Craftwytch Ice Cream

This recipe is made of a few components: an apricot sherbet, an apricot curd, a layer of almond cake, and a dark chocolate ganache frosting. It is meant to mimic the flavors of a traditional Italian Rainbow Cookie. The sherbet itself is worth making just to eat on it’s own.

Start by making an apricot puree. If you’re just making the sherbet you’ll only need 300 grams of pitted apricots (I used 7 apricots but I always suggest having a few extra). If you’re also making the apricot curd, you’ll double the amount and need 600 grams of puree in total.

Make the apricot sherbet by combining 300 grams o of the puree with 100 grams of buttermilk and let this chill in the refrigerator.

Prepare an ice bath by nesting a medium heat proof bowl inside of a larger bowl filled with ice water.

Make the base by combining 300 grams (1 1/2 cup) milk, 100 g (1/2 cup) cream, 175 g sugar (3/4 cup plus 3 tbs) and 100 g (1/2 cup) glucose syrup or corn syrup in a medium saucepan and heat until it begins to boil.

Cool down the base in the ice bath, then add the apricot and buttermilk mixture. Add 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum and whisk or use an immersion blender to fully incorporate.

Chill in the refrigerator for a few hours or ideally overnight. If you’re making the entire cake, this is your opportunity to bake the almond cake, using a silicone cake pan. You’ll be using the same pan to mold the ice cream so silicone works best. If using a metal pan you’ll have to line it with plastic wrap once you add the ice cream in order to remove it.

Make any almond cake you like, I used this Italian Rainbow Cookie recipe from King Arthur Flour. This recipe calls for baking the batter in 3 layers, but I just baked all of it at once in a 9″ silicone cake pan and doubled the time, about 20 minutes.

Once cooled, remove the cake from the mold and flatten the top with a serrated knife.

I decided to make an apricot curd layer but I did find that it came out a little icey once it was frozen, and the ice cream itself is very flavorful so while not necessary it does add some visual appeal to the final slice. And the curd is marvelous and delicious on its own as well.

To make the curd combine 300 grams of the apricot puree in a medium saucepan with 2 tbsp of water, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 80 grams (5.5 tbsp) salted butter, and 100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar. Heat on medium low until ingredients are melted, and then add 4 egg yolks, stirring constantly until it thickens and reaches a temperature of 180 degrees F. Remove from heat and strain into a heat safe bowl and refrigerate.

Churn the ice cream and scoop into the same silicone pan used to bake the cake, using a spatula to smooth out evenly. Pour the coole apricot curd on to and smooth out as well, and then finally add the layer of almond cake. Freeze overnight.

To make the chocolate ganache, finely chop 8 oz of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (I used 4 oz of each) and place in a medium heat proof bowl. Heat 8 oz (1 cup or 340 ml) cream until it begins to simmer, then pour the hot cream over the chocolate, stirring until smooth. You’ll want to use the ganache in this state, it will thicken if cooled too much (if that’s the case you can always heat it up in the microwave to melt it down again).

Un-mold the ice cream cake and flip it over so the ice cream is on the top. Pour half of the chocolate ganache on top and smooth out with an offset spatula, then frost the sides as well.

The ganache will begin seize up quickly as the cake is very cold, but you should have time to frost it completely. Slice and enjoy!