A Morocco Dream of Ice Cream!

Alright, it has been quite some time since my last post, and I apologize. I won't give you excuses. Just dessert!

If you have a freezer and access to the most basic of hanoot ingredients, you should be able to have your own sweet bowl of ice cream without breaking the bank or catching transport to the nearest big town. Even if you are in a country outside of Morocco, I'm sure you will find reasons to roll up your sleeves for this quick and simple recipe.

I like that it is a custard base and doesn't require real cream. If you pay attention and cook the egg yolks just right it should give you a decently creamy (and lower fat) ice cream. I have tried almond butter ice cream, vanilla bean, chocolate, and peach ice cream. Photographed is the peach ice cream. Vanilla bean with a drizzle of freshly prepared chocolate sauce is my favorite. Especially since I brought the vanilla beans back from Paris on my last spontaneous trip there. They have an extra air of arrogance about them.

I made the peachy twist by cutting up two fresh peaches and throwing a tablespoon of sugar on them in a pan, cooking them until they just started to break down and get syrupy. There are still delicious chunks of peach in there. I also threw 1/3 of a vanilla bean in when heating the milk.

Recipe for ice cream without cream:

1/2 liter whole milk
4 egg yolks
100 grams sugar (or to taste)
vanilla (to taste)
pinch of salt

plus flavorings: vanilla bean, chocolate powder, jam, fruit, melted chocolate, ground peanuts/almonds/walnuts, caramel, candy, cinnamon, nef3, orange blossom water, or anything else that sounds good!

If you are adding in flavorings, put them in a container which you can put in your freezer and add some of the milk (not too much, but just to cover) to mix them with. Have the egg yolks ready in a separate, big bowl. In a pan, heat the rest of the milk with the 100 grams sugar, vanilla and salt until it starts to boil. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour the mixture into the egg yolks, stirring constantly (if you add too much hot milk in too fast the eggs will become crumbly). Return the mixture with the eggs to the pan and cook on a low heat for a few minutes, stirring constantly. It should thicken slightly. Pour into the container with the flavorings and stir thoroughly. Let cool in the refrigerator. Transfer to your freezer, removing every so often to stir and break up the ice crystals until frozen.

Enjoy!