I'm going to share with you today a new method of making homemade ice cream that produces not only delicious ice cream, but ice cream that keeps well in the freezer.  We love making homemade ice cream in our house, but the one problem was that it didn't keep well in the freezer.  It was delicious and creamy the day you made it, but the next day it formed ice crystals.  This recipe solves that problem.

This recipe is based on a method developed by Jeni Britton Bauer, who owns outstanding ice cream shops in Ohio and has written a book about making homemade ice cream. Most methods for producing creamy homemade ice cream involves adding egg yolks, something I've never been willing to do.  With Jeni's method, the same creamy texture is attained by adding cornstarch and boiling the liquid to reduce the water content. Her method also involves adding a little cream cheese, something that I have omitted with good results. I have basically kept the same master ice cream recipe that I have used for years and just added the cornstarch and corn syrup that she recommends.  You can freeze this ice cream and days later, it will still be creamy, with no ice crystals!

These little apple tarts are the perfect partner with the cinnamon ice cream.  It's such a delicious combination, I hope you give it a try. 

Apple Cheddar Tarts with Cinnamon Ice Cream

makes 8 tarts

ice cream is adapted from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home

You will need a biscuit cutter (I used a 4-inch)

Ingredients:

for the apple tarts:

2 sheets frozen puff pastry
2 Granny Smith apples
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
juice of 1/2 lemon
3 tablespoons melted butter
4 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, sliced
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (toasted, if you like)

for the cinnamon ice cream:

2 cups half and half, divided
3 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

for the apple tarts:

Defrost the frozen puff pastry in your refrigerator for a few hours or at room temperature just until unfrozen, but still cold.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400°F.

Peel and core the apples.  Slice very thinly into rounds - I did mine on a mandolin slicer. Blend the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt, lemon juice and butter in a bowl.  Toss the apple slices thoroughly in the mixture. 

Cut out rounds of the puff pastry with the biscuit cutter.  Lay the rounds on the parchment paper and dock them with a fork.  Lay a couple of slices of cheddar cheese on the pastry. Lay the apple slices on top of the cheese.  Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden.  Serve with cinnamon ice cream and chopped hazelnuts.

to make the ice cream:

Make a slurry in a little jar of 1/4 cup of the half and half and the cornstarch and shake well.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the rest of the half and half and the cream, sugar, corn syrup, salt and vanilla bean seeds and the pod. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 4 minutes; stir in slurry and cinnamon. Return to a boil and cook, whisking the mixture, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, remove vanilla bean and pour into a heatproof bowl (I like to use a 4 cup Pyrex glass measuring cup). Refrigerate until very cold, stirring every once in a while. 

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process for 30 minutes.  Place ice cream in a plastic container, press plastic wrap on top of the ice cream and freeze.