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SWEET BAKES

Amisha Gurbani’s Chocolate & Almond Praline Ice Cream Sandwiches

As kids, my brother and I would always look forward to Sundays. Sundays were special. It was ICE CREAM DAY! We had three to four ice cream joints that we would go to as a family after dinner. Dad would take us all for a drive first, and then we would stop at one of the ice cream shops, get our favorite flavors, and devour our once-a-week ice cream with big smiles and laughs! One of those favorite places was called Naturals Ice Cream. They had a flavor called Choco Almond. We would get the flavors we like to eat at the ice cream parlor, and once we were done, Mom would buy a tubful of the Choco Almond so we could enjoy it during the week as well. We did get a second ice cream scoop during the week, if she was in a good mood. It was one of our favorites, with those toasty bites of almonds in it. India is a huge producer of almonds and is known for exporting the almonds as well. The flavor of those almonds are different and very tasty.

Inspired by our favorite flavor, I made a Chocolate & Almond Praline version of our childhood favorite, with almond praline pieces in it. I love a good crunch in ice creams and that is where my inspiration came from for this ice cream. The ice cream is decadent, and perhaps one of my favorite chocolate ice creams ever. Ice cream sandwiches are more fun to teat, especially when they are small and a manageable size like these ice cream sandwiches. You can dunk them in dark chocolate to make them EXTRA! I suually make the Chocolate & Toasted Almond Cookie Dough and half of the cookie dough is used for making these ice cream sandwiches and half is used for . . . eating the cookies! It is a win-win, with the ice cream and the cookie dough. They are an instant hit with my clan and I'm sure they will be with your family too.

Photo by Iain Bagwell

INGREDIENTS

Makes 14 to 15 small ice cream sandwiches
 
For the Almond Praline
 
¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
 
¾ cup (90 grams) toasted sliced almonds
 
 
For the Chocolate & Praline Ice Cream
 
1½ cups (300 grams) whole milk
 
1½ cups (300 grams) heavy cream
 
3 tablespoons (36 grams) dark cocoa powder
 
¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
 
2 teaspoons (8 grams) vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
 
5 large egg yolks
 
¾ cup (125 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips (60% cocoa content)
 
¼ cup (60 grams) whole milk
 
¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper

 
⅛ teaspoon salt
 
 
For the Sandwiches
 
½ quanitity of the Chocolate Chip & Toasted Almond Cookie Dough (recipe below)

METHOD

FOR THE ALMOND PRALINE
1. Line a quarter baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small saucepan, cook sugar over moderate heat, until melted, about 3 minutes. Let the sugar cook, without stirring, swirling the pan, just until a golden caramel color. Add almonds, stirring until coated well. This process happens very quickly within a minute. Immediately pour mixture onto the baking sheet and using a rubber spatula, spread it thin. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Chop the praline into pieces with a sharp knife. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE & PRALINE ICE CREAM
1. Place a strainer over a medium bowl. Have a large bowl on the side with ice and 2 cups of water in it.
2. In a medium saucepan, on medium heat, add the whole milk, heavy cream, cocoa powder, and ½ cup granulated sugar, and stir to combine. Stir until the temperature of the milk reaches about 175°F.
3. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and remaining ¼ cup sugar in a medium bowl until combined and pale yellow, whisk it vigorously. The mixture should be ribbon like. Whisk half the warm milk mixture into the beaten yolks, ½ cup at a time, until combined.
4. Whisk the milk-yolk mixture into the warm milk in the saucepan; set the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until steam appears, foam subsides, and the mixture is slightly thickened or the temperature is up to 180°F to 185°F. (Do not boil the mixture, or the eggs will curdle.)
5. Immediately strain the custard into the medium bowl, and then set in the ice bath; cool the custard to room temperature, stirring it occasionally to help it cool. Once cooled, add the vanilla extract and stir.
6. Meanwhile, while the custard is cooling, in a small double boiler, melt the chocolate chips, whole milk, and cayenne pepper, until it is a smooth mixture. Slowly add the chocolate mixture into the custard and whisk to combine, until well incorporated.
7. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.
8. Line an 8x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper. You can spray it with cooking spray and then line the paper so it adheres to the pan properly.
9. Once the custard is ready, pour the custard into the ice cream machine and churn, following the manufacturer’s instructions, until the mixture resembles soft-serve ice cream for 25 minutes. Transfer half the ice cream into an 8x13 baking pan and spread it with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle the almond praline on top of the ice cream. Then add the remaining ice cream on the top and again flatten the entire surface with the small offset spatula. Press plastic wrap on the surface, and freeze the ice cream until firm, at least 4 hours.

