40°
Especially when cooking delicates such as ice cream the proper cooking appliances make all the differences. There is no better place to find top of the line Electrolux appliances than at Leibert's Royal Green Appliances in White Plains. The Soft Freeze Bin in many Electrolux refrigerators is perfect for storing ice cream or anything you want to keep frozen, but still soft for serving once your hungry guests arrive.
For a limited time, those who purchase two qualifying Electrolux kitchen appliances will received a dishwasher or microwave free of charge.
To start things off, whip up sme homemade Vanilla Bean & Fleur de Sel Ice Cream
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 pinches fleur de sel
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS:
Freeze your baking dish well in advance. Then, heat 1 cup whole milk. Add 2 pinches of fleur de sel and
3/4 cup sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from 1 vanilla bean into the milk, and then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover and remove from heat, allowing the mixture to infuse for one hour.
Meanwhile, over a strainer, pour 2 cups heavy cream into an ice bath. In a separate bowl, stir together the 5 large egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then slowly pour 1/2 of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly.
Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens. Strain into the heavy cream and stir over the ice until cool. Add 1 tsp pure vanilla extract and refrigerate to chill thoroughly for a minimum of 4 hours. Remove the vanilla bean and pour mixture into cold baking dish (from the freezer).
Freeze for 45 minutes. Blend with immersion blender and repeat every 30 minutes for 2 – 3 hours, until the ice cream has the desired consistency.
Once the ice cream has been made, it's time to set up the toppings bar:
THE SET-UP
Create your ice cream centerpiece, using a generously sized serving bowl.
Arrange your topping vessels into groups, making sure to mix heights and sizes to keep the layout interesting. We broke our bar into the following groups: liquid toppings, classic toppings, and festive toppings.
Make sure you don’t have your ice cream melting or your caramel sauces cooling by adding dry ice to the bottom of the ice cream bowl, and using mini candle or kerosene heaters at the bottom of anything that needs to be kept warm.
THE TREATS
Some yummy, seasonal delights include:
- hot espresso
- scotch
- bourbon caramel sauce
- fleur de sel
- festive sprinkles
- shortbread cookies
- crushed candied almonds
- kettle popcorn
- macarons
- tray of sliced fruit
- white & dark chocolate bark
It can be fun to add name cards to each vessel and create a ‘toppings suggestion’ menu board – scotch & pepper, fleur de sel & bourbon caramel sauce – to encourage guests to be as creative as possible!
Finally, finish the table with some glittery silver and gold ornaments to really polish the look and let the festivities begin!
