This summer we had a socially distant dinner party with some dear friends.  The dinner was Greek inspired, mostly because we wanted the warm weather to allow us an imagined vacation and a reason to open the ouzo - as if you ever really need one!   To complement our dinner of grilled herb-marinated chicken, dolmas, lemon roasted potatoes, hummus and olives, Thom made tzatziki which I could have eaten from a spoon (okay, maybe I did).  

I decided to make the Melopita Honey Cake from Tessa Kiros’ gorgeous book, Food From Many Greek Kitchens.  In all honesty, each of Tessa Kiros’ books is gorgeous, but there is something about Food from Many Greek Kitchens that captivates me. The vibrant colors and bold textures jump from the photos.  Each captures a moment in time that feels simple and lucky, as if you’ve just been fortunate enough to stumble into Yiayia’s kitchen.  There is a playfulness in the pen and ink drawings which appear every so often as lighthearted surprises. The whole book is imbued with the joy and spirit of Greece. I’ve long dreamt of visiting, and this book feels like a memory, one that I haven’t yet made.

The Melopita Honey Cake is a delicious custard made with ricotta or soft mizithra cheese and sweetened with brandy and honey.  I used raw honey because I thought the additional texture would be interesting. It was a wonderfully luscious way to end our meal, and should you choose to purchase Kiros’ book, it will not disappoint.  

But isn’t this post about frozen custard?  It is, but you needed to know why I became obsessed with using the raw honey in the first place!  At around this same time, Thom and I decided to buy all the different varieties of Amaro we could find and proceeded to ‘scientifically’ taste test them as a nightly ritual.  They ranged in flavor from sweetly herbal, to citrus-herbal, to bitterly herbal - I love the variation and personality of each and failed to find one I didn’t enjoy.  So, once I decided to use the raw honey in the frozen custard, I thought the herbal component of Amaro might be an interesting complement to the sweetness of the honey.  You see, it all makes sense now!

I confess I didn’t take photos of the process.  Making custard is an active, time-sensitive endeavor, and I didn’t want to mess it up.  The recipe is as follows:

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup half-and-half

½ cup sugar

½ cup honey

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

12 egg yolks

½ tsp salt

3 tbsp Amaro - I used Vecchio Amaro del Capo

Combine the cream, half-and-half, and the honey in a saucepan.  Scrape the vanilla seeds from half of the vanilla bean.  Add the seeds and the bean to the saucepan and place over medium-low heat.  Stir until the honey is dissolved and there are small bubbles around the sides of the saucepan.  Remove from the heat.

Whisk the egg yolks, the sugar, and the salt in a bowl for 4 to 5 minutes until fluffy and the color changes to pale yellow.  Slowly pour about a cup of the hot cream mixture into the yolk mixture while whisking constantly (this will temper the eggs).

Return the mixture to the saucepan over medium-low heat.  Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon - about 3 to 4 minutes - you don’t want to cook it so long that egg bits begin to appear.

Using a larger bowl, prepare an ice bath.  Strain the custard through a sieve lined with cheesecloth into a clean bowl that will fit in the ice bath.  Gently place the bowl with the custard in the ice bath and add the scraped vanilla seeds from the remaining half of the vanilla bean.  Stir carefully so that no water splashes into the custard.  Let the mixture cool completely. 

Once cool, cover the custard with plastic wrap or a tight fitting lid and refrigerate at least 8 hours.

Add the Amaro to the chilled custard and stir gently.  Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and churn according to the particular manufacturer’s instructions.  This usually takes between 20 and 30 minutes.  Transfer the custard to a covered freezer-proof container and freeze until firm (at least 6 hours - overnight is best).  

You can certainly leave out the Amaro if you choose.  You will still have a deliciously smooth and easily scoopable vanilla custard with pronounced honey flavor.  If you add the Amaro, it comes in subtly at the end for a slightly herbal finish.  I do recommend choosing an Amaro that isn’t terribly bitter.  I chose Vecchio Amaro del Capo because of its light citrus flavor, hint of chamomile, and mild herbal bitterness.