Ice Cream

1. Whisk together 3 large eggs in a big bowl and set it aside.
2. Measure and weigh out 3 oz of Hirten cheese
3. Chop it finely and set aside.
4. Mix together the milk, cream and sugar until they’re nearly at the boil.
5. Whisk a bit of the eggs into the hot milk, cream and sugar mixture SLOWLY, and a bit at a time.
6. This is so you don’t wind up with Hirten cheese scrambled eggs. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it doesn’t make for a great dessert if ice cream is what you’re after.
7. Now it’s time to stir the Hirten cheese into the egg, milk, cream and sugar mixture.
8. Whisk it until it’s smooth. Do not let it boil.
9. Now, here’s the twist. This is the time when most people take their cheese ice cream and pour it through a strainer to get our any crystals. However, when working with a fine cheese like Hirten or an aged Gouda, I find that the little bits of crystal in the cheese are just fine in the ice cream and in fact add to the flavor.
10. Chill the mixture for a bit in the fridge until it’s nice and cold.
11. Pour it into your ice cream machine and churn for about 25 to 30 minutes or until it’s nice and firm.
12. Put it into the freezer until you’re ready to serve.
13. Now while that’s chilling, time to make The Stout Caramel.

Stout Caramel

1. Start with a good bottle of Stout. I used Old Rasputin.
2. Pour the Stout into a pan and simmer it on the stove for about 10 minutes.
3. Stir it every once and a while while it’s cooking down.
4. Add in the butter
5. And the brown sugar.
6. Cook everything for about 12 minutes. Don’t stir it!
7. When it reaches 225 degrees on the candy thermometer and turns syrupy, it’s done.
8. Take the pot off the heat.
9. Add the whipping cream, salt and vanilla . Keep stirring as you do this so nothing curdles.
10. Put the pan back on the stove.
11. Turn down the heat to medium and cook for another few minutes until the caramel turns thick and creamy. Look for it to coat the back of a spoon.
12. Serve it up. Drizzle it over the Hirten cheese ice cream.
13. There it is. Your cheese course, your after dinner stout and dessert all in one bowl.