Cooking for Beginners: How to Make Ice Cream Pies

Ice cream pies can be made with a crumb pie crust, such as a graham cracker crust, or a meringue pie crust (see below). The small effort required to make the meringue pie crust is well-rewarded by the extra dimension the meringue brings to the dish. Any flavor of ice cream can be used, here are two recipes using chocolate and coffee ice cream.

Two-layer Chocolate Ice Cream Pie

• 1 9” (225mm) pie shell

• 1 cup (8oz / 225ml) of chocolate ice cream

• 1 quart (32oz / 900ml) of vanilla ice cream

• 1 cup (4oz / 110g) of chocolate morsels

• Whipped cream and chocolate curls or sprinkles

• 1 carton of chocolate pudding or 1 package of instant chocolate pudding mix (optional)

• 1 teaspoon of rum essence (optional)

Process:

1. Allow the chocolate ice cream to soften for a moment or two out of the freezer so that it is easier to work.

2. Spread the chocolate ice cream over the base of the pie shell, cover the pie shell and place it in the freezer until the chocolate ice cream has frozen solid again (approx. 15 minutes).

3. After 10 minutes, take the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer and allow it to soften for 3-4 minutes. When softer, stir in the chocolate morsels, distributing them evenly throughout the ice cream.

4. Take the pie shell out of the freezer and spread the vanilla ice cream over the chocolate ice cream in the shell. Cover the shell and return it to the freezer to refreeze for at least 8 hours.

5. When ready to serve, remove the pie from the freezer and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Then cover with sweet whipped cream and dust with chocolate sprinkles or curls. You may like to serve the pie with a tablespoon or two of chocolate pudding poured over the top of each portion. The pie should yield 8 portions.

6. Another alternative is to pour the pudding over the vanilla ice cream once it is firm and freeze the pie for 8 hours. You could then omit the whipped cream, if desired. For additional flavor, a teaspoon of rum essence can be mixed with the chocolate pudding before serving.

Notes:

For ice cream pies, the crumb or cracker crust does not need to be baked first.

A layer of sweet whipped cream can be added on top of the vanilla ice cream, if desired. Finish the pie off with a dusting of chocolate sprinkles or curls.

You can produce pies in many different flavors simply by flavoring basic vanilla ice cream at home (How to make coffee ice cream and other flavors). The technique also works well with low-fat and non-dairy ice creams and frozen desserts.

Mocha Meringue Pie

This is a simple but luxurious pie made with coffee ice cream, topped with whipped cream and served in a meringue pie crust. There is no need to scour the gourmet ice cream shops for coffee ice cream, you can make your own quite easily.

• 1 meringue pie crust (see below)

• 1 quart of home-made coffee ice cream

• Sweet whipped cream for topping

• Chocolate sprinkles or curls

• 1 carton of chocolate pudding or 1 package of instant chocolate pudding mix (optional)

• 1 teaspoon of rum essence (optional)

Process:

1. Take one cooled meringue pie crust and fill it with the slightly softened coffee ice cream. Spread the ice cream evenly over the surface of the shell. Cover the pie and freeze it overnight or for at least 8 hours.

2. When ready to serve, allow the pie to stand for 10 minutes. Cover with whipped cream and cut into portions. The pie should yield 8 portions.

3. If desired, as a finishing touch, you can pour a tablespoon of Kalhúa liqueur over each portion or mix 1 teaspoon of rum essence (or more, to suit your taste) with a carton of chocolate pudding to make a non-alcoholic sauce and pour a tablespoon of this over each portion.

How to Make a Meringue Pie Crust

• 4 egg whites

• ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar

• 6 tablespoons of sugar

• ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

Process:

1. Beat the room temperature egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer set at High speed for 1 minute until frothy.

2. Gradually add 6 tablespoons of sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating until the sugar has all dissolved and stiff peaks form (peaks that do not collapse are left when the beaters are stopped and withdrawn from the mixture).

3. Beat in the vanilla.

4. Spread the meringue evenly over the bottom and sides of a greased 9” pie dish and bake for 30 minutes at 350°F (180°C). Allow to cool.