True Blood - Dessert! Ambrosia Ice Cream & Vanilla Pizzelles

Welcome back, Truebies! This is part 3 of 3 posts to celebrate the return of our favorite bunch of Vamps, Weres, Telepaths, Fairies & misguided sexual deviants from the deep, deep South, True Blood! We've made a delicious basket of deep fried amazing-ness as a main course, a boozy concoction to get you pleasantly drunk while watching Billith and his mutant fangs reign down awkward, religious terror on the poor minions of Bon Temps - and now, we have dessert!


Ambrosia Ice Cream with Pecan Pralines & Vanilla Pizzelles

Ambrosia is a salad commonly served in the South. It consists of cherries, oranges, pineapple, coconut and various creamy bases all mixed up with miniature marshmallows. It reminds me of old Southern ladies in giant, floppy hats and floral print dresses and hot summer days. And it's the dish people bring to pot-lucks when they don't feel like putting in a whole lot of effort. You know that guy. You might have been that guy. The following dessert requires just a little more effort but it's still fairly easy to achieve. So, let's get started!

Pecan Pralines

2 Cups Pecan Pieces
1/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
4 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

Pre-Heat Oven to 350º

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Using a spatula, evenly spread the pecan mixture on the parchment paper in a single layer (no piles).

Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and stir. Bake for another 10 minutes (for a total of 20 minutes) or until the coating is dry.

Let cool and store in an air-tight container. You'll only need 1 cup for the ice cream but you can eat these delicious pralines plain, add them to cereal or sprinkle on your pancakes and waffles. Delicious!!

Basic Vanilla Pizzelles

3 Eggs
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Melted Butter
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1 3/4 Cup Flour
2 TSP Baking Powder

Pre-Heat Pizzelle Press to Medium Setting

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar until thick. I recommend using an electric hand mixer to make life a little easier. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Using a spatula, gradually blend the flour in with the egg/sugar mixture until a smooth, thick batter forms.

Spoon batter into Pizzelle press and cook for 25-45 seconds or until you achieve the desired shade of golden-brown goodness!



Ambrosia Ice Cream


2 Cups Heavy Cream
2 Cups Whole Milk
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 TSP salt
1 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Coconut
1/4 Cup Chopped Mandarin Oranges (canned)
1/4 Cup Drained Crushed Pineapple (canned)
1/4 Cup Chopped Maraschino Cherries
1 Cup Pecan Pralines

In a large bowl, whisk together heavy cream and sugar until foamy. Whisk in whole milk, vanilla & salt. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. After 2 hours, remove from refrigerator and whisk until smooth.

Prepare ice cream according to your ice cream maker's instructions. When ice cream is at soft-serve stage (after about an hour), add fruit, pralines and coconut and mix until evenly distributed.

Serve with Pizzelles, drizzle with cherry juice and garnish with fresh mint and maraschino cherries.

*TIP I used canned fruit in this ice cream because most ice cream compressors will freeze fresh fruit to the point where eating it can nearly break teeth. Canned fruit is usually packed in a sugary syrup that protects the fruit from over-freezing and makes for a pleasant ice cream experience!


And that's the menu! I hope you enjoy these dishes as much as I did! Be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for all the latest 8-Bit Cook news!