Caramel &

HAZELNUT HAPPY STICKS

Destined to put a smile on your dial, this combination of smooth hazelnut ice cream cloaked in milk chocolate and rolled in crushed caramelised spice cookies adds up to one dreamy dessert-on-a-stick!

Makes 6

125 g (4½ oz) speculoos biscuits (spiced, caramelised Belgian cookies)

400 g (14 oz) good-quality milk chocolate, finely chopped; you can use white chocolate too

50 g (1¾ oz) Copha (white vegetable shortening) or solid coconut oil

Caramel hazelnut ice cream

110 g (3¾ oz/½ cup) caster (superfine) sugar

250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) thin (pouring) cream

310 ml (10¾ fl oz/1¼ cups) full-cream milk

75 g (2¾ oz/½ cup) hazelnuts, well toasted, then ground

1 tablespoon malt powder

4 egg yolks

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

To make the ice cream, put the sugar in a heavy-based saucepan over medium–high heat. When it starts to dissolve and caramelise, start swirling the pan regularly until the sugar is a dark, honey-toned, even caramel, then immediately pour in the cream — be careful as it will spit and splutter. Use a long-handled whisk to mix the caramel and cream together over the heat — the cold cream will set the caramel at first, but eventually it will melt back to liquid form. When this happens, add the milk and bring to a simmer. Add the ground hazelnuts and the malt powder and cook for a further 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to infuse for 20 minutes.

Whisk the egg yolks and vanilla in a bowl. Gently reheat the milk mixture over medium heat; when it comes to a simmer, remove from the heat and cool very slightly. Strain through a fine sieve, then whisk into your egg yolk mixture.

Pour the mixture into a clean saucepan and stir over medium–low heat for 8–10 minutes, or until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Do not allow to boil. Remove from the heat, strain into a bowl and allow to cool. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

Set up an ice cream machine and freeze the mixture according to manufacturer’s instructions. (Alternatively, you can pour the custard mixture into a large shallow cake tin and freeze for 2–3 hours, or until just frozen around the edges. Whisk to evenly distribute the ice crystals through the mixture. Repeat this every hour until the mixture is frozen and evenly textured.)

Spoon the ice cream mixture into six 90 ml (3 fl oz) ice cream moulds. Pop on the lids with the sticks that come with the moulds, then freeze overnight.

Put the biscuits in a food processor. Using the pulse button, process until you have 2–3 mm (¹/₁₆–¹/₈ inch) crumbs. (Alternatively, pop the biscuits in a snaplock bag and tap them with a rolling pin until crumbs are formed.) Store in an airtight container until ready to coat the ice creams.

When the ice creams are frozen, tip half the biscuit crumbs onto a plate.

Melt the chocolate and Copha together in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally with a metal spoon, until the mixture is smooth and liquid. Pour into a small container, just a little wider than the ice creams, but around 15 cm (6 inches) deep — the chocolate mixture needs to be deeper than the ice creams; a milkshake container could be ideal. Allow the chocolate mixture to cool to room temperature, but do not allow to set; if it does, you’ll need to gently melt it again.

Working quickly, and one at a time, hold an ice cream by the stick and dip it into the chocolate, so the chocolate completely covers the ice cream. Immediately withdraw it, briefly allowing any excess chocolate to drop off. Pat both sides into the biscuit crumbs, adding the remaining biscuit crumbs to the plate when the first half gets low, or too stuck together to evenly coat the chocolate. Place the ice cream in the freezer, on a tray lined with baking paper.

Repeat with all the ice creams, stacking them on top of each other, but separated by sheets of baking paper, and storing them in an airtight container. Refrigerate overnight again before serving. Use within 1 week.

Photography © Brett Stevens