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July 10, 2015
Maple Memories
February 1, 2014
Maple Walnut Ice cream has been on my mind since a while now (aye haye what a free mind). When I finally began to put it together, for a lunch I was hosting for my Grandparents, my mind (predictably so) decided to make a beeline for some lovely memories.
Some twenty odd years ago when my fat cells were fed regularly with sugary blends of all kinds, Movenpick Ice cream made its entry into our lives. Although the local brands namely Polka, Yummy and Hico churned out some rather decent creamy gelatos and then there was the hand-made ice cream with about 101 flavors (…kasmay) to choose from, Movenpick was rapturously lethal.
Wickedly cruel on the bum and the pocket this evil Swiss deliciousness became a permanent fixture in our freezer. And the credit for this goes mostly to my Grandmother. Looking out for everyone’s needs (family or not) the moment this graceful, generous lady found out about our latest sweet fancy she decided to get a regular supply direct from the distributor. Every week a white Suzuki minibus would be parked outside her pale blue steel gate delivering at least a dozen cartons of this smooth, sweet, heavenly ice cream, which would later be distributed amongst all the “Ice-cream-gives-us-a-high” family members. And the deliveries would double when all the cronies (read cousins) from Karachi, Dherki and Holland arrived.
And so began our love affair with Movenpick ice cream, religiously encouraged by my Grandmother. Out of the half a dozen flavors that the brand offered my brothers stuck to the insanely delicious “Chocolate Chip” and I played tennis between this and the naughty nutty “Maple Walnut”. The sweetness of amber colored maple syrup with distinct hints of sea salt combined with a creamy eggy custard base and wet, sticky walnuts as mix-ins it was a bombardment of well seasoned and mature flavors in the mouth.
Sadly, my affair ended when the ruthless weighing scale screamed out loud, and some of my weight had to be thrown about. However, since then whenever “guilt” has gone to sleep, ice cream has always topped on my sweet indulgence list.
And here I was after all these years, actually making Maple Walnut ice cream, at home, for the same elderly couple who were actually responsible for introducing this particular flavor to me. The recipe has been adapted from David Lebovitz’s Maple Walnut ice cream, which actually calls for 5 egg yolks. I have scaled it down to 4 egg yolks (the whites had to be used for macarons) without compromising on the taste in any way.
As I re-live my younger years while making the ice cream, hope this recipe creates some wonderful memories for you too.
