Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 T plus 1 t cornstarch
- 1 1/2 ounces (3 T) cream cheese, softened
- 1/8 t fine sea salt
- 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
- 2 T light corn syrup
- 1 cup bite-sized pieces Almond Brittle (see recipe below), plus larger shreds for garnish (optional)
Preparation
Step 1
Almond Brittle -
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
3/4 t salt
8 T (1 stick), unsalted butter, cut into 1" pieces
8 ounces (2 cups) slivered almonds
1/2 t baking soda
Generously oil a large baking sheet.
Combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt in a 4 qt. saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring dissolve the sugar. Insert a candy thermometer in the pan, add the butter, and bring back to a boil, then cook until mixture reaches 300 degrees F. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the almonds and then the baking soda, working quickly but combining them thoroughly.
Pour the mixture out onto the oiled baking sheet, spreading it into a 1/4" thick layer. Allow to cool completely.
For the ice cream:
Prep: MIx about 2 T of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.
Cook: Melt the butter over medium heat in a 4 qt. saucepan. Bring to a boil and let bubble until the foam starts to subside and the butter is a rich dark brown (not black). Remove from the heat and let stand until the butter solids settle to the bottom of the pan, about 5 minutes.
Pour the clear yellow butter oil into a storage container. As you get closer to the butter solids in the bottom of the pan, use a teaspoon to remove as much liquid butter as you can. Your should have about 1 T of brown butter solids and a little bit of melted fat in the bottom of the pan. (It is impossible to remove all the melted fat.)
Add the remaining milk, cream, sugar and corn syrup to the butter solids, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.
Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Chill - Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture until smooth. Pour the mixture into a 1 gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.
Freeze - Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy. Pack the ice cream into a storage container, folding in the chopped almond brittle as you go. Press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.