When I was young, I dreamed of a kitchen filled with chocolate and sugary cereal and white bread and jars of Goober peanut butter and jelly. Instead, our shelves were lined with jars of nutritional yeast and adzuki beans, our fridge filled with miso and sprouted grain bagels and tahini. My biggest breakfast thrill was a sticky sweet beverage mix called Fig Pep, its deep brown richness swirled into a steaming mug of soy milk. Yes, my parents were hippies.
Today, my kitchen boasts a healthy melange of sprouted bagels and chocolate, kale and (ahem) caramel. On days when I’m called upon to indulge, for the sake of culinary research of friends’ birthdays, I do so with abandon. Above all, my kitchen calling has been to have fun—which is also the chief mission of my hilarious and talented friend Billy’s new book Whip It Up!.
Whip It Up! is filled with recipes I would have stampeded a Claire’s Jewelry store for as a tween—four different kinds of cookies and cream ice cream, ricotta waffles, nutella brownie tarts, and a whole chapter on tacos (!!!). It makes food, in all its many glorious, fatty, greasy, sweet-tooth sating forms, seriously fun. Did I mention there’s a manicure emoji powdered sugar dusting on page 110? BECAUSE THERE IS, AND IT’S AMAZING.
Which brings me to these bourbon gingersnap ice cream sundaes with salted maple cornflakes and hot maple fudge. Did I not tell you that when I go, I go hard? This ice cream is heaven in a spoon, full of gingersnap infused milk (may or may not have sipped on some of that, thankyouverymuch) and boozy bourbon custard. And the maple-glazed cornflakes with flaky salt? BILLY, YOU ARE A GD GENIUS.
I fussed with his (clearly perfect as is) Hottest Fudge recipe solely because I wanted to highlight maple at every opportunity. And I added an extra tablespoon of bourbon to up that sultry flavor profile and make the ice cream extra smooth—it’s near gelato-y in texture, so if you want a harder ice cream, use just one tablespoon.
These three amigos—bourbon gingersnap ice cream, maple-glazed cornflakes, and hot maple fudge—are my new holy trinity. Blessed forever and ever by the Sacred Fun Food Reverend Billy Green. Amen and ice cream sundaes.
BOURBON GINGERSNAP ICE CREAM SUNDAES!
Ingredients
hottest (maple) fudge
- ½ cup double heavy whipping cream
- 3 ½ ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder sifted
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee (or extra cocoa powder if you’re coffee sensitive, like me, single tear)
maple-glazed corn flakes
- 2 cups cornflakes
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- pinch flaky sea salt I used Maldon
bourbon gingersnap ice cream
- 2 cups crumbled gingersnaps
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- pinch of sea salt
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons bourbon (only use 1 if you want a firmer ice cream this yields a gelato-like texture)
Instructions
Bourbon Gingersnap Ice Cream
- 24 hours before you plan to make ice cream, place ice cream maker bowl in freezer to chill. Keep frozen just until custard is ready to freeze.
- Place crumbled gingersnaps and 2 cups whole milk in a medium bowl, stir, and set aside to infuse for 1 hour.
- While milk infuses, separate 4 egg yolks from whites, placing yolks in a small bowl.
- Heat heavy whipping cream over medium flame. Add granulated sugar and pinch of sea salt and stir until dissolved in cream, heating just until sugar and salt are dissolved. Remove from heat and whisk 1/3 cup of cream mixture into yolks, tempering them to add to the hot cream.
- Whisking constantly, add yolk mixture into cream mixture, and return to medium-low flame. Continue whisking until a custard forms—it will coat the back of a spoon and gently hold its shape.
- Remove from heat and chill completely.
- After milk and gingersnaps have infused for an hour, strain through a cheesecloth or fine mesh sieve. Discard gingersnaps, and whisk infused milk into chilled custard. Add bourbon and whisk thoroughly to remove any clumps, or pass through sieve again.
- Assemble ice cream maker and freeze custard according to your machine’s instructions. Once frozen, place in freezer proof dish and freeze for at least 3 hours.
hottest (maple) fudge
- Heat cream until about to simmer, then remove from heat and whisk in all ingredients, whisking until fully combined. Place in airtight container and store in fridge for up to two weeks. When ready to us, submerge container in near boiling or extremely hot water for at least ten minutes before serving to soften.
Maple-Glazed Cornflakes
- Preheat oven to 300º. In a large bowl, gently mix cornflakes, maple syrup, and flaky sea salt until cornflakes are coated. Spread evenly on baking sheet and bake for 3 minutes. Use a spatula to stir and flip flakes, and bake for another 3 minutes, until flakes are golden brown. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Make your sundaes!!
- Serve ice cream topped with hot fudge and maple-glazed cornflakes, either in bowls, glasses, or cones.
- Whatever you do, WHIP IT UP!!!
