Hard Cider Float With Pumpkin Sage Ice Cream

The only thing I love more than root beer floats are hard cider floats! Since it's the fall, I wanted to try a pumpkin version with my favorite pumpkin hard cider from Doc's Draft.

This float can be easily made in 2 minutes with your favorite store-bought hard cider and pumpkin ice cream. However if you're interested in playing with a little liquid nitrogen, you can follow my recipe for making your own pumpkin sage ice cream! Please exercise caution when handling liquid nitrogen to avoid injuries--transport in a dewar. If you don't have access to liquid nitrogen, dry ice or a normal ice cream maker will do just fine.

Tools

• cooking pot
• wooden spoon or spatula for mixing
• strainer
• metal mixing bowl (I very cautiously used pyrex)

Ingredients

• 2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup sage
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp cinnamon

1) Slowly heat up the cream over low heat, making sure to stir it often

2) Coarsely chop sage

3) Mix chopped sage and nutmeg into cream and bring to a slight simmer

4) Turn off heat and steep the sage and nutmeg in the cream for ~15 minutes

5) Mix in sugar and salt

6) Pour everything into a mixing bowl through a strainer to catch the leaves

1) Add to your cream mixture, 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, 1 cup of whole milk, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

2) Mix very well

3) Slowly pour in a little bit of liquid nitrogen into the center of your mixture and continue to stir evenly as your ice cream begins to form.

4) Depending on how well you stir, you may have to wait for your ice cream to melt and then add more nitrogen to refreeze before you achieve the perfect texture. Good luck!

I really love Doc's Draft. Really really love. Pour the hard cider into a nice tall glass and top it with your freshly made ice cream!

Now enjoy your beautiful frothy pumpkin cider float!