Pecan toffee ice cream

With all this warm, sunny weather, there’s only one thing on my mind… home-made ice cream! I got my trusty Cuisineart machine out of the loft this week and made us some pecan toffee ice cream.

First off, I made the toffee. This step takes no more than 10 minutes and the toffee can be made days in advance, if needed, just store it in an airtight container until needed.

You can make the toffee with other types of nuts if you prefer; Brazils, macadamias, almonds (use almond extract instead of vanilla paste/extract in the ice cream recipe), peanuts, walnuts… or a mixture of nuts.

Second, I made a basic vanilla ice cream mixture. Once churned, I stirred in the bashed up pecan toffee – don’t forget to set aside a few shards for decoration.

If you’re anything like me, you like to add even more toppings to your ice cream – chocolate, butterscotch, maple or caramel syrups are all good… chocolate chips or chunks are even better!

Click here or on the image below to save my recipe to Pinterest

Pecan toffee ice cream

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Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Ingredients

For the pecan toffee

100 g pecan halves
50 g butter
150 g granulated sugar
1 tbsp water

For the ice cream

180 ml/6 fl oz/¾ cup full fat milk
140 g/5oz/⅔ cup granulated sugar
300 ml/10½ fl oz/1½ cups double cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, to taste

Instructions

For the pecan toffee

Grease & line a baking sheet with parchment paper
Lay out the pecan halves on the prepared sheet. Put the sheet of pecans next to, or actually on, the stove-top
In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan (a cast iron skillet would be ideal) over a medium heat, add the butter sugar and water. Stir to until the butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved
Turn the heat up to high and allow the mixture to bubble and begin to evaporate. Do not stir during this stage
Keep a close eye and nose on the bubbling mixture, you're looking for the colour to start turning brown to begin smelling like caramel. It can get to this stage and suddenly go over in an instant and begin to burn. Just as you think the mixture is at this point, pour it carefully over the pecans. Be very careful, the mixture is exceedingly hot and sticky
Allow to cool completely
Break up into fairly large shards. Set aside 6 of these shards and put the rest of the pecan toffee into a large mixing bowl
Using a large pestle (or the end of a rolling pin, like I did) grind the toffee into smaller pieces - not quite a powder, you want small chunks
Set aside while you make the ice cream

For the ice cream

In a large saucepan over a very low heat add the milk and sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Set aside and allow to cool completely
Stir in the cream and the vanilla paste/extract
Pour the mixture into your ice cream machine and churn following the manufacturer's instructions
A couple of minutes before the end of the churning process, with the machine still turning, spoon in the ground pecan toffee
When the toffee has been combined well into the ice cream, turn the mixture out into a 1-litre lidded tub and put into the freezer to 'ripen' for at least a couple of hours

To serve: Scoop portions out into bowls or coupes and garnish with the reserved shards

Keyword ice cream, pecans, toffee

Cakes & Bakes: Fig & pecan cookies

Justin is quite a porridge maestro and makes it often, particularly in the cold winter months. He has a variety of ingredients that he turns to – nuts & dried fruits, in particular. One favoured combination that we’ve had a few times recently is fig and pecan which works really well. It got me thinking about whether this delicious blend would make good cookies… I couldn’t see why not.

So I rustled up a cookie dough and folded in the aforementioned ingredients. I then dropped spoonfuls on to the prepared baking tray; if you like your cookies to look a little less rustic, you can roll portions between the palms of your hands to form balls. Don’t forget to flatten them with your fingers or the back of a spoon.

The cookies are like fig rolls… only better! They’re certainly going to be making a regular appearance in our biscuit tin!

Click here or on the image below to save my fig & pecan cookie recipe to Pinterest

Fig & pecan cookies

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Cook Time 12

Servings 16 cookies

Equipment

large mixing bowl
wire whisk
rubber spatula
baking sheet

Ingredients

150 g butter softened
85 g demerara sugar
1 medium egg
150 g plain flour
50 g pecans roughly chopped
100 g soft figs roughly chopped

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas mark 6
Grease & line a large baking sheet with parchment paper
In a large mixing bowl and using a wire whisk, cream together the softened butter and demerara sugar
Add the egg and whisk until fully incorporated
Sift over the flour and fold in using a rubber spatula
Stir in the chopped figs and chopped pecans until they are distributed evenly through the cookie dough
Using a tablespoon, drop spoonfuls (about 40 grams each) onto the prepared baking sheet. Leave a couple of centimetres between each as the dough spreads a little
Flatten each with the back of a spoon. You can wet the spoon prior to avoid the dough sticking to it
Sprinkle the top of each with a little granulated sugar to give them a bit of a crunch
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the cookies begin to brown around the edges
Allow the cooked cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack
Repeat stages 7-11 until all the cookie dough has been used

Keyword biscuits, cookies, figs, pecans

Cakes & Bakes: Banana pancakes with maple syrup-glazed pecans

We’ve been really good this Christmas – we haven’t thrown any food away. Thanks to some thoughtful menu planning, all our leftovers were magicked up into new dishes.

There was a single, overripe banana that got close to the edge – but I used it today to make banana pancakes topped with maple syrup-glazed pecans.

