VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM AND OUZO SHAKE WITH ESPRESSO BEANS

by Haley Simonds

This shake is made using one of my all-time favorite vanilla ice cream recipes from my pastry school days.  I add an extra vanilla bean and a little salt for even more flavor.  In the spirit of Rosemary’s Baby, the fictional tannis root is substituted for ouzo, adding a boozy licorice flavor to the creamy vanilla bean ice cream.  So gooooooood!

INGREDIENTS  for two shakes

  • 3-4 scoops homemade vanilla bean ice cream (recipe follows)
  • 1 cup milk
  • ¼ – ½ cup ouzo (add more if you want a stronger booze flavor)
  • 6-8 whole espresso beans for garnish

DIRECTIONS

  1. Blend the ice cream, milk, and ouzo.
  2. Pour into two glasses.
  3. Garnish with the espresso beans.  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS for VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM

  • 16 oz milk
  • 2 vanilla beans, split and scraped of seeds
  • 7 egg yolks
  • 6 oz sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 16 oz heavy cream

DIRECTIONS for VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM

  1. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and keep at a simmer over low heat.
  2. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, scald the milk and split vanilla beans and seeds.
  3. In a glass bowl, whip the egg yolks, sugar, and salt together by hand.
  4. Prepare an ice bath, large enough to fit the glass bowl.
  5. Temper the milk slowly into the egg yolk mixture while whisking.
  6. Cook the mixture in the glass bowl over the simmering pot of water until slightly thickened.
  7. *You’ll know when the mixture is thick enough because it will coat the back of a spoon.  If you’d rather use a thermometer, cook until the mixture reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit, or nappe in pastry speak.
  8. Cool the bowl over the ice bath to stop the cooking process.
  9. Stir in the heavy cream.
  10. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve and refrigerate overnight.
  11. The next day, freeze the mixture in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s directions.