In the words of my dear Aunt Nancy: “That looks so delicious but seems so wrong!” I’m sure she speaks for many a Jew who may have initial misgivings about putting the Pesach food symbolic of thousands of years of manual labor into happy (giddy, really) ice cream form. I am here to tell you, as I told Aunt Nancy, that this charoset ice cream business is insanely delish.
Before we go any further, let me clarify for the gentiles in the crowd: Charoset is one of the symbolic foods eaten at Passover dinner, traditionally made from apples, walnuts, honey, cinnamon, and wine. For seder, it represents the mortar Egypt’s slaves shaped into bricks. In ice cream form, enrobed by honey vanilla ice cream, it becomes something like the dreamiest apple crisp a la mode you’ve ever dared imagine.
The whole shebang is sweetened solely with honey, flecked with ground vanilla bean, and spiked with just the faintest touch of red wine. I consulted with my dear friend Liba (the daughter of two rabbis—hella legit!) regarding the making of this ice cream and its kosher status; she informed me that it could easily be made entirely kosher. VICTORY.
Which brings me to the origins of this delightful concoction. I’d love to say I incepted the idea myself, but it actually came from a Facebook post I saw from none other than Liba’s husband, Micah (also the son of a rabbi! I collect ‘em!). The post was from a reputable news source that reported charoset ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s had been spotted in Israel only.
Naturally, I had to make sure we got our fair share of it here in the U.S. Yes—this is Kale & Caramel’s crusade to single-handedly deliver charoset ice cream to the good Jews of the United States of America in time for the holy day of Pesach.
Ingredients
ice cream
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ teaspoon ground vanilla bean or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon vodka
charoset
- 1 cup chopped apples
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ¼ cup Manischewitz or red table wine
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 pinches sea salt
Instructions
- Make sure the freezing bowl of your ice cream maker is in the freezer at least 24 hours before you begin making this recipe.
- In a large stock pot, warm milk, cream, honey, vanilla, and sea salt over medium-low flame. Whisk as it heats, just until steam rises. Remove from heat and pour into a large bowl.
- Pour 1 cup of the milk mixture in a small saucepan. While vigorously whisking, add in one yolk at a time, until thoroughly incorporated. Keep whisking, and place saucepan over very low flame. Heat and whisk until a custard forms that coats the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes (good arm workout, bro!).
- Remove from heat and whisk the custard back into the rest of the ice cream mixture. Let cool in fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- While it’s cooling, mix together all ingredients for charoset—apples, walnuts, cinnamon, sea salt, honey, and wine—in a bowl and set aside.
- Once your custard is completely cool (after 4+ hours), remove from fridge and whisk vigorously to recombine the cream that’s risen to the top. Pour through a fine strainer and whisk to reincorporate.
- Set up your ice cream maker, turn it on, and pour in your custard. Let it churn until thick and frozen, about 20-25 minutes depending on your machine. In the last minutes, add in 1 tablespoon of vodka—it will help keep the ice cream scoopable when it’s in the freezer.
- Use a silicone spatula to transfer the ice cream from the machine to a bread pan for freezing. Spoon in the charoset, swirling and turning it into the ice cream to distribute evenly throughout. Cover your ice cream with a piece of plastic wrap and place in the freezer for several hours.
- Enjoy after recounting the woes of the Jews—release that Jewish guilt and say yes to the charoset ice cream dream.
