We got a taste of summer over the weekend (and by “summer” I mean that the temps hit 40 degrees). To celebrate the practically-tropical temperature, I made ice cream. I conceived this sour cream ice cream on Saturday in an attempt to use up an almost full container of sour cream in our fridge and to serve as a tart foil to the buttery, boozy Texas Whiskey Caramel Sauce (using the TX Texas Blended Whiskey from Firestone & Robertson) I whipped up earlier in the day. Together, they sang—like Willie and Waylon, or Conway and Loretta, or Emmylou and anybody (because Emmylou Harris is the secret ingredient that makes music good).
Sweet, salty, tart, boozy.
Sour cream ice cream
- 4 egg yolks, beaten
- 1/4 c sugar
- 1/2 t salt
- 1 c whole milk
- 1/2 c heavy cream
- 1 c sour cream
- 1 t vanilla extract
Beat the yolks with the sugar and salt in a medium sized bowl. In a small saucepan, scald the milk and cream (be careful: it’ll go from scaled to huge milky mess in a matter of moments). Gradually add the scalded milk to the eggs and then transfer it all back to the pan. Heat, whisking constantly over low heat until the custard thickens to coat the back of a spoon. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl, whisk in sour cream and vanilla. Cover with plastic and chill until completely cold.
Freeze in an ice cream maker until solid-ish, then pop it into the freezer for an hour or so to firm up.
Texas Caramel Whiskey Sauce
- 8 oz unsalted butter
- 1/2 t salt
- 2 c brown sugar
- 1 c heavy cream
- 1/4 c TX Texas Whiskey (substitute bourbon)
Heat butter, sugar, salt, and cream in a larger-than-you-think-you-need saucepan, stirring until it reaches a boil. Boil for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in whiskey. It will bubble up like mad and at this point you can thank me for advising you to use such a large pan. Let the sauce cool a bit and pour into a jar for storage. Store in the fridge, but warm gently before serving over sour cream ice cream (or just a spoon) with a sprinkling of sea salt on top.
Signing off with this Texas classic combo: