This is an incredibly easy recipe to make – no-churn ice cream in minutes, plus of course the obligatory freezing time!
Whipped cream, egg yolks and egg whites, sugar and flavourings and you have the basis for a scrumptious ice cream. In this case, the flavour is salted nutty caramel in the form of crushed praline. The sea salt offsets the toffee sweetness really well.
Ingredients
2 free-range eggs, separated
7 tbsp caster sugar, divided in half
1 tbsp boiling water
1 1/2 cups cream
Pecan praline, crushed into small and larger pieces
Method
Line a medium sized plastic container with cling film or 4 ramekins or small molds.
Beat the egg whites until frothy then add 3 1/2 tblsp of sugar and beat until the mixture is stiff and glossy and of a meringue like consistency. Remove the mixture to another bowl. Using the original bowl – no need to clean – beat the egg yolks, remaining 3 1/2 tblsp of sugar and boiling water until the mixture is really thick and pale.
In a third bowl whip the cream till it holds soft peaks.
Gently fold first the egg yolk mixture into the cream, then the egg white mixture, being careful not to knock too much air from the mixture. Lastly fold in the crushed praline pieces.
Pour the ice cream mixture into the container or ramekins, and freeze for 6 hours or overnight. Remove from the freezer, and gently unmold onto a plate, peeling off the plastic wrap.
Serve as individual ice creams or as scoopfuls from the larger mixture. Decorate with shards of praline.
Pecan Praline
Heat 1/2 cup of caster sugar in a heavy bottomed saucepan over a medium heat. Be careful not to stir the sugar – tilt the saucepan to help melt the sugar. Cook for several minutes until the sugar turns a deep caramel tea colour and take off the heat. It’s a fine line between toffee that’s cooked and toffee that’s burnt! *
Add 1/2 tsp of sea salt flakes and pour onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Quickly scatter over a handful of chopped pecans.
Leave to cool and harden. When completely cold, place the praline in a ziplock bag and bash into pieces with a mallet or rolling pin. Make sure you have small fragments, larger pieces, and some large shards for decoration.
*Tip for cleaning the toffee saucepan: fill the pan with water and heat on the stove top till just boiling. Turn off heat and leave for a few minutes – the hardened toffee should hopefully dissolve making the pan easy to clean.
The Quirk and the Cool 