Eggnog Ice Cream

I once read that Alaskans eat more ice cream per capita than any other state. I'm not really sure why that is. Maybe we need to build up our winter layers to keep warm and ice cream is the best way to do that. I really liked ice cream before I ever moved to Alaska, so maybe Alaska just attracts ice cream lovers. Possibly it is always so cold here that it reminds us of ice cream. Today was the first time since I have lived in Fairbanks that school has been closed due to snowfall. What did I spend the day doing? Shoveling! Well, besides shoveling I made ice cream.
Eggnog ice cream is an interesting concept because eggnog essentially is already ice cream batter. It contains eggs and cream which are the two main components of ice cream. So really you could use just about any eggnog recipe and toss it in your ice cream maker and have eggnog ice cream. I adapted this recipe from The Perfect Scoop because it was the booziest eggnog ice cream I could find. This one will be pretty soft directly from the ice cream maker because the booze doesn't allow it to set up as firmly, but after a few hours in the freezer it will certainly not be hard, but it will hold its shape a lot better.
I wanted to let you know that this is the last eggnog recipe I'll be posting this holiday season. It has been quite a noggy week here and there's only so much eggnog even I can take in one week.

Eggnog Ice Cream

Amazon.com

adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 cups heavy cream
7 large egg yolks
1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
2 tbsp. dark rum
1 tbsp. brandy
1 tbsp. cognac
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine the whole milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan.  Warm over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.  Pour the cream into a large mixing bowl and set a fine mesh sieve over the top.   In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Once the milk mixture is warm, slowly add it into the egg yolks, whisking constantly.  Return the mixture to the saucepan.  Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan with a heat-proof spatula, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon.  Remove the custard from the heat and pour the mixture through the mesh sieve, into the cream.  Add in the nutmeg, rum, brandy, cognac, and vanilla extract and stir to combine.  Cover and chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.
When completely chilled, freeze the batter in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Store in an airtight container in the freezer. Garnish with a little extra freshly grated nutmeg when serving.