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Blend to combine and chop up the nuts, about 1 minute. Use the other half of the warm cream to temper the egg yolks, slowly drizzling the warm cream into the whisked yolks.

Return the yolk mixture and the nut mixture back to the saucepan. Slowly cook over medium heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon until thickened. Test the thickness by running your finger on the back of the spoon, if you can leave a line in the custard it is ready. Add in the white chocolate, stir until melted.

Remove from heat and cool in an ice bath. Cover and let steep overnight. Strain the mixture, keep in mind you are not straining out all of the toasted nut, just the larger pieces while the finer ones should push through the strainer. Process according to your ice cream manufacturers directions.

8 comments:

  1. Giving this a crack down under in Australia. Going to pop it in the icecream maker in the morning. Can't wait to taste it!! My only concern is whether I cooked it long enough!

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  2. This sounds wonderful. I am going to give it a try, but am thinking of using half cream and half milk, as I do with my other ice cream recipes. Do you think this will work?

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  3. Amy- absolutely you can use half cream and half milk. This comes out incredibly thick, the half milk will just lighten it slightly. It so yummy, good luck!

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  4. Aloha! My family and I loved this recipe. We used fresh crushed hawaii macadamia nuts from a local farm out here, and the recipe turned out sooo good! mahalo for this blog:)

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  5. Going to make this yet again (it's a favourite of ours now), but half milk and half cream, an extra egg yolk and I'm contemplating a swirl of mango purée at the end :)

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  6. Years ago I worked at an ice cream parlor restaurant, my favorite shake was macadamia nut ice cream
    with butterscotch sauce in it. Unbelievable!! Can't wait to try this homemade version, death to the diet though :(

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  7. I have got some Raw Macadamias Nuts Halves & Pieces, will surely try this. Thanks for sharing. Keep exploring.

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  8. Hey there, You’ve done a great job. I’ll definitely digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I am confident they will be benefited from this site. where to buy roll ice cream equipment

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