It. Is. FALL! My windows have been open for almost a whole week straight – the big cozy winter blanket has been rescued from the depths of my closet, and I’ve got pumpkin rolls stacked up in my fridge. THIS is my time to come alive and I am fully thriving in my fall happiness season! Okay: got that out of my system, so now time to talk about the fun stuff – food.
While I am 100% on-board with fall desserts, I also love all of the fall food that comes out to play at some of our favorite restaurants. Perhaps the best fall-food of all time: pastas. On our trip to Milwaukee a few weeks ago, we had just settled into our last hotel after a whirlwind trip which included forgotten event tickets, an overbooked hotel, and being stranded a bar at 1AM with no Ubers in site. We were tired, starving and it was only 4PM. We had dinner plans for 6:30PM at one of Milwaukee’s finest restaurants, but we knew that wasn’t happening, so we had to scout out a new place that opened closer to our stomach’s growling time.
Low and behold… we found: Zarletti’s. It had good reviews and they bragged of their homemade pastas so we were sold immediately and planned on knocking down their door right at the 5PM open time. We just wanted a good bite, but boy – we got the treat of the weekend. I think of everything we did in our brief 55 hours in Wisconsin was totally worth this one single meal. Our waitress was a dream: she delivered the best service I have ever experience at a restaurant. She described their two feature pastas with such care and thought that we were immediately sold on both dishes before she finished her list. My choice: homemade butternut squash ravioli with a browned butter sauce.
Emily may have been our dream waitress, but this pasta was the dish of my dreams as well. With the crisp Milwaukee air whipping around, this dish was exactly what we needed to fully commit ourselves to the fall season. If you’re ever in the Milwaukee area, I would 1150% recommend Zarletti’s. If you see our friend Emily, please tell me how much you enjoy her description of the specials. NOW, seriously, back to the ice cream.
This ice cream is a sweet little treat with the perfect balance of fall spices that will help you get fully in the fall spirit. It gets it’s rich flavor by developing a light apple cider caramel as the foundation for your base. By cooking the apple cider down, you remove the excess liquid, but also deepen the flavor of the cider to allow the apple and spice to shine through for the perfect fall dessert.
Bonus Tip
I like to keep this ice cream smooth and creamy so that we can enjoy it as is. I almost treat it like a dip: enjoy it with some sliced apples, some gingersnap cookies, or even some simple snickerdoodles. However, my mom prefers this ice cream with a little bit of crunch! If you want to add some texture to the ice cream, I recommend adding some cookies, graham crackers or pie crust to the base after you freeze it for that extra little kick. Whichever way you like it: I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!
Looking for some other fall recipes? Try my Apple Pie Ice Cream next!
Apple Cider Ice Cream
Sweet and cream apple cider ice cream with a classic fall spice.
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup apple cider thicker, local-made cider is preferred
- 4 tbsp. salted butter cubed
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 5 egg yolks
- 3/4 tsp. vanilla ex
- 1 tsp. cinnamon if desired
Instructions
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Put 1 cup of the milk in your medium-sized bowl with the mesh strainer on top. Set aside.
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To make the base of the ice cream, you'll want to create an apple cider caramel. To do this, whisk together your sugar and apple cider in a medium-sized pot. Heat over medium heat until it comes to a soft boil. You want to cook the mixture until it's reduced to about half. The caramel should be a rich brown color and thick enough to stick together, but still run smoothly off our your spoon and whisk. This usually takes about 15 minutes.
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If your caramel smokes or seizes, you've overcooked it and it's time to start again!
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Once the liquid is reduced, remove from heat and add in the butter. Stir until smooth and add in the remaining milk and heavy cream.
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In a small bowl, whisk together your egg yolks until smooth. Slowly temper the egg yolks with the apple cider base mixture.
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Return the mixture to the heat and heat over medium-low heat. Cook the mixture for about 15 more minutes, or until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon. You should be able to run your finger through the back of the spoon and leave a clear mark.
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Once thickened, pour the mixture through the mesh strainer into the cooled milk. Add the vanilla and stir to combine.
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Let the mixture sit at room temperature and then cover and chill for at least 3 hears, but preferably overnight.
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Once chilled, freeze the base according to manufacturer instructions. Once complete, serve immediately or return to the freezer to set up for a few hours. Then: enjoy!
