Actually, that’s a lie.  A wonderful, wonderful lie.  Well, partly.  It *is* vegetables:  carrots and currants are vegetables, right?  Healthy?  Not a chance.  At a whopping 485 calories and 30g of fat per 1/2 cup serving, this insanely awesome frozen treat isn’t likely to fit into any sensible eating plan.  But who cares — Lisa made it for my birthday, dammit!  Closer to frozen cream cheese frosting than ice cream, this ridiculously rich confection tastes *just like* the real thing.  We have David Lebovitz, author of The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments for this creation.

Best. Dessert. Ever. Those toppings are fantastic.

Lisa says:

Holy crap that’s good.

Carrie says:

Can I try a bite? … wow … that *does* taste just like carrot cake!

Chris says:

That ice cream maker was officially worth it.

Lisa says:

I don’t think that was ever under debate.

Abbie says:

This is RICH — and I can see why you’d love this, Mr. I-Heart-Carrot-Cake!

Chris says:

Don’t forget there’s also Maker’s Mark in it!

Thad says:

Wow — cream cheese frosting, anyone?

Jeremy says:

ZOMG this is awesome.

Autumn says:

This is incredible… can we keep the rest?

Chris & Lisa say:

PLEASE!

Chris says:

We’ve been eating this for four days…one more bite and I’ll look like I’m entering my third trimester.

Carrot Cake Ice Cream
Spiced pecans
1 cup pecan halves
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Toss the pecans with the butter. In a small bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, cloves, brown sugar and salt. Pour the mixture over the pecans and toss to coat completely. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and cook for 12 minutes, gently stirring halfway during baking to candy the nuts. Remove the tray to a rack and cool the nuts completely. Once cool, coarsely chop the pecans. Set aside.

Maker’s-Soaked Currants
1/4 cup dried currants
2 tbsp Maker’s Mark Bourbon

In a small saucepan, heat the currants and bourbon until boiling. Simmer until the currants have absorbed almost all of the liquid. Remove from heat and cover the pan. Set aside to cool completely.

Candied carrots
2 cups finely diced carrots
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup
2 cups water

In a medium saucepan, combine the carrots, sugar, corn syrup and water. Bring to a low boil and cook until the syrup is reduced to about 2 tablespoons and the carrots are translucent and candied, 20 to 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the carrots during the last few minutes so they do not burn. Drain the carrots and set aside to cool.

Ice cream base and assembly
1 8-oz package cream cheese
1 1/2 cups low-fat sour cream (see? healthy!)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp chopped lemon zest

Spiced pecans
Bourbon-Soaked Currants
Candied carrots

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, blend together the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and lemon zest until smooth. Chill thoroughly.
Freeze the base in an ice cream maker. After churning, gently fold in the spiced pecans, soaked currants and candied carrot cubes. Freeze until firm.

Makes 1 Quart