Buttered Popcorn Ice cream you ask? Yes I Say.
I have a long-standing love affair with the puffed kernels of maize. When ever I go to see a film at the cinema, I make sure that I'm completely ravished so I can eat the biggest tub of salty-buttery popcorn on offer. I do make the polite offering to share with my Bear, but thankfully he most often declines leaving the whole tub to be wolfed down in solitude.
I was somewhat saddened when I discovered that the cinemas had stopped offering the additional squirty butter option. Health - Smealth, we're after a bit of escapism at the cinema, surley we can throw health cautions into the wind?
So back to the Buttered Popcorn Ice Cream, it really does taste of buttered popcorn. I've served this with a caramel apple tart, playing on the toffee apple/caramel corn duality. The ice cream is just as good as the star of the bowl!
Buttered Popcorn Ice Cream
75g popcorn kernels
4 large egg yolks
125g sugar
750ml whole milk
125g butter
pinch of sea salt
Pop the popcorn kernels. You can use a hot air popcorn popper or the stove top method.
Combine milk, popped popcorn, butter, salt and 1/2 the sugar in a heavy saucepan and slowly bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and summer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the popcorn to infuse with the milk mixture. About 20 minutes should be sufficient. While the milk mixture is infusing, combine the egg yolks and the remaining sugar in a large bowl. Whisk until thick and pale yellow.
Strain popcorn and milk mixture through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer. Gently press the cheese cloth to get most of the liquids out. Be careful to not get any solids in the liquid, this ice cream just has the essence of popcorn, not the bits. Wipe the heavy bottom saucepan clean of any popcorn residue. Whisk a very small amount of the milk mixture into the eggs, continue whisking and adding the milk in larger increments until combined. Return this to the heavy bottom sauce pan and cook on a very low heat stirring constantly till it thickens to the point of coating the back of a spoon. You will know that you are almost there when the small bubbles on the surface dissipate.
Then pour the ice cream base into a bowl, cover and place in the fridge until completely cold before churning. Churn in your ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer's instructions.
