SMOKED ICE CREAM WITH RUM RAISIN SAUCE
The idea for this recipe comes from grilling expert and author Steven Raichlen. The combination of smoked cream, demerara sugar, vanilla and dark rum is out of this world. To smoke the cream, you’ll need two nested heatproof containers just low-sided enough to fit in your smoker—one to fill with ice and the other to fill with cream. A round or square cake pan is a good choice for the larger one, while any heatproof bowl large enough to hold the cream but small enough to surround with ice within the larger pan would work. If you don’t want to make ice cream, try the smoked cream in a classic Dijon sauce over pork chops. So good!
2 cups (500 mL) whipping cream
Ice
1 tbsp (15 mL) fine maple or cherry wood smoking chips
1 cup (250 mL) whole milk
1 cup (250 mL) firmly packed brown sugar, divided
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract or paste
Salt
5 egg yolks, lightly beaten ½ cup (125 mL) dark rum
½ cup (125 mL) raisins, preferably a combination of dark and yellow
¼ cup (60 mL) butter
1 To smoke the cream, pour cream into the smaller of the two nested vessels (see headnote); place bowl into larger pan and surround with as much ice as you are able to fit.
2 Place smoking chips in bottom of smoker; top with rack then nested containers. Cover with lid or foil; set over high heat for 1 minute. Reduce to low and smoke for 45 minutes. With kitchen fan running, open smoker.
3 Pour cream into a medium pot along with milk, ½ cup (125 mL) brown sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Set over medium heat; whisk to dissolve sugar. Meanwhile, place egg yolks in a small heatproof bowl. Once cream mixture is steaming, pour ½ cup (125 mL) onto yolks; whisk, then scrape yolk mixture into pot. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to whisk until mixture is thickened, 5 to 6 minutes. Pour through a fine mesh sieve and chill thoroughly in fridge.
4 Pour into ice cream maker and proceed as per manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a chilled container, cover and leave in freezer overnight.
5 Just before serving, combine remaining ½ cup (125 mL) sugar, rum and raisins in a small pot; bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce liquid by half, about 5 minutes. Whisk in butter and add a pinch of salt. Serve warm sauce over ice cream.
Serves 6