White Chocolate Marzipan Ice Cream

It’s almost summer . Time to break out my ice cream maker. Not that I need an excuse to bust that sucker out and make ice cream any time of year but finding these two May challenges back to back motivated me to start churning.

This month’s Blogger’s Scream for Ice Cream Challenge hosted by Kavey Eats and We Should Cocoa Almond Challenge hosted by How To Cook Good Food. (We Should Cocoa was created by the Chocolate Teapot and the Chocolate Log Blog ) respective chocolate and almonds challenge flavors inspired me to create a new ice cream. 

I’ve been thinking about adding marzipan to an ice cream flavor for a while. This was my chance. White chocolate marzipan ice cream came to mind. A perfect entry for both challenges.

First I made my own almond paste and then blended it into the white chocolate ice cream. The result was a unique sweet almond flavor. A little of this ice cream goes a long way.

For the marzipan*:
(From Marzipan By Carol at AllRecipies.com)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 pound ground blanched almonds
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extrac

*I used raw egg whites. If you are uncomfortable with this, there are other recipes available on the internet that heat up the mixture.


Directions:

• Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until all ingredients are completely blended.
• Chill mixture for 24 hours before using. 

For the White Chocolate Ice Cream:
(Barely adapted from Rich White Chocolate Ice Cream from IceCreamRecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 9 ounces of white chocolate chopped and divided in half
• 2 cups cream

Directions:

• Whisk together the eggs and sugar until creamy and set aside.
• Heat milk in a saucepan until boiling.
• Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture whisking fast to temper.
• Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and put  it over a medium heat.
• Stir until mixture thickens (coats the back of a wooden spoon)
• Remove from heat and strain into a bowl.
• Stir in vanilla and half the white chocolate pieces until they melt.
• Let cool at room temperature.
• Stir in the cream and place in refrigerator overnight.

Make the Ice Cream:

• Remove cooled custard from fridge and place into the ice cream maker.
• Churn according to the machine’s directions.
• When custard becomes the consistency of soft serve add the chips.
• Add the marzipan 1/2 teaspoon at a time.
• Scrape into a freeze proof container and place in the freezer for a few hours more until the ice cream hardens, then serve.