Pumpkin ice cream pie with chocolate-almond bark
I suppose it's fitting that I saved the most extravagant variant of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving--ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate, almonds and toffee sauce. While it looked to be fairly labour intensive, I was interested in trying this unusual take on pumpkin pie.
Recipe
from Bon Appétit DessertsCrust12 graham crackers¼ cup sugar7 tbsp unsalted butter, meltedFilling1 cup canned pure pumpkin¾ cup packed golden brown sugar¼ cup heavy whipping cream1 tsp vanilla extract½ tsp ground ginger½ tsp ground cinnamon½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg¼ tsp ground allspice¼ tsp salt2 quarts premium vanilla ice cream, dividedBark6 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped½ cup slivered almonds, toasted, coarsely choppedSauce1 cup packed brown sugar¼ cup dark corn syrup3 tbsp water3 tbsp unsalted butter½ cup chilled heavy whipping cream1 tsp vanilla extract⅛ tsp saltWhipped cream1½ cups chilled heavy whipping cream2 tbsp sugarCrust: Preheat oven to 350 F. Finely grind graham crackers in processor. Mix in sugar. Add melted butter; process to blend. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and up sides of 10" diameter glass pie dish. Bake crust until lightly brown around edges, about 12 minutes. Cool completely.Filling: Whisk pumpkin, sugar, cream, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt in medium bowl. Slightly soften ice cream in microwave on low setting in 10-second intervals. Measure 1 cup ice am; cover and freeze (reserve for another use). Place remaining ice cream in large bowl. Working quickly, add pumpkin mixture and fold just until swirled into ice cream (do not blend completely). If ice cream begins to melt, place in freezer until almost firm again. Spoon ice cream filling into cooled crust, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours.Bark: Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir chocolate in medium metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth. Pour onto prepared sheet. Using offset spatula, spread chocolate in even layer into 12x9-inch rectangle. Sprinkle chocolate with nuts. Place in freezer until hard, at least 30 minutes. Invert onto work surface and peel off parchment. Chop coarsely. Place bark in airtight container and freeze.Sauce: Bring brown sugar, corn syrup, water and butter to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium and boil until mixture is dark brown, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Carefully stir in cream, vanilla and salt (mixture will bubble vigorously). Boil 1 minute longer. Cool slightly, whisking occasionally.Using mixer, beat cream and sugar in medium bowl until peaks form. Spoon whipped cream decoratively over pie. Sprinkle chocolate-almond bark over. Cut pie into wedges and serve, passing warm sauce separately.
Musings
A few notes on preparation: I used light corn syrup instead of dark corn syrup. My pie plate was 9½" instead of 10".With all of its layers and accoutrement, it was suitably impressive-looking. It was also quite tasty, an interesting combination of textures--crunchy bark, silky ice cream and fluffy whipped cream. David noted that a bit more pumpkin might be nice, as the pumpkin flavour wasn't super potent. My brother-in-law came up with a fairly ingenious way of serving it with the other pie we had on hand--apple pie à la mode, in this case pie with pie on top. It was suitably over-the-top but also delicious.