Chef Contest-Hot Cross Buns Ice Cream (Karin Hung)

Welcome to the first every CEK's 2012 Home Grown Chef Contest! 

A few months ago, I challenged my readers to submit their favorite recipes and what a great response I had!  It is up to each recipe contributor to engage their friends/family/etc to view their recipe on this blog post and the 5 most popular recipes (determined by the number of page views it receives) will be added to a poll for everyone to vote on.  (For complete rules of the contest click HERE.) Good luck!

Recipe Contributor: 

Karin Hung from Vancouver, BC, Canada

Bio: 52 Scoops was created with a simple goal in mind: to develop and compile a collection of 52 ice cream recipes – one for each week of the year.

Inspiration for flavours will come from everyday foods, new tastes experienced when travelling, unusual products spotted at the grocery store, and, hopefully, from you.  Each week, I will develop a recipe and crank out a batch of ice cream in my beloved Donvier ice cream maker.  I’m not promising amazing food photography (hello, iPhone 4 camera) and tested-til-perfect recipes.  What you’ll find here is a collection of simple recipes made mostly with everyday ingredients, and perhaps the occasional report of creative attempts gone awry.

Karin, The Ice Cream Maker Karin has always loved ice cream.  At 12 months, she went from being a “cruiser” (a cautious baby who could only walk while holding onto furniture) to a lightning fast sprinter upon hearing the sudden call for ICE CREAM in the kitchen.  She had early childhood dreams of owning an ice cream parlour, but has settled instead for a gig as an urban planner.  Karin is a self-declared food nerd and loves kitchen gadgets.

Blog: www.52scoops.com  Twitter: @52scoops

Hot Cross Buns Ice Cream  (Makes about 1 quart)

2 eggs
3/4 c brown sugar
3 cups half-and-half cream
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg (use freshly ground, if possible!)
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tsp orange zest, finely chopped
2 tsp lemon zest, finely chopped
1/2 cup currants
1/3 cup golden raisins

Icing (optional):

1/4 cup icing sugar
1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp milk

1. In a heavy saucepan, lightly whisk together the eggs and sugar.
2. Add 2 cups of the half and half, spices, and salt.
3. Cook the mixture over medium-low heat stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (170 degrees F / 77 degrees C).
4. Remove from heat immediately and add the remaining 1 cup of the half and half to stop the cooking.
5. Add zest, currents, and raisins to the mixture.  Cool and chill overnight in the fridge.
6. Pour the custard into an ice cream maker and prepare according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
7. When ice cream is firmly chilled, scoop into serving dishes.  If garnishing with icing, mix together icing sugar, vanilla, and milk.  Drizzle an X over each scoop of ice cream.