‘Dessert for Dinner’ was the theme of our recent Gourmet Dinner Club (GDC) gathering. Our hostess, Bryn S, selected categories to help focus our thoughts including (but not limited to) sweet, salty, sour, savory, fermented, hot (spicy or warm), cold (frozen or minty) and funky.

We enjoyed many yummy desserts that night including a deconstructed cheesecake made with feta, cherry compote and crumbled nuts (instead of a cookie crust), a gluten-free phyllo crust with brie, prosciutto and peaches, three types of liquor-infused fruits (peaches with bourbon, pineapple with jalapeño and vodka, and raspberries with Prosecco), and a cheese and charcuterie tray.

My contribution fell under the ‘cool’ category with a bit of ‘savory’ thrown in – homemade ice cream. I’m a huge fan of Jeni Britton Bauer and her Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream – both her technique and flavor pairings – so this seemed like a perfect opportunity to pick an interesting combination from her first cookbook, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home. I’m also a fan of Gorgonzola cheese so I couldn’t resist trying this recipe.

Gorgonzola dolce is the mildest of blue cheeses – there’s enough flavor so you know it’s there but it isn’t overwhelming. Since it’s creamy it also meshes well with the creaminess of the ice cream. Adding sweet walnuts to this ice cream base makes for a winning combination. Growing up I loved Baskin-Robbins’ Pralines ‘n Cream ice cream. These nuts reminded me of those pecan pralines but not as sweet. Think of this as more of a more grown-up pairing. I had some extra nuts which I sprinkled on top of the ice cream when serving plus nibbled on some, too. This ice cream was well received that night. I also had some to take home to Ed which he really enjoyed (and he’s not the biggest blue cheese fan) – he even asked for seconds.

Everyone did a great job with their contribution – none were overwhelmingly sweet which made it fun and easy to enjoy dessert all night long. I will definitely be adding this one to my ice cream repertoire.

Gluten-Free/Wheat-Free Note:  Good news for those on a gluten-free diet as blue cheese has been found to have no traces of detectable gluten. Check out The Spruce’s article Blue Cheese Is Gluten-Free:  A Research Update.

Gorgonzola Dolce Ice Cream with Walnut Pralines

 

Gorgonzola Dolce Ice Cream with Walnut Pralines
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Recipe type: Dessert
Author:
Serves: Makes a generous 1 quart
Ingredients
For Pralines:
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup roughly chopped walnuts
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
For Ice Cream:
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 3 ounces (~ ¾ cup) Gorgonzola dolce, soften
  • 1-1/4 cups heavy cream
  • ⅔ cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Instructions
Pralines:
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium glass bowl, microwave butter on medium for 30 to 60 seconds or until melted.
  3. Add walnuts, brown sugar, honey and salt and mix well.
  4. Spread in an even layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Stir and bake for another 6 to 8 minutes, stirring twice. The nuts will look bubbly and almost dry when done. Watch carefully so as not to burn them.
  5. Remove from oven and place pan on a cooling rack. Cool completely, stirring every few minutes to break them up. Can be made 2 to 3 days ahead. Transfer nuts to a Ziploc bag.
Prep:
  1. For the ice cream base: Mix with a fork about 2 tablespoons of milk with cornstarch in a small bowl to make smooth slurry. Whisk Gorgonzola dolce in a large bowl until smooth. Don’t worry if it’s a bit lumpy at this point – it will smooth out when the hot mixture is added.
  2. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.
Cook:
  1. Combine remaining milk, cream, sugar and corn syrup in a 4 or 5-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat and boil for 4 minutes. (Watch the pan so mixture doesn’t boil over.)
  2. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in cornstarch slurry.
  3. Bring mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
  4. Remove from heat.
  5. Gradually whisk hot milk mixture into Gorgonzola dolce until smooth (it may be easier to transfer the hot milk mixture to a 4-cup measuring cup if your saucepan is heavy).
Chill:
  1. Pour mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath.
  2. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.
  3. Alternately, if you are not finishing the ice cream on the same day you can chill the mixture in refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Freeze:
  1. Pour ice cream mixture into the frozen canister of your ice cream maker and spin until thick and creamy.
  2. The ice cream is finished at the exact moment when the machine isn’t freezing the ice cream anymore; ice cream will begin to pull away from the side (about 20-25 minutes).
  3. Pack ice cream into a freezer-safe storage container, layering praline walnuts every inch or so (you may not use all of them). Press a sheet of parchment paper directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid.
  4. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours and up to a few weeks.
  5. Serve with a sprinkling of extra walnut pralines (if you have any left!).
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Source:  Variation of a recipe from Jeni Britton Bauer’s Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home (2011)