If you don’t have maple syrup, you could use runny honey instead. You could also swap the pecans for walnuts.

Because of the amount of natural sugar in the ripe banana, the pancakes caramelised quickly around the edges. My advice is to heat the frying pan and then turn the heat down as low as it will go once you pour in the batter. Don’t wait until the top-side has dried before you flip it… you risk burning. Two minutes each side… tops!

The pancakes and garnish were a triumph – a stack of light, fluffy pancakes with a sweet, nutty topping. We had a lovely brunch for two – all down to not wanting to throw out a banana!

Click here or on the image below to save my banana pancakes recipe to Pinterest

Banana pancakes with maple syrup-glazed pecans

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Course Breakfast

Servings 4 people

Equipment

hand blender
crepe/pancake pan
wok/sauté pan

Ingredients

1 medium banana overripe
120 ml milk
25 g caster sugar
1 medium egg
1 pinch salt
100 g self-raising flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 knob butter
100 g pecans
3 tbsps maple syrup plus extra for drizzling

Instructions

In a large measuring jug, add the banana (chopped), milk, sugar, egg and salt. Blitz using a hand blender (or use the jug blender attachment of a stand mixer, if you have one)
Sift in the self-raising flour and bicarbonate of soda and pulse until just mixed in. Cover and chill in the fridge while you prepare the maple syrup-glazed pecans
Turn your oven on to the lowest heat setting and put a heat-proof plate inside - this is to keep the first pancakes warm while you cook off the later ones
Melt the knob of butter in a wok or steep-sided frying pan. Add the pecans and toss until lightly toasted
Add the 3 tablespoons of maple syrup syrup and toss again until the pecans are completely coated. Set the pecans aside until the pancakes are cooked
Heat your pancake/frying pan and add a teaspoon of vegetable oil. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting
Pour in about 100ml/5 tablespoons of the batter into the centre of the pan so that it forms a circle. After about a minute, the top should begin to bubble and dry out slightly. Lift the edge every so often to make sure that it isn't beginning to burn on the bottom. Slide a spatula underneath and flip over to cook the other side. When both sides are cooked, put the pancake on the warmed plate in the oven. Repeat until all the batter has been used
Divide the pancakes between 4 plates (or two, if you're both hungry!), sprinkle over the pecans, drizzle over a little more maple syrup and serve

Banana pancakes and maple syrup-glazed pecans ingredients

Keyword bananas, maple syrup, pancakes, pecans

Cakes & Bakes: Pecan sponge layer cake with maple syrup buttercream frosting

It feels like it’s been ages since I made an iced sponge cake; it’s something we enjoy mid-afternoon with a cuppa. I recently replenished the stock of dried fruits and nuts in my pantry so I decided to bake a pecan sponge layer cake with maple syrup buttercream frosting.

During lockdown I couldn’t get my hands on any flour, so I stocked up on different types that I bought online direct from Shipton Mill. One was their soft cake and pastry flour; the consistency of the cake was much lighter as a result. I won’t be going back to plain old self-raising in a hurry!

Pecans are probably my favourite nuts to cook with however, you can try this recipe using walnuts or brazils instead.

I have a very sweet tooth, so the amount of frosting suits my taste. If you think it’s too much, you could always use 100 grams each of butter and icing sugar and 50ml of maple syrup.

It’s pretty much the best cake we’ve had in a long time, lovely with coffee or tea.

Click here or on the image below to save my pecan sponge layer cake with maple syrup buttercream frosting recipe to Pinterest

Pecan sponge layer cake with maple syrup buttercream frosting

2020-08-25 12:06:27

Serves 8

Cook Time

30 min

Cook Time

30 min

Ingredients

175g/6oz butter, softened
175g/6oz caster sugar
3 large eggs
175g/6oz self-raising flour, sifted
1tsp vanilla extract
50g/1¾oz pecans

For the frosting

300g/ icing (powdered) sugar, sifted
150g/ butter, softened
100ml maple syrup

To finish

8 pecan halves

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For the cake

Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC/325ºF/Gas mark 3
Grease & line two 18cm/7-inch round cake tins
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter & sugar until light and fluffy
In a measuring jug, whisk the eggs and mix in the vanilla extract
Add the eggs, bit by bit, into the butter/sugar mixture stirring constantly
Carefully fold in the flour in 3 or 4 rounds, trying not to lose the airiness in the mixture
Chop the pecans, fairly finely, and carefully fold them into the mixture
Divide the batter equally between the two prepared cake tins, gently levelling the tops with the back of a spoon
Place them on the centre shelf and bake for 30 minutes or until the tops have turned golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes away clean
Put the cakes, still in their tins, on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Then, remove them from the tins, peel off the parchment liners and allow to cool completely

For the frosting

Combine the softened butter and icing sugar
Stir in the maple syrup until the mixture is light and fluffy
Set aside while the cake layers cool completely

To finish

Use about a ⅓ of the frosting to sandwich the two cakes together
Spread the rest on the top and sides of the sandwiched layers and stud the top with the 8 pecan halves

Notes

Instead of self-raising, I used cake flour to which I added 2 tsps baking powder

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