Candy Cane Ice Cream

Oh Candy Canes…I have a love-hate relationship with you.  I love your playful shape and your minty goodness.  I love how you remind of the holidays.  I hate how you stick to the inside of my teeth as I chew you.  I hate how, no matter how hard I try, you make my hands sticky.  I love and hate you:)

In good ‘ol Scoop Adventures style, my solution to this love-hate relationship was to make Candy Cane Ice Cream.  All the minty goodness on a spoon…no sticky mess.  Refreshing and sweet all at once.  A perfect ending to a holiday meal! I hope you enjoy recipe #2 in my holiday ice cream series.

Candy Cane Ice Cream
Adapted from ice cream base recipe by Jeni Britton Bauer
Makes 1 quart

If you do not have xanthan gum or would prefer not to use it, do not worry.  Substitute 3 Tablespoons softened cream cheese to improve scoop-ability.

2 cups whole milk
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
1 Tablespoon plus 1 tsp cornstarch
2/3 cup cane sugar
1/8 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
3.5 ounces white chocolate, chopped
Red food dye (gel or powdered food color; do not use liquid dye, it will bind up the chocolate)

In a small bowl, mix 2 Tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch.  Combine the remaining milk with heavy cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a large saucepan.  Bring milk mixture to a boil.  Cook over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves, 4 minutes.

Remove from heat and off the heat, gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture.  Return to a boil and cook over moderately high heat until the mixture is slightly thickened (draw a line on a spoon), about 1 minute.  Pour the hot milk mixture through a sieve into a medium bowl.  Whisk in xanthan gum.  Whisk in peppermint and vanilla extracts and salt.  Cover (or pour into a baggie) and place mixture in the refrigerator, at least 2 hours.

Once chilled, pour ice cream base into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  When near completion of churning, add white chocolate Stracciatella (see below).  Pack the ice cream into a plastic container when finished.  Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the ice cream (to prevent ice crystals) and close with an airtight lid.  Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

For Stracciatella:
Using a double boiler, melt chocolate until completely smooth.  Gradually add food dye until the desired color is achieved.  Transfer to a squeeze bottle or something else that will dispense the chocolate in a small stream. Just before churning is complete, slowly drizzle a small stream of warm chocolate into the churning ice cream.  Try not to get the chocolate on the dasher.  If the ice cream isn’t moving very well, the chocolate may be getting caught, so move the ice cream away from the dasher using a spoon.  If you have trouble with this method (or the opening of your ice cream maker is too small) you can also alternate layers of drizzled chocolate with finished ice cream as you scoop it into a container (don’t stir too much or it will combine).