BAKING OFF THE COOKIES
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Remove the dough from the fridge. Let sit for 10 minutes. On 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, take a 2-tablespoon ice cream scoop of packed dough and place it on the baking sheet. Add about 8 to 10 scoops per baking sheet. Roll them between your palms to form a ball and gently press them to flatten. Place them back onto the baking sheet. Keep a 2-inch distance between the cookies.
3. Place them into the oven in the bottom and middle rack, and bake for about 12 to 13 minutes. Flip them inside out half way through to bake the cookies evenly. You do not want them baked all the way. Remove, bang them on the surface of the counter 2 to 3 times to flatten them slightly. Using a spatula, nudge the cookie from all sides to round them. Let cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheets. Transfer them onto a wire rack and cool completely for about 30 minutes.
4. Repeat the process for the remaining cookie dough. You will get about 28 to 30 small cookies.
5. Store them in an airtight container until the ice cream is set and you are ready to fill the cookies with them.

TO ASSEMBLE
1. Keep a baking sheet with parchment paper on the side ready to keep the assembled ice cream sandwiches.
2. Remove the set ice cream from the freezer. Use an offset spatula to loosen the ice cream from the edges between the paper and the baking sheet. Using the parchment paper as flaps, remove the ice cream slab from the tray, and set it on a board. Using a 2¼-inch round cutter, cut off a round of ice cream. Invert half the cookies so that the flat side is facing upwards. Using a small offset spatula, gently remove the ice cream round from the slab and place it on the flat surface of the cookie. Gently place a same size cookie on the top of the ice cream and press it gently to adhere to the ice cream. Place the assembled ice cream sandwich on the baking sheet on the side.
3. Repeat for the other ice cream rounds. This process has to be quick. If the ice cream starts to melt, place the ice cream slab back into the baking sheet and into the freezer for an hour and make the ice cream sandwiches once the ice cream is set again. Place it in the freezer again for an hour to set.
4. You will have some leftover ice cream, which you can put in an airtight container, or a deli container. Store it in the freezer to enjoy later!

TIPS
1. For the cookies to keep their round shape, as soon as you remove them from the oven, shape them in a round shape with a spatula, by nudging the edges to make a round shape, so that all the cookies are as even as possible. You can also use a large round cookie cutter and scoot the cookie around to coax the perfect round shape.
2. Make mini sandwiches by making mini cookies with a 1-tablespoon-ice cream scoop and the same size of the ice cream round as well.
3. Once the ice cream sandwiches are set, you can store them in an airtight container and place it in the freezer to preserve its freshness. It will keep in the freezer for 2 weeks (if it even lasts that long!)

Chocolate Chip & Toasted Almond Cookie Dough

INGREDIENTS

Makes ~28 to 30 (¼-cup scoop cookie dough ball) cookies and ~56 to 60 (2-tablespoon scoop cookie dough ball) small cookies
 
2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
 
1⅔ cup (225 grams) bread flour
 
2 teaspoon (10 grams) baking soda
 
1 teaspoon (4 grams) baking powder
 
2 teaspoon (12 grams) table salt
 
2 teaspoon (5 grams) ground cinnamon
 
2½ sticks ( 1¼ cups; 282 grams) unsalted butter at room temperature
 
1 cup (200 grams) packed light brown sugar
 
1¼ cup (250 grams granulated sugar
 
2 eggs, room temperature
 
1 tablespoon (13 grams) vanilla extract
 
1 teaspoon (4 grams) almond extract
 
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chunks or bittersweet chocolate chips (70% cocoa content)
 
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chunks or semi-sweet chocolate chips (~60% cocoa content)
 
1 cup (110 grams) coarsely chopped toasted almonds
 
Flakey sea salt

METHOD

1. In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients together, such as all purpose flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon, and whisk to combine.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, add the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Start the mixer on slow speed, and gradually increase it to maximum speed, and let it mix for 3 minutes, until off-white and fluffy. Using a rubber spatula, clean the sides of the bowl and gather the mixture in the middle.
3. Add eggs one at a time and mix to combine.
4. Add the vanilla extract and almond extract and whisk to combine.
5. Add the flour mixture in 2 parts, at slow speed so as not to splatter the flour everywhere. Mix until just combined.
6 Add the chocolate chunks or chocolate chips and the chopped toasted almonds and mix to combine, such that they are uniform in the cookie dough batter.
7. Using a plastic wrap, add half the dough into the plastic wrap, seal it well to form a nice round dough ball.
8. Repeat step 7 for the other half of the cookie dough.
9. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours up to 24 hours.

TIPS
1. If you do not want to bake off all the cookies at once, you can scoop out the cookies using the ¼ cup ice cream scoop, place it on the baking sheet with parchment paper, close to each other, and then place the sheet t in the freezer for an hour. Remove the scoops and put them in a large ziplock bag. Store it in the freezer, to have cookies at your disposal whenever you want.
2. You can place 2 baking sheets at a time in the oven, you might require an additional minute or 2 of baking time. Keep checking on your cookies after 14 minutes to see if they are slightly brown on the edges and remove them accordingly.
3. Make smaller cookies by using a 2-tablespoon ice cream scooper, to scoop out small cookie dough balls.

From Mumbai Modern: Vegetarian Recipes Inspired by Indian Roots and California Cusisine by Amisha Gurbani. Reprinted by permission of Amisha Gurbani.

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