Southern Peach Ice Cream with Bourbon-Peach Swirl

It’s August. We’re in the middle of a heat wave here in Toronto (which really could be the south, for all intents and purposes) and eating ice cream at the water park every day. So when I stumbled upon this recipe, I couldn’t resist! This is not for the faint of heart. Here it is people. 

Adapted from 10th Kitchen

For sweet tea ice cream

  1. 2 cups heavy cream
  2. 1 ½ cups  whole milk
  3. ¼ cup light corn syrup
  4. 6 tbs Silver Service Peach Passion tea
  5. ½ cup granulated sugar
  6. 2 tablespoons cornstarch

For bourbon-peach swirl

  1. 1 cup peaches, blanched, peeled, pitted and roughly chopped
  2. 1 tablespoon sugar
  3. 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  4. 1 tablespoon bourbon

Instructions

  1. To
    make the ice cream, heat the cream, milk and corn syrup in a large
    saucepan until just simmering. Add loose-leaf tea, lower heat to low and
    simmer, keeping a close watch so it doesn’t boil over, for 10 minutes,
    then remove from heat and allow the tea to steep for 2 hours.
  2. Strain the mixture through a very fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth and try to squeeze as much of the liquid goodness out!
  3. Whisk
    together sugar and cornstarch until combined, then whisk into the
    tea-infused cream mixture.  Reheat and cook over medium heat, stirring
    constantly, until the mixture reaches a gentle boil, then reduce heat to
    low and simmer, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds (mixture will be
    thick and bubbly).
  4. Strain
    mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl, then cover tightly
    and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least a few hours but
    preferably overnight. (Take our advice here.)
  5. To
    make the peach-bourbon swirl, toss together the peaches with cornstarch
    and sugar and cook in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the
    peaches have broken down and the mixture is bubbly, thick and delicious, 5 minutes
    or so.  Cool mixture, stir in the bourbon, and refrigerate until
    thoroughly chilled.
  6. Once both the cream mixture and peach mixture are chilled, process the
    cream mixture in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s
    directions.  Purée the peach mixture in a blender or food processor
    until smooth, then drop spoonfuls of both mixtures into a resealable
    container, alternating between them.  Run a butter knife through to
    create a swirl effect, then freeze until firm.  Makes about a quart. Which should last you about a day.

Apeldoorn’s Asian Duck

Both poultry and Appeldoorn’s Tea are staples in our home, but not two things we have ever thought to combine. Enter Lindsay, our guest chef who also happened to stop by when I was making this cake and offer me some pro tips! If you find yourself wondering what to do with your Appeldoorn’s Tea this month (a problem we don’t have), she has an idea all cooked up for you.

Apeldoorn’s Asian Duck

INGREDIENTS
·         6 cups water
·         ½ cup Apeldoorn’s House Blend Black Tea
·         3” piece of ginger, roughly chopped
·         6” piece of cinnamon
·         2 star anise
·         1 tablespoon black peppercorns, crushed
·         3 cloves garlic, minced
·         2-3 green onions, chopped
·         4 tablespoons brown sugar
·         ¼ cup soy sauce
·         1 whole duck or 4 duck breasts

DIRECTIONS
Combine water, tea, ginger, cinnamon, star anise, and peppercorns in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off heat, add the garlic and green onions, and let steep for 30-45 minutes..
In a large glass or plastic container, combine the tea, brown sugar, and soy sauce, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  
Reserve 1 cup of the liquid and use the rest to marinate the duck/duck breasts for 4-6 hours.
Remove duck from the liquid 1 hour before cooking. Rinse and pat dry.
Prepare the duck/duck breasts to your liking, using the reserved marinade to baste the bird or as a base for sauce.

Enjoy!


Bourbon black magic

image

Well folks, it’s officially spring…oh wait, unless you live on the east coast and just got a dump of snow! On behalf of West Coast Canada, we’re sorry.

We made this on a Monday night, after a Sunday all-day birthday celebration (for moi) and before leaving our baby with a babysitter (!) – ok, actually 2, we’re nuts – and riding our bikes to Italian birthday dinner date night. It was a delicious weeknight celebratory drink. A way to keep the birthday going…maybe for a few more days.

Here are the basic proportions:

1 part bourbon

3 parts tea

1 tsp sugar
Splash of milk

+ a sprig of mint (mostly for fun, and to pretend/celebrate the coming of spring)

It was lovely sans milk but honestly so deliciously creamy with just a splash. Feel free to play with the ingredients and let us know how it turns out!