malted vanilla & graham cracker ice cream

ok i take horrible photos of food for this here blog. actually i only have a camera phone and it sucks. this actually looked very nice in person and had a bright yellowish hue. anyways, when i found this recipe i had to make it. i used fresh raw milk & eggs from a local farm. it was relatively easy to make, but between the cooling down & ice cream making process, it probably took somewhere between 6 & 7 hours to be ready. it was well worth it. when adding the graham cracker to the ice cream maker it disintegrated the cracker chunks into flecks, so it gives it the graham cracker flavor, but not the crunch. i would suggest keeping some extra crackers & crumble them up for a topping when serving. this ice cream would probably taste good sprinkled with some salt too. it kind of reminds me of cookies & cream ice cream but instead of chocolate, it's honey. yum! i doubled the recipe to share but i might eat it all!

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup white sugar

One 4-inch vanilla bean, split and scraped (optional)

3 large egg yolks, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch kosher salt

1/3 cup malt powder

3 graham crackers (plain, cinnamon or chocolate covered), crumbled

INSTRUCTIONS

Place the milk, cream, 1/4 cup of the sugar and, if desired, the vanilla bean seeds and pod (now empty) in a small pan and cook over low heat, whisking from time to time, until it is warm, about 175°F.

Place the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the vanilla extract and salt in a small metal bowl and whisk until completely mixed. Add 1/4 cup of the warm milk mixture to the eggs, whisking all the while. Continue adding the milk to the eggs, 1/4 cup at a time, until you have added about 1 1/2 cups. Slowly, whisking all the while, return the now milk and egg mixture to the remaining milk mixture in the pan and continue cooking until it just begins to thicken or reaches about 185°F. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Strain into a metal bowl and discard the solids. Gradually add the malt powder, whisking all the time. Set the mixture aside until it reaches room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until it reaches 40ºF, about 3 hours. Transfer to an ice cream maker and proceed according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

When the ice cream is just beginning to come together but has not hardened completely, add the graham crackers and process for about 5 more minutes.