Cake Batter Ice Cream

I don't know if you've ever been to Coldstone or Maggie Moo's, but if you have, it's possible that you've had their cake batter ice cream; possibly my favorite ice cream on earth. Mix some actual vanilla cake and sprinkles in there, and you will never go back to grocery store ice cream. I won't even let you. Friends don't let other friends buy grocery store ice cream.

I'm actually pretty surprised that cake batter wasn't the first ice cream I tried to make, but nonetheless, it's in my freezer here now, and that's all that matters.

P.S. I didn't really do any research on how to make cake batter ice cream before I did this, so I actually just halved a vanilla cake recipe, using pasteurized eggs, and added a very healthy amount to basic vanilla ice cream. Most recipes that I later found online just required adding cake mix, which is obviously easier, but very artificial.

Ice Cream

My experimenting with cookies led to infusing fats with flavor, which led to where I am now, experimenting with ice cream. Ruhlman's recent post on making Creme Anglaise inspired me to try my hand at some interesting ice cream flavors.

Thyme-Vanilla

I followed Ruhlman's recipe exactly, except I infused the cream with a whole lotta thyme, along with the vanilla bean. This, I thought, was incredible. I couldn't get enough. The thyme wasn't overpowering, but it wasn't a no-show.

Maple Pecan

Instead of sugar I used the same weight of maple syrup. At the end of the freezing process, I folded in some chopped pecans that I had cooked in butter and brown sugar. This ice cream was solid, though I definitely wanted more maple flavor to come through. I loved having those pecans in there for the texture not to mention flavor.

Cinnamon

I infused the cream and milk with three cinnamon sticks in addition to adding a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the mix. It goes without saying that you have to like cinnamon to like this ice cream, but this stuff is not for the faint of heart. The cinnamon flavor comes through pure and strong. I liked this ice cream as much as the vanilla-thyme because the cinnamon really shines. I can only imagine eating this with some pumpkin or apple pie. yummmmm

More to come I'm sure.