Sunday, March 4, 2012

Bailey's Ice Cream and Homemade Drumsticks for St. Patrick's Day



I am an ice cream-aholic. I admit it.
If you can make it into ice cream, I can almost guarantee I will love it.
I don't want to say 100% guarantee because I have heard of such crazy ice cream flavors as garlic ice cream...and bacon ice cream.
Umm....no...thank you.
I'll take my ice cream in non-crazy flavors please.
Like...say.....Bailey's Ice Cream.
Yes...it's phenomenal.
So phenomenal, in fact, I decided to take the already indulgent Bailey's Ice Cream and make my own drumsticks for St. Patrick's Day.
I Frankensteined this recipe from a few different versions I found. I was really happy with the results.



Bailey's Ice Cream

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Bailey's Irish Cream
1/2 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 cup half and half cream
1 cup whipping cream (heavy cream)
1 tsp vanilla

Directions
Place a large clean bowl into another bowl full of ice water. Place a strainer over the large, clean bowl. Set aside.
Bring the Bailey's to a simmer in a small but heavy saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until the liqueur is reduced to about half a cup. It should be thick and syrupy. This could take anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 minutes. (It took me at least 30 minutes) Set aside. (This can be done the day before and placed in fridge.)

Mmmm....Bailey's syrup!

In a medium bowl, beat the sugar into the egg yolks until thick and pale yellow.
Bring the half and half to a simmer in a medium saucepan.
Very slowly beat the hot cream into the egg yolks. (Do not do this too fast or you will cook your eggs!) Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over low heat.
Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly. It should start to coat the back of the spoon when it is done.
Remove from heat and pour hot custard through a strainer into the large, clean bowl in the ice bath. Stir to cool slightly.
Add the cup of whipping cream, vanilla, and Bailey's syrup. Let sit in ice bath until cool. Cover and refrigerate until very well chilled. (At least a few hours - up to overnight.)
Stir the chilled mixture and place into the canister of your ice cream machine. Process according to manufacturer's instructions.

Looks amazingly smooth, no? It is. Sooooooo smooth.

Now, if that isn't enough of a St.Patrick's Day-y treat for you then you can take it a few steps further.
Homemade St.Patrick's Day Drumsticks With Bailey's Ice Cream.
Yes...I know I capitalized all those letters.
They deserved to be capitalized.
I saw how to make homemade drumsticks on Pinterest and that lead me to Cupcakes and Cashmere for some instructions. (If you are interested in clear photo instructions then check out their link!)
I wanted to use green candy melts to make them more St. Patrick's Day-y.


FYI - dipping ice cream in melted candy melts is tricky. Sue and I got it to work but it was very drippy and messy to work with.
All you have to do is get some chocolate sauce - the kind that forms a shell works better - and drizzle it into a pointy cone. Turn the cone upside down in a glass - so the cone is not resting on the bottom - and let the excess chocolate run out.
When the chocolate is set, fill the cone with ice cream. Leave it about an inch above the rim of the cone. This is what will be dipped in chocolate.
Freeze until firm. (If desired, dip finger in warm water and gently smooth the edges of the ice cream to get it to the shape you want. Then place back in freezer until firm)
In a deep mug, melt candy melts (or chocolate) in microwave. Heat in 20 second increments, stirring well in between until smooth.
Take well frozen ice cream cone and quickly dip into melted chocolate just to cover ice cream. Carefully shake off excess chocolate and quickly sprinkle with nuts. You will only have a few seconds as the chocolate will set quickly.
Place back in freezer until ready to eat.
I love the Bailey's ice cream with the green candy melts. It may be my new favorite.

Just a reminder - joandsue.blogspot.com is hosting our second blog giveaway. There are lots of ways to get entries for a chance to win a fantastic cookbook (Irish Cooking) AND a jar of Oh!So Garlic to try for yourself AND a lovely collection of St. Patrick's Day inspired prizes.
Approximate $50 value!
Winner will be announced on Thursday, March 9th.
Draw is now over. Thank you for your support :)

Don't forget to stop by My Turn (for us) for some fabulous links!

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