Fig Espresso Ice Cream

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We hang out with our friends (almost) every weekend. We live really spread out from each other too (about 30 mins to an hour away). Saturday is the only day we can all get together and nerd-out, play Dungeons & Dragons, board games, video games, etc. The first order of business when we all get together, is procuring lunch and snacks/beverages for the rest of the night. Often times, we have leftover snacks, and bring them home with us. Well… one time, my friend Josh left an un-opened jar of fruit salad in our fridge. Big mistake. For lunch one day… I ate the whole thing.

The.whole.jar.

I got made fun of, for the next… forever; I’m STILL hearing about it. The point (or, threat) ended up being: don’t leave food at our house, because it WILL get eaten.

Well, once again, Josh has left something at at our place: Navan Vanilla Infused Liqueur. And guess what I did?

So yes, this ice cream has booze in it; but if you don’t want to make it with the booze… then go and use another recipe. I know that sounds harsh, but sometimes there is indeed room to improvise and do your own thing, and sometimes, THIS IS PERFECTION. You can probably guess on which side this ice cream falls.

Figs are fresh, earthy and sweet; espresso is dark, rich, smoky, and complex; and the Navan liqueur wraps them together in a soft vanilla blanket.

So no, do not omit the booze for vanilla beans, or extract. That would be like replacing your socks with paper towels; not even close to being similar in function OR quality.

(If you have a hard time finding Navan, you could go ahead and use another vanilla liqueur, or even Grand Marnier.)

Navan is oh-so-smooth, has a loud vanilla flavor, and a super sweet background. This stuff is a bit pricey, but definitely worth every penny.

Let’s start with the fig puree:

Ingredients for Fig Puree

• 8oz fresh figs, roughly chopped
• 1/4 C Navan Vanilla-Infused Liqueur (technically it can’t be labeled as a Cognac)
• 1/4 C water
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 C white sugar

Instructions for Fig Puree

1. Put all ingredients into a pot, and simmer on low for 25-30 mins, until the figs are softened, and the majority of the water is evaporated and the liquid has thickened.



Just beginning to simmer away…

2. Throw into a blender and blend away, creating a smooth paste. Set fig puree aside to cool.

(The base for this ice cream came from Alton Brown’s recipe, tweaked here and there.)

Ingredients for Fig Espresso Ice Cream

• 3 C half & half
• 1 C heavy cream
• 6 large egg yolks
• 6 oz sugar
• 1 Tbsp instant espresso powder
• All of your fig puree

Instructions for Fig Espresso Ice Cream

1. In a bowl, combine egg yolks, and sugar and whisk until egg yolks lighten in color.
2. In a pot on the stove, combine half & half, and heavy cream. When cream mixture starts to gently bubble, turn off heat, and add the espresso powder.
3. While continuously whisking the egg yolk/sugar mixture, slowly add a ladle of the hot cream. You’re tempering the eggs. Tempering slowly raises the temperature of the egg yolks, so that they don’t scramble. After incorporating about a third of the hot cream, pour the egg yolk/sugar mixture into the pot with the remaining hot cream, continue to whisk, and turn the heat back on, to low.
4. When mixture reaches 175°F, TURN OFF THE HEAT. Add the fig puree. Whisk until everything is thoroughly combined.
5. Let this sit on the counter until it is room temperature (this took me about 35-45 mins).
6. Place mixture in fridge until thoroughly cold, and then turn it into delicious ice cream, following the instructions that came with your particular ice cream maker.

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2 Notes

1. Jenny says:

   September 16, 2012 at 5:40 pm

   That ice cream looks amazing – I am not a big ice cream fan – but wow – I would enjoy that. I’m glad you are blogging again too!

   Reply
   • Cathy says:

     September 16, 2012 at 5:44 pm

     Thanks Jenny!

     Reply