Butterscotch Ice Cream with Almond Praline topping (Eggless Recipe)

Blogging Marathon# 41: Week 1/ Day 1
Theme: Summer Specials
Dish: Butterscotch Ice Cream with Almond Praline topping (Eggless Recipe)

We are starting another edition of blogging marathon today. Can't believe we are almost at the mid year mark and before we know it, it will be holiday season and a brand new year again. Hmmmm... time sure is flying. Coming back to the present, we have been enjoying nice warm temperatures for the past couple of days and hopefully this weather is here to stay.

My theme for this week is 'Summer Specials' and for the first day I have a sweet and cool ice cream. I think it was my sister who once asked for a ice cream with nuts and I started looking for recipes online. One of the search led me to Sruthi's Part time chef blog and her butterscotch ice cream got me with her amazing clicks. I made the ice cream right away.

The highlight of butterscotch ice cream is the crunchy bits and Sruthi's recipe uses crushed up almond praline. But I was skeptical about making caramel and praline. My fear of making both still continues since the first time I made the praline, my caramel burned and it was way too bitter and the second time I was too careful that I took it off the heat even before it reached the caramel stage. Uffffffff... I'm not sure when I can make a decent caramel. For now, I have this pale looking praline that tasted better than it looked, so I decided not to make another batch of it.

I did not add the crushed praline to the ice cream, but serve on the side because the kids in the house don't like the crunchy stuff. All in all, other than the praline mishap, this is a pretty amazing ice cream and if you are looking to make a different flavored ice cream, then this one is right for you. I used my ice cream maker, but Sruthi's recipe suggests to just freeze the ice cream and because of the heavy cream and butterscotch sauce, the ice cream will have a silky texture and there is no need to churn it. 

 Recipe adapted from here:
Ingredients:
For the Ice Cream:
Whole Milk - 2cups
Heavy cream - 1¼cups
Pure Vanilla extract - 1tsp
Corn starch or Custard powder - 3tbsp

For the Butterscotch Sauce:
Unsalted Butter - 4tbsp (½ a stick)
Brown Sugar - 1cup
Salt - 1tsp
Light Cream - 1cup

Method:

• Make the Butterscotch Sauce: In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, salt and ¼cup of light cream. Place on medium flame and cook, stirring continuously, until the butter has melted and sugar dissolves to form a smooth mixture.
• Stop stirring, reduce the fame and allow the mixture to simmer for 2~3 minutes.
• Turn off the heat and stir in the remaining light cream. Let the mixture cool completely, transfer to a clean jar and store the sauce in the refrigerator. It needs to be reheated on low heat for a few minutes to loosen the consistency.
• Make the ice cream: Mix corn starch with ¼cup of milk in a small bowl and set aside.
• Add the remaining milk and heavy cream in a large sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook on moderate heat for about 4 minutes.
• Turn off the heat. Gradually whisk in the corn starch mixture. Return to boil and cook on moderately high heat until the mixture thickens a little bit, between 1-2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let cool. Once the mixture is slightly cooled add the vanilla extract. Once the mixture is completely cooled, add the butterscotch sauce and mix well. Start by adding about 1¼cup of butterscotch sauce, taste and see if it needs more sweetness. I ended up  adding ALL of the butterscotch sauce because we have big sweet tooth, but if you are not, then start with less and add more as needed. Chill the mixture for at least 3-4 hours or overnight.
• Once thoroughly chilled follow your ice cream machine instructions to make the ice cream. Sprinkle with almond praline and Enjoy!!

Almond Praline: Recipe adapted from here.
Almonds - ½cup
Sugar - 2~3tbsp
Sliced Almonds - 1/3cup
Vanilla extract - ½tsp
Salt - a pinch

Method:

• Place sugar in a small size saucepan. Add just enough water to soak the sugar. Swirl the pot until the sugar is wet. Place over medium heat. Swirl around if it's not caramelizing evenly. Cook until it's almost at the desired color -- caramel color. (This is where I always always always make a mistake :-(
• Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the nuts, vanilla and salt. Spread quickly on a baking sheet with a spatula. Let cool completely, then break it and use as needed.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 41.