Olive Oil with Lemon Cake Chunks

The first time I had olive oil ice cream someone had baked a lemon pound cake and just served it as an accompaniment, so the combination has always stuck with me. Why not just put the cake right into the ice cream?

Ingredients

    1¼ cupsHeavy cream

    1½ cupWhole milk

    6Egg yolks

    ½ cupSugar

    1 pinchSalt

    chunksYour favorite lemon cake

    ½ cupGood olive oil

Directions

  1. Make a lemon cake using your favorite recipe! You can find the one I used below.
  2. Prepare a large bowl filled with ice water with a smaller bowl sitting in the water. This will be used to cool the cooked custard later.
  3. Combine the milk, heavy cream, and 1/2 cup white sugar in a medium saucepan and heat over low to medium heat.
  4. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks in a separate bowl. Once steam is coming off of the heated milk/cream in the saucepan, pour a splash into the egg mixture while whisking it continuously.
  5. Continue to add small amounts of the milk/cream to the eggs while whisking until you've added all of it into the separate bowl.
  6. Pour the combined mixture back into the saucepan and set over low to medium heat. Stir continuously with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
  7. After stirring for several minutes the custard will start to thicken. Once you can pick up the spatula or spoon and the custard sticks to it, hold it horizontally and run your finger through the custard. If it leaves a trail that stays, your custard is ready.
  8. Take it off the heat and strain the custard into the bowl set over the ice bath. Stir for about 5 minutes until the custard has cooled.
  9. Add the olive oil and blend with an immersion blender to emulsify.
  10. Place the custard in an airtight container and let the it cool completely in the fridge (this is important people!) for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
  11. Before churning the ice cream, take about one third of your lemon cake and rip off small chunks. Compress and/or roll them in your hands until you get compact balls. I made mine about the size of a small marble. But do you! Make them whatever size you want.
  12. Once the custard is ready, churn it according to your ice cream maker's instructions until it's the consistency of soft servce. About 5 minutes before the churning is done, add the balls of lemon cake to the mixture. You can eat it right away for a softer texture, or freeze it for later.
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