Recipe - Prune Sherry Ice Cream With Burnt Sugar Sauce

6 ounce Pitted prunes; (about 1 cup)
One fourth cup Dry Sherry
1 2/3 cup Sugar
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
1 Whole large egg
3 lg Egg yolks
2 cup Milk
1 One half cup Heavy cream
One half cup Sliced almonds; toasted
lightly

In a saucepan combine the prunes and 1 cup water, bring the water to a
boil, and simmer the prunes for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are very
soft. Add the Sherry, simmer the mixture for 1 minute, and let it cool. In
a food processor puree the mixture coarse.

In a bowl whisk together 2/3 cup of the sugar, the cornstarch, the whole
egg, and the yolks and add the milk, scalded, in a stream, whisking. In a
heavy saucepan bring the mixture to a boil over moderate heat, whisking,
and boil it, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes. Strain the custard through
a fine sieve into a metal bowl set in a large bowl of ice and cold water
and add the prune mixture and the cream. Stir the custard mixture until it
is cold and freeze it in an icecream freezer according to the
manufacturer's instructions. Line a metal loaf pan, 9 by 5 by 3 inches,
with plastic wrap, spoon the ice cream into it, and freeze the ice cream,
the top smoothed and the surface covered with plastic wrap, for at least 8
hours or overnight. The ice cream may be made 1 week in advance.

In a dry large deep heavy skillet cook the remaining 1 cup sugar over
moderately low heat, undisturbed, until it is melted, increase the heat to
moderate, and cook the sugar, swirling the skillet occasionally, until it
turns a deep caramel. Remove the skillet from the heat, pour 1 cup hot
water carefully into the side of the skillet, and boil the burnt sugar
sauce, stirring, until it is syrupy and reduced to about Three fourths cup. The sauce
may be made 1 week in advance and kept covered and chilled. Unmold the ice
cream and serve it, cut or sliced up , with the sauce, warm or at room temperature,
and sprinkled with the almonds.

Serves 6 to 8.

Gourmet October 1990

Converted by MC_Buster.

Converted by MM_Buster v2.0l.