This recipe is all about simplicity – if you want it to be. You can make your own ice cream and make your own brownies, but you don’t have to. The dessert will still be delicious and very impressive!
Courtesy of Jennifer Hamilton, www.domesticgoddess.ca.
ingredients
Ice Cream
Brownies
directions
Pour the milk into a saucepan and bring the pan slowly up to boiling point. Place the vanilla pod into it and leave to infuse for about 20 minutes.
In a bowl, beat and mix together the egg yolks and sugar until thick. Carefully remove the vanilla pod from the pan of milk and scrape out the seeds into the milk. Pour the milk into the mixture of egg yolks and sugar whilst stirring.
Pour the mixture back into the pan and heat gently, stirring until the custard thickens – DO NOT BRING TO THE BOIL OR IT WILL CURDLE. When you can see a film form over the back of your spoon, remove the saucepan from the heat and leave the custard base to cool.
When cold stir in the cream. Transfer the whole mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
When the ice cream is almost finished thickening, add the crushed peppermint candy and pour ice cream into a saran wrap lined 9 x 9″ pan and put back in the freezer for about 40 minutes.
Remove pan from freezer and lift ice cream out using saran wrap. Cut out shapes from ice cream the same as you will use for the brownies (below). Transfer shapes to another saran wrap lined pan and return to freezer until you want to serve.
Butter and coat a 9 x 4″ pan with cocoa powder. Preheat oven to 325 F. Melt chocolate in the top of a double boiler – set aside to cool.
Cream butter and sugar in stand-up mixer. Add salt and eggs and beat well after each addition. Blend in vanilla and espresso powder and then flour (do not over-mix!). Stir in melted, cooled chocolate and chocolate chips or chunks.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for around 20 – 30 minutes, until top becomes slightly lighter-coloured and cracked. Allow brownies to cool, turn out onto cutting board and cut with small cookie cutter into desired shapes (eat the scraps and congratulate yourself on an excellent dessert).
Take two brownie cut outs and sandwich an ice cream cut out between them. Return sandwiches to freezer until about 10 minutes before serving. Serve with sauce, sprinkle with candies or as-is.