Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

We've been dealing with some very un-Fall-like weather. Humid and warm. I'm refusing to put on my capris again, so to cope with the rise in temperature and still have a little taste of Fall, I made some pumpkin pie ice cream.

This recipe has the traditional pumpkin pie spices. Jonathan thinks the spices take away from the pumpkin flavor a bit, but it's still really good. I think the first time we had this ice cream, we paired it with some angel food cake, which is definitely a fabulous combination.

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
Courtesy of Nick Holcomb 2002 for FoodTV.com's Ice Cream Cook-Off Competition

4 cups half and half
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 vanilla beans
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
7.5 ounces canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Combine all dairy into a saucepan along with the sugar. Split and scrape the vanilla beans into the dairy and sugar mixture. Bring to 170ºF to dissolve sugar, then let cool at room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator overnight.

While dairy is heating, grate nutmeg into pumpkin and add the other spices. Mix in a bowl to combine and chill overnight in the refrigerator.

The next day, take pumpkin and dairy mixture out. Filter dairy mixture to remove large vanilla bean pieces. Add some of the dairy mixture to the pumpkin and mix well to loosen it up. Then mix both the dairy and pumpkin together.

Freeze in your ice cream freezer according to the manufacturer's instructions (about 25 minutes). Let the ice cream harden for at least two hours unless serving all immediately.