Roasted Pineapple Ice Cream Float

Photo courtesy of California Milk Advisory Board

From: The Ice Cream Bar, San Francisco, CA. Yield: 24 floats.

15 cups soda water
2 recipes of roasted pineapple ice cream (recipe follows)
3 cups turbinado syrup (recipe follows)
1½ cups freshly squeezed lime juice
as needed, five spice tincture (recipe follows)
as needed, black peppercorn tincture (recipe follows)
24 triangular slices fresh pineapple

Roasted Pineapple Ice Cream (12 servings):
Roasted Pineapple:
2 lb. fresh pineapple, cut into ½” pieces
¾ cup dark brown sugar
½ tsp. ground star anise

Ice Cream Base:
12 large egg yolks
1½ cups plus 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
¼ tsp. kosher salt
4 cups heavy cream
1¾ cups plus 2 Tbsp. whole milk
¼ cup pineapple juice concentrate (can cook to reduce 1 cup juice to ¼ cup concentrate)
½ vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise

Turbinado Syrup (makes about 4 cups):
3 cups turbinado sugar
2 cups water

Five-Spice Tincture:
2 tsp. five spice blend
¼ cup grain spirit (or high-proof clear alcohol such as vodka)

Black Peppercorn Tincture:
1 tsp. whole black peppercorns
¼ cup grain spirit (or high-proof clear alcohol such as vodka)

To assemble floats: For each float, put a long spoon in glass and pour in about 6 Tbsp. soda water. Add 2 scoops ice cream. Pour over 2 Tbsp. syrup, then 1 Tbsp. lime juice. Drizzle over about 4 dashes of the five-spice tincture and 2 of the peppercorn tincture. Top with soda water and garnish with a piece of fresh pineapple. Serve immediately.

For roasted pineapple ice cream: Preheat oven to 350°F to roast pineapple. Toss pineapple pieces in sugar and anise. Spread on a sheet pan and roast in the oven, stirring once halfway through, until pineapple is golden, about 30 minutes.

Let cool completely. Pineapple can be cooked a day ahead and refrigerated.

For ice cream base: Whisk together eggs, ¾ cup of the sugar and the salt in large bowl until mixture thickens. Combine cream, milk and pineapple concentrate in large saucepan. Scrape the vanilla bean and add the seeds and pod to the pan. Heat to just below a simmer. Slowly whisk cream mixture into yolk mixture. Strain liquid into clear saucepan. Prepare an ice bath. Set a bowl in the ice bath with strainer across the top. Stirring continuously with wooden spoon or silicone spatula, heat ice cream base in saucepan over medium heat, scraping sides and bottom often, until mixture thickens enough to coat the spoon (steam will just begin to rise from the surface). Strain into bowl and cool, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate until very cold, preferably overnight. Pour into ice cream maker and spin according to manufacturer’s instructions until it’s the texture of soft serve. Meanwhile, strain off any excess liquid from pineapple. Fold pineapple into ice cream and transfer to storage container and freeze to harden. Ice cream is best the day it’s made but can be frozen up to 3 days ahead.

For turbinado syrup: Combine sugar and water in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve. Let cool and refrigerate until ready to use.

For tinctures: Spoon spice into a tea bag, close the top and put into a soda siphon. Pour in the vodka, charge with CO2 and let sit for 2 minutes. Discharge contents into small bowl, straining if necessary, and store in a glass bottle. Tinctures are great stored in a bottle with a spout, making it easy to drizzle a small amount as needed.