ORANGE BLOSSOM WATER ICE CREAM WITH PISTACHIO SHORTBREAD
One of our favorite things about making ice cream is the ability to combine your most beloved flavors: Butterscotch and Brownies, Apple Crumble with Calvados and Crème Fraîche, Curried Nuts with Salted Caramel Swirl—the list goes on. It seems like there’s virtually no limit to the wonderful flavor combinations, but we’re still prone to shying away from certain ones. This flavor is proof positive that we should always strive to challenge ourselves in the kitchen.
Ben had this idea that we should combine shortbread with ice cream but, being Ben, he was very specific: pistachio–orange blossom water shortbread combined with orange blossom water ice cream. When Pete and I heard that idea, we thought it was a bit much, perhaps a little too involved for a home cook, but Ben dug his heels in and urged us to give this flavor a try. We are so glad we listened to him—the ice cream reminds us of cookies-and-cream ice cream with a Persian twist. You can always use store-bought shortbread, but the homemade version has a wonderful chewiness that’s unparalleled in prepackaged varieties.
MAKES ABOUT 1 QUART
FOR THE PISTACHIO SHORTBREAD
2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
⅔ cup (133 grams) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon (2 grams) kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks/226 grams) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 large egg yolk
½ cup (63 grams) whole pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon orange blossom water
FOR THE ORANGE BLOSSOM WATER ICE CREAM
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (125 grams) sugar
½ teaspoon (2 grams) kosher salt
8 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons orange blossom water, or to taste
1. To make the pistachio shortbread, preheat the oven to 325˚F; position a rack in the middle. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with overlapping, perpendicular pieces of parchment paper trimmed to fit the pan with about a 2- to 3-inch overhang (so that you can easily pull the shortbread out when you are ready to cut it).
2. In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, and salt until combined. Add the butter, egg yolk, pistachios, and orange blossom water and pulse until a scraggly, loose dough comes together. Dump out the dough, loose bits and all, onto the counter and knead until combined. Press the dough into the baking pan and score it all over with a fork. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the shortbread is golden and firm. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Using the overhanging parchment paper, lift the shortbread out of the pan and cut into pieces (we like 1-inch squares) on a cutting board. You will need ¼ to ⅓ cup of cubed shortbread for the ice cream; transfer the remaining shortbread to a cookie tin and enjoy it as you like.
3. To make the orange blossom water ice cream, pour the cream and milk into a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water). Whisk in ½ cup (100 grams) of the sugar and the salt and stir until they have dissolved. Warm the mixture until you see steam rising from the top.
4. Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath in a large bowl and set another bowl over it. Set aside.
5. In a medium bowl, with a kitchen towel underneath it to prevent slipping, whisk together the egg yolks with the remaining 2 tablespoons (25 grams) sugar until uniform. While whisking, add a splash of the hot dairy mixture to the yolks. Continue to add the dairy mixture, whisking it in bit by bit, until you’ve added about half. Add the yolk mixture to the remaining dairy mixture in the double boiler. Set the heat under the double boiler to medium and cook the custard, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon and reducing the heat to medium-low as necessary, until steam begins to rise from the surface and the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Hold the spoon horizontally and run your finger through the custard. If the trail left by your finger stays separated, the custard is ready to be cooled.
6. Strain the custard into the bowl sitting over the prepared ice bath and stir for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the custard has cooled. Transfer the custard to a quart-size container, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or, preferably, overnight.
7. Stir the orange blossom water into the chilled custard. Pour the custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Place the container in which you refrigerated the custard in the freezer so you can use it to store the finished ice cream. Churn the ice cream until the texture resembles “soft serve.” Using a spatula, fold in the shortbread cubes until incorporated. Transfer the ice cream to the chilled storage container and freeze until hardened to your desired consistency. Alternatively, you can serve it immediately—it will be the consistency of gelato. The ice cream will keep, frozen, for up to 7 days.