Inspired by a recent trip to Quebec City, and two pints of pure Maine maple syrup sitting in my cupboard, I decided to make a batch of maple walnut ice cream. I found a recipe online at epicurious, but modified it a bit, and was very pleased with the results. Instead of using two cups of heavy whipping cream, I used one cup of heavy whipping cream and one cup of half and half. I also used grade A dark amber maple syrup because that’s what I had, instead of the grade B syrup that the recipe called for. I chilled the custard overnight, and found that it was nearly as thick as pudding in the morning. I was a bit worried as I poured, or rather scooped, it into my ice cream maker. It actually froze nicely, and had a very creamy, smooth texture. I would put as much as 3/4 c. of walnuts in next time to give it a little more crunch.
I garnished the ice cream with maple leaf cookies, which I purchased at L’Intermarché St-Jean, a small grocery store located on rue St-Jean in Quebec City. This grocery store is great because it has a wide variety of products that we cannot buy at home, yet the prices are very reasonable unlike some of the épiceries nearby that have wonderful products, but seem more geared toward tourists than people just looking for a snack or a few groceries.
