Pumpkin Ice Cream

There is a lot of panic in the food world over the pumpkin shortage this year.  I was not having any luck finding pumpkin where we live (and we live in a decent size city), but when I went to our college town about 45 minutes away, I decided to check out the grocery stores there.  Luckily, they had some pumpkin, so I stocked up and bout four 29-ounce cans 🙂  I’ve been waiting to try this ice cream for a long time now.  I’ve had Edy’s pumpkin ice cream once and really liked it, so I knew the homemade version would be even better!  I enjoy ice cream all year, and love fall and winter when I can try ice cream with seasonal flavors.  I can’t wait for peppermint ice cream at Christmas!  Anyway, this was your typical custard-based ice cream.  It was nice and creamy, and had a strong pumpkin flavor.  The pumpkin flavor wasn’t too strong, though, and was nicely balanced by the cinnamon and ginger.  It really had the perfect mix of fall flavors and was everything I was hoping for!  A scoop of this ice cream would go perfectly with a pumpkin brownie or a pumpkin blondie.

Pumpkin Ice Cream
Source: Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh pumpkin puree or canned
unsweetened pumpkin puree

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

5 egg yolks

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. salt

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1 Tbs. bourbon

Directions:

In a bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 8 hours.

In a heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 1/2 cups of the cream and 1/2 cup of the brown sugar. Cook until bubbles form around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the egg yolks, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg, the remaining 1/2 cup cream and the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar. Whisk until smooth and the sugar begins to dissolve.

Remove the cream mixture from the heat. Gradually whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot cream mixture into the egg mixture until smooth. Pour the egg mixture back into the pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and keeping the custard at a low simmer, until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail when a finger is drawn through it, 4 to 6 minutes. Do not allow the custard to boil. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.

Place the bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice water, stirring occasionally until cool. Whisk the pumpkin mixture into the custard. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturers instructions. Add the bourbon during the last minute of churning. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days, before serving. Makes about 1 quart.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Ice Cream, by Mary Goodbody (Simon & Schuster, 2003).