Recipe: Bourbon Butterscotch Ice Cream
My grandmother, like 96% of grandmothers, always had a dish of butterscotch candies next to the couch in the den and another next to the sofa in the formal living room. My grandparent's living room was terrific. All dark upholstery (to hide dust, honestly rather pointless since dust was too terrified of my grandmother to make a landing), a console record player, an organ, a built-in teacup display and a painting of the last supper. We used that room on holidays, otherwise it was essentially sealed off.
My aunt lived a couple doors for a few years around 1960 following her graduation from nursing school. The previous owner of that house operated a in-home mortuary. Downstairs was the remains of an embalming set-up. The formal living room in her house had been used for funeral viewings. Lucky! None of my three cousins who spent their early years in that house became maniacs, to my disappointment. They ain't right, but they aren't catching squirrels bare-handed and eating their still-beating hearts. Yet.
My maternal grandparents (left) and about 2/3 of their good Catholic army congregated in the formal living room on Thanksgiving circa 1982. I can't believe grammy allowed that dog- Foozie- in the living room. She practically made us wear hairnets in there but that for the years she fostered that dog it had carte blanche to shed everywhere. I'm seated on the floor at the left, between Gram and that damned dog. You can easily pick out my uncle Lou- he's clearly loathing the dog most of all. Look at my sister Nancy- she started wearing rugby shirts the moment she hit college; no one but me realized that was her coming out of the closet. Uncle Lou was a surgeon. He armed Grampy with a syringe and vials of penicillin and allergy meds. Grampy had no medical proclivities but he was fearless and that was enough. If any of my family needed antibiotics we rolled up our sleeves, Grampy screwed on the needle and then he jammed that thing in to the bone. I remember Nancy and Janet comparing bruises. Simpler times! It looks like my brother Dave is half in the bag and this was obviously the era my cousin Michael spent as a feral wolf-child.
Butterscotch sundaes are an ice cream truck staple. The butterscotch topping that truckers use is an super-sticky disaster. I couldn't eat it and we never included it on the menu. If someone asked for it and I happened to have some on the truck I would say ok but issued the caveat that it was nothing we made and didn't endorse it at all. The only people who insisted on having it were junkies.
After one has been on heroin for a while hypoglycemia sets in. At a particular point after dosing up blood sugar falls and a sweets craving sets in. If someone junky-walked (they develop their own distinctive gait) up to the service window I would be certain of their order- one of two things. They wanted either a butterscotch sundae or a cone with cherry dip- another thing the truck usually had onboard but never publicized. Cherry dip had the same standing as butterscotch. Nothing we made ourselves, nothing we publicized having, but if someone wanted it, fine.
Cherry dip: I hate that shit but it made kids happy so my contempt was sometimes pushed aside.
Big Gay Ice Cream Book has a really great recipe for bourbon butterscotch. I've always been proud of it for being delicious and not nauseatingly sweet. I managed to create a butterscotch sauce that I can eat! Our New York City manager Gary asked why we've never had butterscotch ice cream and I essentially slapped myself. Why don't we?
This recipe uses our existing bourbon butterscotch to flavor the ice cream. I liked the idea of making butterscotch ice cream out of butterscotch sauce. Compared to other butterscotch ice creams it is lightly flavored. I can eat more than a scoop which, after eating ice cream constantly for almost ten years tells you something. I have evolved into a taster, no longer an eater.
Enjoy but be wary: this recipe may be a gateway drug. Maybe not to heroin, but I make no promises.
My therapist has a bowl of butterscotch candies next to "my" chair. At every session I have one and I think about my grandmother and about heroin.
RECIPE: BOURBON BUTTERSCOTCH ICE CREAM
The bourbon butterscotch ice cream mis-en-place is absurdly simple since you've already made the bourbon butterscotch.
1 cup bourbon butterscotch, recipe found in Big Gay Ice Cream Book. See below.
1.5 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup white sugar
5 egg yolks
Whisk the egg yolks in a large non-reactive saucepan; set aside.
In medium saucepan warm cream, milk, and bourbon butterscotch until steaming. Add sugar and stir until completely dissolved.
In a slow, steady motion pour warm mixture over egg yolks, whisking continuously and vigorously. Set this pot over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly for about five minutes or until the mixture begins to thicken; do not allow to boil. Transfer the pot to an ice bath and stir until steaming stops.
Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and chill overnight. Pour through a fine strainer to catch any little bits of "scrambled egg" and then freeze following your ice cream machine's instructions.
This will hold up in your freezer for about a week.
RECIPE: BOURBON BUTTERSCOTCH
As found in Big Gay Ice Cream Book
Bourbon butterscotch mis-en-place. It's not in the recipe but I like to add a bit of orange peel while the milk is warming up/simmering.
1/2 pound unsalted butter
16 ounces dark brown sugar
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 1 splash bourbon
Combine butter, brown sugar, dark corn syrup, cream, salt and bourbon in a large saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning until the sugar is completely dissolved. The sauce should have no grit. Then cook, stirring constantly, for another 15 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and thickened; it should be a dark caramel color and thick enough to coat a spoon.
Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Add an additional splash of bourbon and mix to combine.
As soon as it has cooled down a bit- don't put scorching sugar in your mouth- you can begin eating or you can move the sauce to the refrigerator for storage. Will keep in an airtight container for at least a week.
Bourbon Butterscotch recipe © 2014 Big Gay Ice Cream
Bourbon Butterscotch Ice Cream recipe © 2016 Big Gay Ice Cream
