Dream Cream

I've had an insatiable, almost homicidal desire for Horchata lately. It seems that no amount of the stuff can slake my thirst.  It's refreshing, sweet (but not too sweet), and a perfect balance between the warmth of the cinnamon and the light, cold creaminess of the drink itself.  I love it!!

Since moving to LA I've been in Mexican Food Heaven (everything is so cheap! And delicious! And on every block!) and chugging Horchata at every chance I get.

I was at lunch last week with with my lovely, health-conscious friend Lexi when suddenly we had a brilliant idea: why not make Horchata ice cream and take it to the next level? So I took a whack at it.

Here's what I came up with:

And here's how I did it:

Horchata Ice Cream
 
2 1/2 C milk
1/4 C ground almond (food processed)
Splash or 2 of vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cardamom (if you have it)
1/3 C honey (I used creamed clover honey)
2/3 C rice (I only had brown)

Heat the milk to a low simmer.  Add honey, almonds & spices.  Pour the hot milk over the rice and let cool then refrigerate overnight (if you're in a rush 2+ hours will do).  You want your flavors to make friends!

Blend the mixture on high until it's a smooth as possible.

Pour the mixture through a strainer. Take a couple dollops of the coarse, grainy, almond-and-rice stuff that didn't go through, and stir it back in with the Horchata mixture. 


Discard the rest or, if you hate to waste all those lovely sweet, spiced rice & almond granules, incorporate it into this recipe for (gluten-free!) Italian Cornmeal Cake. Substitute your dregs for the almond flour, but add in with the ricotta and wet ingredients--not with the cornmeal!  You may have to experiment with decreasing the amount of ricotta so your batter is not too wet.  Anyway...


Stir the horchata mixture (approx. 1 1/2 C) in with 1 pint heavy cream. Pour into ice cream maker and let mix 25ish minutes till thickened.  

And for your listening pleasure, here is the lovely Vampire Weekend song, named after our favorite eponymous beverage:

So charming and catchy; I like it almost as much as the drink itself!