Crunchy Ice Cream Pie - - Torta Croccante al Gelato

Prep Time: 60 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound (225 g) chocolate chip cookies
• 1/2 cup (100 g) unsalted butter
• 1/4 pound (100 g) mixed almonds and hazelnuts, pralined (see instructions below)
• 1 pound (500 g) ice cream (follow recipe below, or use your favorite)
• 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
• 1/4 pound (100 g) baking chocolate

Preparation:

Remove the butter from the fridge a couple hours before you start to let it warm up. When it has softened, break it up into bits, dropping them into a blender together with the pralined nuts and the cookies. Whir the mixture until you obtain a homogenous, not too fine mass of crumbs.

Take a fairly low-sided crostata or tart pan (10-11 inch, or 26-28 cm diameter, and, if possible, with fluted edges) and line it with the crumb mixture, spreading it to an even thickness with the back of a spoon. Cover the crust with plastic wrap and chill it for at least an hour in the freezer.

If you're making the ice cream, now's the time to do it.
You'll need:

• 1 pint (500 ml) whole milk
• 2/5 cup (100 ml) honey
• A vanilla bean, or a teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
• 1/2 cup (80 g) chopped pralined almonds
• An ice cream machine

Bring the milk to a boil with the vanilla and the honey. Turn off the heat and let the vanilla bean steep. In the meantime, beat the eggs with the sugar until the mixture is pale and frothy. Add the hot milk in a very thin stream, stirring all the while, and when you have finished adding it put the resulting cream in your ice cream machine, and make the ice cream. When it has firmed up, add the almonds.

When the ice cream is ready, or after the crust has chilled if you're using store-bought ice cream, remove the crust from the freezer and gently slide it onto a serving platter. Use an ice cream scoop to fill the piecrust with balls of ice cream, and when you are done return the pie to the freezer lest anything melt.

Gently heat the quarter cup of sugar in a non-stick pan without stirring it about; when it reaches a golden hue add a tablespoon of cold water and stir briskly. At the same time, melt the chocolate over a double boiler.

Remove the ice cream pie from the freezer and drizzle the chocolate over it, in a thin stream, followed by the caramel. Return the pie to the freezer; if your freezer is very cold, remove it shortly before serving time to allow it to soften a little, or it will be difficult to slice. Note: If you make the pie several hours ahead, decorate it with the chocolate and the caramel just before serving it.

How To Make Pralined Almonds Or Other Nuts:

It's not difficult, but does require care lest you burn the nuts. You'll need:

• 1/3 cup (80 ml) water
• 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
• 2 cups (250 g) whole nuts, for example almonds (untoasted)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Heat the water and sugar in a nonstick pan to make a syrup; simmer the syrup until it reaches a temperature of 248 F (124 C) on a candy thermometer, and then remove the pan from the heat and add the nuts. Stir until the sugar crystallizes and looks sandy, and then return the pan to the fire. Cook the nuts over low heat, stirring gently and being careful lest they burn, for about 10 minutes, or until the crystallized sugar liquefies and coats the nuts. Remove the pan from the stove, stir in the butter, and spread the nuts on a baking sheet to cool. They'll keep for 2 weeks in an airtight container.

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