Easter Egg Ice Cream

Easter preparations have begun in earnest.  Hard-boiled eggs have been dyed, benevolent rodents have been plied with unreasonable gift requests, and at least one food blogger we know has put a serious dent in the Greater Boston Cadbury Crème Egg supply.  And while I know deep down in my heart that Easter isn’t only about the candy, I think Christ would agree that it’s totally all about the candy.  And it was only a matter of time before I wised up and started freezing some of it away to extend the season.  (See?  I’m a good little locavore.)

Ordinarily, I try not to take my culinary cues from the fast food chains, but what can I say?  Every once in a while, McDonald’s has a good idea.  Namely, the Cadbury Crème Egg McFlurry, which is all the rage in the British motherland (thanks, Jo!).  Basically, it’s crushed Cadbury Crème Eggs in vanilla ice cream.  The speed with which I was able to recreate this at home was limited only by the speed with which I could sweep an entire shelf’s worth of crème eggs into my shopping cart.  Which is to say, not long.

The evidence:

(This is what it looked like after I excavated most of the candy out of it.  Notice the yellowish pools of fondant goo?  Guess I missed a few spots.)

I could draw this story out longer than it really needs to be, but I’m sure you have other things to do.  The results?  Were disappointing.  Shocking, I know, coming from someone who conducts elaborate experiments and writes Plath-like poetry on the subject.  Who wouldn’t love Cadbury Crème Eggs in ice cream besides the 98% of the world’s population that hates crème eggs? 

I’ve concluded that it’s a conceptual problem.  You’re diluting the crème egg so less of it comes into contact with your tongue at once.  That’s not the spirit of the crème egg at all.  The crème egg is all about killing yourself softly with sweetness, but then resurrecting yourself because you have to have another crème egg even if it kills you.  Which it will.  Again.  That’s the moral of Easter, I’m pretty sure.  The sub-moral is: Crème Egg ice cream sucks.

But it got me thinking about Robin’s Eggs, and how much I love those malted milk balls.  And malt goes so nicely with dairy products, as the fifties proved.  Plus, the speckled candy shells come in several festive Easter hues, which, though not altogether true to nature, would give the ice cream appropriately hideous visual interest. 

Now this?  This is a good idea.

Robin’s Egg Ice Cream

Good with Whoppers, too.

2 eggs
¾ cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
10-oz. bag of Robin’s Egg malted milk balls

Whisk the (chicken’s) eggs for a few minutes.  Add the sugar, little by little, whisking all the while.  Add the cream and milk, and whisk until sugar dissolves.  Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions (usually to spin for 25 minutes or so). 

Meanwhile, pour the robin’s eggs into a plastic storage bag and crush with a mallet or hammer.  Once the ice cream machine is done with its magic, pour soupy mixture into a freezable container, and fold the crushed candy in as you go.  Freeze until stiff.

Comments

[Mary]

Cadburry Creme Egg ice cream really isn't even something I would want to try, but I'd gladly inhale all of your Robin's Egg ice cream! I love those.

[NurseJen]

I'm thinking you'd have to freeze the Cadbury eggs and crack them into pieces just before folding them into the ice cream -- otherwise the fondant would just get blended in...

[Tammy]

NurseJen: You're absolutely right and that's what I did. Intact fondant is key. But it still didn't do it for me.

Mary: There are definitely two Easter camps: that of the creme egg and that of the malted milk egg. Unless you're in both.

[pyewacket]

Malted milk eggs, all the way. Creme eggs creep me out.

I love malted ice cream, and if you want to push the flavor further, you could add malted milk powder to the base. Yum.

[Tricia]

Benevolent rodents? I'm picturing Chuck E Cheese here. Doesn't the benevolent lagomorph make it to the greater Boston area??

[Thanks Easter Bunny]

If there's one thing Syliva Plath loved, it's Cadbury Creme Eggs.

[Alyson]

Yum. Robins' eggs ice cream. I would think the creme egg thing wouldn't work out so well. I would also think the creme eggs in or from England would be better than the ones here, although I have no evidence to support this theory. Well, other than the fact that Cadbury chocolate is better in Ireland and England. I've heard it's because over there they use unpasteurized milk, but I don't know if that's true.

[Linsey]

Good lord, woman, that's some potent stuff! I'd like to insert myself into your freezer and move my things in there. I'd be up to my elbows in your delicious ice cream!

[adele]

I think I'll take a pass on both kinds of ice-cream, but tomorrow, I'm going on a hunt for half-price Cadbury Caramel Eggs.

Mmm, caramel.

[Tammy]

adele: I bet those would make lovely ice cream, as well.

Linsey: You guys are so nice to humor me!

Alyson: We did a taste test last year between British creme eggs (by way of Canada) and American ones. The results are here: http://www.foodonthefood.com/food_on_the_food/2008/04/cadbury-crme-eg.html

I'm not sure what it proved.

Easter Bunny: I don't think they give out Pulitzers to people who like creme eggs. It's an unspoken rule.

Tricia: You and your crazy new animal classifications! (Only the Easter pika ventures to the top of this alpine cliff we live on!)

pyewacket: Yes! Which reminds me that I need to replenish my Horlick's powder so I can be ready to make Grape-Nut ice cream when the spirit moves me.

[Katie]

The robin eggs need to be in CHOCOLATE ice cream, woman!!! Chocolate makes everything better! Now make some and send me a batch so I can determine if it's up to my standards :)

[Elizabeth L. Frasier]

Ice Cream "eggs" shaped in molds makes sense. But Cadbury Creme Eggs dipped in ice cream is a heartattack waiting to happen!