maple tuiles and homemade honey-peach ice cream

when’s the last time you’ve been to the library? it had been more than a few years for me, not counting the five or so times i went during my college career. i’ve gotten into the habit lately of just buying books when i want them, and while i like owning and displaying them on my bookshelf, the practice has gotten a bit expensive. so the girl and i ended up at the west end library last weekend in search of recipes. it’s funny, after spending so much time in bookstores, you forget how amazing it is to walk into a library and just take a book home for free. for two hours i ran around the place like a kid in a candy store, realizing they stocked both cookbooks and comic books. walking out, my backpack bursting at the seams, i felt like a thief.

this is how i ended up with a copy of dori greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours. her name should sound familiar if you spend any time reading food blogs. i’ve only got the book for a few weeks, so i’ve been studying it intensely for new and interesting treats. she provided both (that’s right, a double dose of goodness) recipes this time. which brings me to the ice cream. the girl got an ice cream maker (still on sale at amazon if you’re interested) for us to share, and surprised me with it last week. we decided the first ice cream had to be refreshing seasonal fruit, and peaches are amazing right now. i really wanted to bake something to go along with with the ice cream and the girl found these tuiles while flipping through the book.

they are virtually idiot-proof. the recipe calls for pure maple syrup, and while i don’t think the syrup that comes out of a giant log cabin shaped bottle is pure, the finished product was incredibly delicious and paired up well with the honey in the ice cream. my advice while baking is to stay on the conservative end of the 5-7 minute span. my first batch burned literally in a matter of seconds. that said, once they come out the oven, these little guys are fun to mold.  you can wrap them around anything and they’ll harden in seconds. and although they look brittle, the taste is buttery and rich. now to experiment with new ice cream flavors. i definitely see basil ice cream in our immediate future…

maple tuiles
from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours.

1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp flour

1. beat the butter and brown sugar and maple syrup together in a large bowl. stir in the flour, mixing until incorporated. cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

2. roll small scoops of dough between your palms to form small balls (the size of a marbles) and place them a few inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. bake for 5-7 minutes at 400 F until they are golden brown and honeycombed.

3. remove from oven, let them sit for about a minute, and immediately lift them from the sheets with a thin metal spatula. quickly lay them on a rolling pin or slender bottle to form them into curves. if they stick or harden too quickly, place them back in the oven for under a minute and they will loosen up again.

honey-peach ice cream
another recipe from Dorie Greenspan.

4 large ripe peaches
1/4 cup honey
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla

1. chop 2 of the peaches into 1/2 inch chunks and toss them in a small saucepan. add the honey and bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover the pan and cook until the peaches are soft (about 10 minutes). scrape the mixture into a blender or food processor and puree. set aside.

2. bring the milk and cream to a boil in a saucepan. meanwhile, whisk the yolks and sugar together until blended in a heatproof bowl. drizzle in a bit of the hot milk mixture to temper the eggs (making sure they don’t curdle). slowly add the rest of the milk mixture. pour the milk/egg mixture back into the saucepan and heat while stirring until it thickens. remove from the heat, pour into a heatproof bowl, and stire in the vanilla and peach puree.

3.  refrigerate the custard until chilled. scrape into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. while the ice cream is churning, dice the remaining 2 peaches and add them just before the ice cream is thickened. when the ice cream is ready, pack into a container and freeze for at least 2 hours until it is firm enough to scoop.