Eid Eats 2014 & Chocolate Covered Salted Caramel Ice Cream Stars

Hello everyone and welcome to the first of many Eid Eats! Eid Eats is a virtual Eid potluck party hosted by Asiya at Chocolate and Chilies and myself. Whether you are celebrating Eid this coming week or not you should keep an eye on this post for some delicious inspiration courtesy of some incredible bloggers.

To my Muslim friends I wish you an early Eid Mubarak – hope us bloggers provide you with some scrumptious ideas for your upcoming festivities!

Click on the Eid Eats button below to see what yummies have been prepared for this wonderful occasion and to submit your blog post as well. You can submit links (and check back for updates) till the 29th of July 🙂

Today I am bringing to you a dessert that is part recipe and part idea. In other words you can make it like I did or take the idea and run with it. Either way it should be tons of fun 🙂

Some time ago I had made this star shaped kulfi and since Eid and Chaand Raat (the night the new moon is spotted signifying the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid) reminds me of all things celestial I thought I would go with a fun spin on that idea. I present to you homemade salted caramel icecream in a star shaped chocolate shell with a smattering of edible gold stars scattered across the top.

It is beautiful, luscious, and decadent all at the same time making it utterly celebration worthy.

Now obviously you can use any ice cream that you like, but do remember that a chocolate coating adds an element of sweetness so a less sweet ice cream is ideal. If you have an ice cream machine then this recipe is a must try.

Chocolate Covered Salted Caramel Ice cream Stars

Chocolate Shells:

6 Star Shaped Silicon Chocolate Moulds (or whatever shape your heart desires, individual silicon ones are easiest to pop out)
3 cup melted chocolate chips or dark cocoa candy melts

The idea is simple. Spoon some melted chocolate into the bottom of each mould, and then briskly paint it out with a brush. Let it harden in the fridge and then fill with softened – or freshly churned – ice cream. Let harden – 3-4 hours, and then pipe over a layer of melted chocolate. Tap to set, freeze.

However, there are some tips that will make all the difference in how they turn out. Take this from someone who destroyed a few and learnt from her mistakes:-

* When painting the mould err on the side of thickness, too thin a form can easily crack once unmolded.
*Gently but firmly tap the mould against the counter once you paint in a star to even out the chocolate
* Clean the outside edges of the mould to make sure your final product has clean lines
* Check and recheck for spots that require a touch up of melted chocolate
* The ice cream needs to be rock solid when you add the final chocolate layer
* Do not overfill the mould with ice cream as the base part of the chocolate has to ‘connect’ with the chocolate sides. Excess ice cream stops that from happening.

When you go to unmould gently loosen the sides first then press the base of the mould to get the star out. Sprinkle with these pretty things just before serving

Salted Caramel Ice cream
(Recipe from Epicurious, makes 1 quart)

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 1/4 cups heavy cream, divided
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt such as Maldon
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
3 large eggs

Heat 1 cup sugar in a dry 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat sugar evenly, until it starts to melt, then stop stirring and cook, swirling skillet occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is dark amber.

Add 1 1/4 cups cream (mixture will spatter) and cook, stirring, until all of caramel has dissolved. Transfer to a bowl and stir in sea salt and vanilla. Cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, bring milk, remaining cup cream, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally.

Lightly whisk eggs in a medium bowl, then add half of hot milk mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour back into saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard coats back of spoon and registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer (do not let boil). Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, then stir in cooled caramel.

Chill custard, stirring occasionally, until very cold, 3 to 6 hours. Freeze custard in ice cream maker (it will still be quite soft), then use it for the moulds or transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to firm up. I used roughly half my icecream for six moulds.