Sweet Potato Ice Cream with Balsamic-Caramel Glaze
Final Update:
We did not take home the grand prize, but we tip our hat to the incredibly talented Mardi from eatlivetravelwrite.ca who took home 1st prize of a $100 gc to Whole Foods Market plus serious bragging rights. Thanks to you all for your incredible support and cheers to you, Mardi!
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We are the type of girls who like to respond (positively) to a challenge.
So, a few weeks ago, when Whole Foods Market in Yorkville contacted us to take part in their first annual Blogger Gobbler Challenge, we had to say yes. Even though we had no idea what a Blogger Gobbler was, our Pavlovian response to the word challenge meant we were in, whatever that entailed.
We found out soon enough. When we joined out fellow invited bloggers on that fateful day, we were handed a bag that contained two secret ingredients. And our mission, should we choose to accept it, was to come up with a recipe that included those ingredients.
The finished recipe would go before a panel of judges, and the winner would not only receive bragging rights, but also win a cool $100 Whole Foods gift certificate. And all we had to do was create a recipe that would be publicly judged against some pretty serious Food Bloggers. Gulp. Ummm … did someone send the wrong invitation? We’re sommeliers, not chefs!
But with the word challenge ringing loud in our ears, we knew it was game on. We opened the bag with trepidation and found this:
What the heck are we going to do with that? Over the next few days we toyed with different ideas: Casserole? No, too overdone. Pie? No, too obvious. Salad? No, too healthy — even by Whole Foods’ standards. Then, over a couple a lot of glasses of wine with friends it came to us like a beam of sunlight parting the heavens:
Sweet Potato Ice Cream and Balsamic Caramel Glaze
Ice Cream
Ingredients:
1.5 cups of cooked sweet potato (approximately 1 – 2 sweet potatoes)
1 litre of no-pulp orange juice
¾ cup brown sugar
1.5 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
5 egg yolks
½ vanilla bean pod
Pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon
Instructions:
Cook sweet potatoes (peeled and diced) in orange juice & cinnamon until very soft. Drain off the OJ and mash potatoes – chill overnight
Next day, heat cream, milk, sugar, vanilla pod and scraped beans, cinnamon and nutmeg together over low to medium heat until sugar has dissolves – stirring constantly and making sure it does not boil
While custard is warming, separate five yolks and beat them in a large bowl
Temper the eggs (so they don’t scramble) by whisking half the hot cream mixture into the egg yolks
Add tempered egg mixture back into the cream mixture on stove top and continue cooking until incorporated and mixture begins to thicken (should cover the back of a spoon) – again, stir constantly and make sure mixture does not boil
Meanwhile blend in a food processor the 1.5 cups of cooked sweet potato – mixture needs to be smooth. You may need to add some additional orange juice to get a smooth consistency.
Blend the sweet potato and warm cream mixture together – discard vanilla pod – refrigerate until cool – 6-8 hours or overnight
Spin into ice cream maker – chill for at least 3 hours
Balsamic Caramel Glaze
Ingredients:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar – boiled separately
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
¼ cup of cream
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
Instructions:
Dissolve sugar in water and bring to a boil – boil mixture until it starts to thicken and turn colour slightly. Add one tablespoon of butter – continue cooking for approximately 1-2 minutes.
Add the cream and stir
Meanwhile boil balsamic vinegar until it becomes thick and syrupy. Add to sugar/cream mixture
Add in lemon juice
Finish with the last tablespoon of butter – use right away or refrigerate up to a week
*correction: previously we had written part of the winnings was a chance to have the winning recipe featured as part of WFM’s grab and go offerings. We were wrong about that. We think it was the drinking that led to the error and we’re sorry.