As long as you have the grill out, throw on some pineapple for dessert. The pineapple can also be done indoors under the broiler (UK: grill), a grill pan, or saute pan.
Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS
Caramel Ice Cream
- sugar: 250 g/9 oz/1.33 cup
- cream: 500 mL/2 cups
- egg yolks: 8
- full fat milk: 235 mL/1 cup
- table salt: 0.5 tsp
- vanilla paste/extract: 2 tsp, or inside scrapings from 1 whole vanilla bean
- flaky sea salt (e.g Maldon or Fleur de Sel): 1 tsp
Grilled Pineapple
- whole pineapple: trimmed and cut into thick slices either lengthwise or cross cut
- butter: a couple Tbsp/15 g
- dark brown sugar (UK: muscovado): 6 Tbsp
- ground cinnamon: 1.5 tsp (grind a stick if you can, it makes a big taste difference)
- lime zest: zest of 2 limes
For Serving
- (optional) fresh lavender
EQUIPMENT
- An ice cream maker
STEPS
Ice Cream
- Make the caramel. Heat the sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat until it melts and begins to darken–about 8-10 minutes. Stir with a spoon to break up any lumps. Be careful to not to allow it to burn–adjust the heat if needed. When darkened and fully melted, remove from the heat and add the cream and stir. The mixture will temporarily seize up–this is OK. Return the pan to the heat and allow the mixture to dissolve completely. Add the milk and warm up, still over medium heat.
- Make the custard base. Whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl. Add about 1/4th of the caramel mixture to the egg yolks whisking completely. Return this mixture to the pan of the rest of the caramel, adding the table salt and vanilla.
- Thicken the custard base. Heat the mixture over medium-low to medium heat and allow the mixture to thicken, stirring every 15 seconds with a spatula. Bring the mixture to 80 C/175 F or until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula. This will take about 7-10 minutes. Tip: I use a stove setting of 4 out of 10 to heat the mixture slowly, then move to 5 in the last minutes if the temperature isn’t increasing any further. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl to remove any bits which have curdled.
- Prepare for churning. If using a self-refrigerated maker, you can just cool the mixture in the fridge to room temperature and begin. If using a freezer canister maker, you will need to cool the mixture completely down to fridge temperature, at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours (this helps prevent larger ice crystals forming during the churning)
- Churn and add the sea salt. Process according to your ice cream maker’s directions. This means finishing when the mixture reaches soft-serve consistency (about 50+ minutes for my machine). Add the sea salt during the last couple minutes to distribute through the mixture. Transfer to a freezer container and allow to solidify, about 4 hours (it can be eaten slightly soft after about 2 hours). The ice cream will keep fresh for about 5 days.
Pineapple
- Heat the grill to high heat.
- Melt the butter. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Mix together the sugar, cinnamon, and lime zest.
- Brush the pineapple slices and rub the sugar mixture into the surfaces.
- Grill for 3-4 minutes per side. Allow to cool slightly.
Serving
- Serve a scoop of ice cream with the pineapple and a sprinkle of lavender.