Popcorn Ice Cream

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This year my mother in law retired from being a elementary school teacher. We went out to dinner to celebrate at a wonderful restaurant named Canoe. It's located in Vinings on the Chattahoochee river. For desert we experienced one of the BEST and most unusual deserts I have ever had...Popcorn Ice Cream!

Now when I say this to most people the first reaction is WHAT? and they don't loo so sure about it until they try it! If you like Salty Sweet then this is for you!
I Googled for some recipes and found this one from Nealy Dozier on The Kitchn (no Mom I didn't spell that wrong)

Buttery Popcorn Ice Cream

Makes 1 quart

2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole or 2% milk, divided
6 cups popped buttered popcorn*
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Heat cream and 1 cup of the milk in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat until just scalded. Add the popped popcorn to the pan and let steep for one hour. 

Strain the popcorn milk through a fine mesh sieve into a large liquid measuring cup. 

Add enough of the remaining milk to make 3 cups total (about one more cup, give or take). See all that yummy butter floatin' in all that cream!

Return the milk to the sauce pan and return heat to medium. Then separate your eggs you can save the whites for an omelet for breakfast! This tool that I use for separating eggs is one of my best purchases ever from Pampered Chef, it hangs on the side of the bowl and the whites fall through. Love it, no shells in my eggs.

While the milk is heating, beat the egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a separate bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. It will look like this.

 When milk is hot but not scalded, add a cup to the egg mixture and whisk vigorously. Pour the tempered (warmed) eggs back into the sauce pan with the remaining milk. Reduce heat to low/medium-low. Cook, whisking constantly, until the custard reaches 185°F (give or take a Fahrenheit) on an instant-read thermometer and is thick enough to just coat the back of the spoon. (You can stir occasionally at first, and more constantly towards the end, watching carefully to make sure the eggs don't scramble).

 Remove pan from the burner, stir in vanilla extract, and continue stirring for another minute or so to release some of the heat. Strain the cooked custard through a fine-mesh sieve, if desired.

Chill the mixture in the refrigerator until completely cool, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours. I actually left put mine in the canister to my ice cream maker and put it in the fridge over night.

No I know you are looking at this canister above and saying get a Cuisinart honey...I did have one we got it as a wedding gift and were so excited to have it but when we were in the mood to use it the canister was never frozen and we didn't have an extra fridge to just leave it in. This is the kind of ice cream maker I grew up on. The sound of it just brings me back to my childhood when mom and dad would make strawberry and peach on our back porch. I love it but the one I had broke so I got this new one which is a little kitchy looking but it works!

So I put the canister in it and surrounded it with ice and rock salt and left it to do it's job and this is what it looked like after an hour. You can use any ice cram maker you have just follow it's directions.

This is so good and will we will for sure be making it again. We had it with fudge sauce, but it would be good with a brownie or for sundaes, serve with caramel sauce and homemade Cracker Jack.

What's the most unusual desert you have ever had? Were you pleasantly surprised like I was?

This post linked up to these great blogs please go visit these great Ladies!