Are you just sitting there with all that leftover Halloween candy? Here’s a way to put it to good use.
Get ready for a shock: I actually haven’t “made ice cream”:/news/2013/meet-my-teacher-jeni-britton-bauer/ for about six weeks. Autumn’s arrival has inspired more baking and less freezing. But when Jon and I went to “DMK Burger & Fish”:http://www.dmkrestaurants.com/restaurants/dmk-burger-fish/ for a date night last week and tried their “All Treats Halloween Shake”:http://www.dmkrestaurants.com/dmk-halloween-a-candy-milkshake-3-pumpkin-beer-costume-contests-and-more/, I knew what I would be making on November 1.
We loved this shake from DMK Burger & Fish, but it’s seasonal, so you’ll have to wait until next Halloween to try it. Unless you make your own…
I was unprepared for how amazing this shake would be — like a Dairy Queen Blizzard with triple stuff, except with superior ice cream, malt powder, and both big chunks and tiny crumbs of candy. Candy candy candy! It was delicious.
Tempted as I was to make the ice cream on Halloween itself, I thought it best to wait until we had acquired a serious stash from our trick-or-treat adventures… and from my next-morning grocery store stop to pick up some Butterfingers on sale. (Have you tried the Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cup? It is incredible.)
_Cute kids are a great source of candy. Oh, did I say that out loud? I mean…here are our adorable children dressed as Dorothy and a Witch (neither Wicked nor of the West)._
You’ll want to stick with chocolate Halloween candy for this. I believe we used a combination of Butterfingers, Heath Bars, and Twix. M&Ms would be cute sprinkled on top before serving, but I suspect the dye would bleed unappetizingly if you mixed it into the actual ice cream. Jon thinks there is a little too much candy in this, but Lucy thinks there is not enough. You decide. Happy freezing!
h3. Trick or Treat Ice Cream
adapted from “Jeni’s Ice Cream”:http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/vanilla-bean-ice-cream
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1½ ounces cream cheese, softened (3 tablespoons)
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1¼ cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup malt powder
1 generous cup finely crushed leftover Halloween candy (you can pulverize by hand or food processor)
2 cups roughly chopped leftover Halloween candy
Fill a large bowl with ice water. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch. In another large bowl, whisk the cream cheese and salt until smooth.
In a large 4-quart saucepan, combine the remaining milk with the heavy cream, sugar, and corn syrup. Bring the milk mixture to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in malt powder, then gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a boil and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
Gradually whisk the hot milk into the cream cheese until smooth, then stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes. (Alternatively, you can refrigerate for at least 8 hours, then proceed.)
Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister (the best way is to snip off one of the bottom corners of the ziploc bag and squeeze) and spin until thick and creamy (about 25 minutes). About one minute before the ice cream is ready, add the pulverized candy and let the spinning mix it in.
When the ice cream is thick and icy, start your layering process. Sprinkle some candy chunks in the bottom of your storage container, then dollop some ice cream on top. Alternate mix-ins and ice cream (we did three layers) until you’ve exhausted your supply of ingredients. Press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface of the ice cream, then seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.
_Too much candy? Is it possible? Naw._