The Mountaineer's crumble, a simple but genial topping supposed to originate from a snack with roots back to Edmund Hillary's legendary climb of Mount Everest, is what makes this heroic ice cream stand out, adorning the snow-like vanilla chunks of the delicate gelato-style vanilla à la Fernanda Gosetti.
Ingredients
The Mountaineer's crumble (the topping)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons white sugar
200 ml (almost 1 cup) crushed corn flakes
2 tablespoons assorted chopped nuts of your own choice
2 tablespoons butter
The Vanilla ice cream
5 egg yolks
125 ml (about ½ cup) sugar
450 ml (almost 1 cup) milk
100 ml (0.4 cup) cream
1 teaspoon of good quality genuine vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla bean, if you so prefer)
(optional: 1 tablespoon of Agave nectar or equivalent inverted sugar)
(optional: 50 ml (1/5 cup) yoghurt)
Instructions
The Mountaineer's crumble (the topping)
Put all ingredients except for the butter in a bowl.
Crush the corn flakes, while doing your best to mix them as much as you can with the other ingredients.
On low heat, melt the butter (avoid burning it).
Add the cornflakes-nuts-sugar mix to the melted sugar, stir and continue to heat until the sugar has melted.
Pour the resulting paste on plate covered with a non-stick bakery paper or equivalent and let cool down, preferably even chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before using.
Use the crumbles as delicious topping, generously sprinkled over your vanilla ice cream of choice!
The Vanilla ice cream
Whisk together all ingredients (except for the yoghurt, if using!) in a sauce pan.
On low- to medium heat, and while whisking fairly continuously, bring the mixture up to about 82-84º Celsius (189-183 ºF); the so-called nappe stage when you should be able to draw a line through the custard on the back of a spoon (or equivalent) that stays. For added security, use a thermometer!
Take off from the heat and cool down the ice cream base as fast as possible. When sufficiently cool, add the yoghurt (if using), and put in a refrigerator to chill for about five hours (or preferably, over night).
Remove the vanilla bean-parts (if using) and pour the chilled ice cream base in your ice cream machine and churn according to instructions.
Store the ice cream in a freezer-safe container with lid, making sure to cover the surface with plastic film before putting on the lid. To avoid sogginess, store the Mountaineer's crumble separately in a closed box in the fridge and add by the time of serving.
Recipe by ICE CREAM NATION at https://www.icecreamnation.org/2015/03/mount-everest-ice-cream-a-la-edmund-hillary/