Pistachio Birthday Cake
We love the flavor combination of the pistachio ice cream with a chocolate crust,
but any flavor can be substituted.
Makes 16 servings
½
cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed
6
ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
60
chocolate wafer cookies
1
recipe Pistachio Ice Cream (page 12), softened
½
cup chopped pistachios, toasted
1. In a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, combine the
butter and chocolate. Stirring occasionally, let sit until just melted.
Reserve.
2. In the bowl of a Cuisinart
Food Processor fitted with the chopping
®
blade, add the chocolate wafer cookies. Pulse until finely chopped.
Add the melted butter/chocolate mixture through the feed tube of the
processor and pulse until completely combined. Press
chocolate crumb mixture into the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan.
Place in freezer; chill 10 to 15 minutes to let crust harden.
3. Remove from freezer and spread half of the ice cream over the chilled
chocolate crust. Cover with plastic and return to freezer for about 30
minutes, or until just firm. Sprinkle the reserved chocolate crumb
mixture over the chilled ice cream and return to freezer again to chill,
for about 30 minutes. Spread the remaining ice cream evenly over the
top and smooth completely with an offset spatula. Cover and chill in
the freezer for a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight to completely firm
the cake.
4. Before serving, remove the ice cream cake from the pan and press the
chopped pistachios around the sides of the cake. Serve on chilled
plates.
Nutritional information per serving:
While we love this sauce on ice cream, it can also be used as a
Makes about ¾ cup
¾
cup granulated sugar
½
teaspoon kosher salt
¼
cup water (enough so that the consistency when mixed with
the sugar and salt is similar to wet sand)
1
tablespoon light corn syrup
⁄
1
cup heavy cream
3
3
tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
1. In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir together the sugar, salt,
water and corn syrup. Be sure to clean the inside walls of the pan if
there is any sugar on the sides (a clean, wet pastry brush works best).
Set over medium-low heat, to keep the mixture at a low simmer, and
2
⁄
of the
cook until the sugar mixture turns a very light amber color (about 15 to
3
20 minutes). Keep a close eye on the caramel sauce as it can burn
easily.
2. Once the sugar mixture has a light amber color, take it off the stove
and slowly and carefully stir in the cream. After the cream has been
incorporated, slowly whisk in the butter, one piece at a time,
continually whisking to emulsify until all the butter has been added.
Use immediately, or keep warm over a pot of warm water.
25
Caramel Sauce
dipping sauce for fruit and cake.
Nutritional information per serving (2 tablespoons):