As part of my Creative Challenge on my Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/sugarshoxcrafts), I made Maple Bacon ice cream! I made it with my new ice cream maker, and frankly, I was skeptical the whole time. I see lots of kitchen gadgets promising the moon, and then find out I had to satisfy almost impossible rules to get what's promised on the box.
Anyhow, I came home to an awesome surprise of ice cream! Here's how it turned out and some possible sticking points if you decide to make it.
-With the ice cream maker, be sure that the freezer bowl has frozen for at least 24 hours and you chill the ice cream mixture for 24 HOURS after you cook it. Yes, chill the mixture for 24 HOURS. I got really lucky, and it still turned into ice cream after I had only chilled the cooked mixture for 40 mins. I do think that it took longer to turn into ice cream because the mixture was much warmer than it should. I checked it this morning and was terrified it was just going to be this weird bacon slush.
-Use already cooked, boxed bacon to cut out the bacon cooking time. Be sure it's the "real bacon" kind. I LOVE turkey bacon, but it may have less flavor.
-Have a nice Tupperware container ready to freeze the mixture. It doesn't have to be Tupperware, per se, but you want a thick walled container to freeze it in.
-Use a good quality syrup. The maple syrup is probably the strongest taste in the ice cream, so pick a really flavorful syrup to really bring out that maple flavor. I used IHop syrup I bought at Walmart.
-Be prepared to freeze the mixture for 24 hours after it comes out of the ice cream maker. Be patient...the longer you wait, the thicker the ice cream.
RESULTS:
-A very flavorful ice cream with strong bacon and maple syrup taste.
-Thick consistency (I froze mine for about 24 hrs after churning in the ice cream maker), and doesn't melt too fast.
-Good size chunks of bacon. Bacon retained its crispiness even after being frozen!
-A little goes a long way---it's tempting, but don't eat the whole tub like me and my hubby did.
Check out my Facebook page for my 365 Day Creativity Challenge and more unique projects like this! http://www.facebook.com/sugarshoxcrafts
