Chronic Miso Caramel Ice Cream
Salty and sweet are already a match made in flavour heaven, but this miso caramel ice cream goes even further by throwing umami into the mix, for rich and satisfying treat with incredible depth. It may sound strange if you’ve never tried it before, but if you like salted caramel, miso caramel is basically its sophisticated older sibling – just as delicious, but stronger, deeper and more memorable. Bonus, ours also contains cannabis.
It’s a sophisticated dessert, but that didn’t stop our staff from fighting like kids over who got to lick the dishes clean when this treat first came out of the test kitchen. You’ve been warned.
Recipe by Chef Ronnie Fishman, words by Devon Scoble.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cannabis-infused magic milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream (or infused cream)
1/2 of a vanilla bean
2 tbsp of miso paste, any kind
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp of water
1 1/2 tbsp of cornstarch
Extra sugar, to taste
Method
Cut open 1/2 of a vanilla bean and add to a pot with whole milk and heavy cream. Bring to a very low simmer then turn off the heat. Press on the vanilla bean with a spoon to extract as much vanilla seeds out of it as you can, then discard the pods. Dissolve the miso into the milk mixture through a fine sieve/ strainer. Once completely dissolved, discard the grainy stuff collected on the sieve, and set the milk mixture aside.
In another pot (at least 6 cups in volume), add the sugar and water. Set the pot over medium-high heat and you’ll see the sugar starting to melt and bubble. Give the pot a gentle swirl occasionally to ensure even heating. Once the sugar turns to a light brown colour, REMOVE from the heat and keep swirling it gently. The colour should continue to darken even when it’s off the heat. If the sugar seems to have cooled down (after 1 min or so) before it reaches a rich amber colour, return to the heat until the sugar starts to bubble again slightly. Then remove from the heat again to let it deepen in colour.
Once the sugar (which is now caramel) reaches a rich amber colour, pour the milk mixture in. It should bubble up in the beginning (good thing you have a deep pot!). Make a slurry by whisking a few tablespoons of the mixture with cornstarch together in another bowl, then pour it back into the pot. Set the pot over medium heat and cook/whisk until the mixture thickens and bubbles slightly. Turn off the heat and transfer the mixture to a bowl. Lay a piece of plastic wrap (heat-proof) right against the surface of the mixture to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours.
Churn the mixture in an ice cream maker according to its instructions. Freeze until hard in an air-tight container. If you don’t have an ice cream-maker, simply freeze the mixture for at least 10 hours.