Servings: 8to 10 servings (makes 5-6 cups of ice cream).
Ingredients
For the roasted apples:
1poundapples (2 large or 3 medium)
2tablespoonsbourbon whiskey
1/2cuppacked light brown sugar(3 1/2 ounces)
3/4teaspooncinnamon
1/2teaspoonfreshly grated nutmeg
1/8teaspooncloves
1/8teaspoonallspice
For the crumble:
1/2cupall-purpose flour(2 1/2 ounces)
1/3cupquick (baby)oats(1 1/4 ounces)
1/3cuplight brown sugar(3 1/2 ounces)
1/4teaspoonsalt
1/4teaspooncinnamon
4tablespoonsunsalted butter, diced and slightly softened(2 ounces)
1/3cuppecans, finely chopped(1 1/4 ounces)
For the ice cream:
2cupshalf and half(16 ounces)
1/2vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped
2cinnamon sticks
2tablespoonssugar
1cupheavy cream(8 ounces)
4tablespoonsbourbon whiskey
Instructions
Roast the apples:
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400ºF.
Peel the apples, cut their flesh off the core, and chop them into large chunks. Place them in a smallish baking dish, and toss with the 2 tablespoons bourbon, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and the nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. Roast the apples until very tender and broken down into a thick, chunky sauce, 45-60 minutes, stirring and mashing them a few times throughout the baking time. (A potato masher works well here.)
Make the crumble:
Meanwhile, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add the butter pieces and work with your fingertips until the mixture forms large clumps. Work in the pecans until evenly distributed. The mixture should resemble gravel.
Dump the crumble mixture onto a small, rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and spread it evenly. When the apples are done baking, reduce the oven temperature to 350ºBake the crumble until golden all over and crisp throughout, 15-20 minutes, giving it a gentle stir halfway through the baking time to help it cook evenly.
Let the crumble cool completely. Remove 1 cup of crumble and place it in the freezer; this will get layered into the ice cream. Leave the rest at room temperature in an airtight container for serving over scoops of ice cream.
Make the ice cream base:
Meanwhile, combine the half and half, vanilla pod and seeds, cinnamon sticks, and sugar in a small saucepan. Warm over a medium flame, swirling occasionally, until the mixture is steaming and hot, but not simmering. Remove from the heat, cover, and steep for 30-60 minutes.
Place the roasted apple goop in a blender or food processor. Strain half of the half and half mixture into the blender, and puree smooth, adding more half and half little by little until the mixture is quite smooth and all of the half and half has been added. Blend in the heavy cream, then the bourbon.
Pour the ice cream base into a container and chill until very cold, at least 4 hours. (If you're in a hurry, pour it into a metal bowl and chill over an ice bath.)
Place a large loaf pan (or other ice cream vessel of your choicin the freezer to chill.
Spin the ice cream in an ice cream maker until it is the texture of soft-serve. Working quickly, spread 1/3 of the ice cream in the bottom of the frozen pan, and sprinkle 1/3 of the frozen crumble over the top. Repeat until you've used up all the ice cream and frozen crumble. Freeze the ice cream until firm enough to scoop, at least 2 hours.
To store the ice cream, press a piece of parchment paper directly onto the surface of the ice cream (to thwart ice crystaland wrap it tightly (to keep out odors). The crumble will stay firm for a day or two. Serve scoops with extra crumble sprinkled over the top.
Notes
Inspired by this Apple Cinnamon Ice Cream from Fork Knife Swoon and the blueberry crumble topping from The Farm via Leite's Culinaria.I used Basil Hayden bourbon and Fuji apples here, but I should think that any decent bourbon and flavorful apple combo will do the trick.I love my ice cream maker attachment for the Kitchen Aid stand mixer (purchasable here), which gets frozen for 24 hours, then churns ice cream using the motor on the mixer. If you lack an ice cream maker, don't fret – see David Lebovitz' post on making ice cream the old school way. All ounce measurements are by weight.Nutritional values are based on one of eight servings.