Eskimo-pie
Ingredients
- 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 16 ounces bittersweet chocolate – finely chopped
- 1/3 cups refined coconut oil
Instructions
1. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment, leaving overhang on two sides; chill the pan in the freezer. Place a clean metal bowl inside a larger bowl filled with ice water to make an ice bath.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks with granulated sugar until pale and thick, 1–2 minutes.
3. In a medium saucepan, heat whole milk, heavy cream, and fine sea salt over medium heat until steaming with small bubbles at the edge, 3–5 minutes; do not boil.
4. Slowly ladle about 1 cup of the hot dairy into the yolk mixture while whisking, then pour the tempered yolks back into the saucepan, stirring constantly. Cook over medium-low, stirring with a spatula, until the custard reaches 170–175°F and coats the back of a spoon, 5–7 minutes.
5. Strain the custard into the chilled metal bowl, stir in vanilla extract, and cool over the ice bath to lukewarm, about 10 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.
6. Churn the custard in an ice cream maker until it reaches a soft-serve consistency, 20–25 minutes.
7. Spread the ice cream evenly in the cold parchment-lined pan to about 3/4-inch thickness. Freeze until very firm, 2–3 hours.
8. Lift the slab onto a cutting board using the parchment, trim edges, and cut into 10 rectangles. Insert wooden sticks halfway into each piece from a short side. Place on a parchment-lined sheet pan and freeze until solid, 1–2 hours.
9. Melt bittersweet chocolate with refined coconut oil in a heatproof bowl set over barely simmering water (or in short microwave bursts), stirring until smooth; cool to 95–100°F so it stays fluid. Pour the shell into a tall, narrow container for easy dipping and keep it warm.
10. Working with 1–2 bars at a time (keeping the rest frozen), dip each bar straight down into the shell, lift, let excess drip off for 5–10 seconds, then lay on a parchment-lined sheet. The coating should harden within 30–60 seconds. Return dipped bars to the freezer to set, 15 minutes.
11. Serve immediately or wrap bars individually and store frozen for up to 2 weeks.
Eskimo-pie refers to a vanilla ice cream bar enrobed in a snappy chocolate shell, delivering a clean contrast between rich, custardy cream and a crisp, bittersweet coating. The appeal rests in texture play: cold and creamy inside, glossy and cracking outside, with simple flavors that showcase quality dairy and chocolate. Portable and portioned, it satisfies like a plated dessert but eats like a confection, making it a perennial warm-weather favorite.
The treat originated in the United States in the early 1920s, when confectioner Christian Kent Nelson created a chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream and joined forces with Russell Stover to scale production. Marketed nationally, it quickly became an icon of American ice cream novelties and helped define the modern ice cream bar category. Over the decades the product evolved in shape, packaging, and branding, but the essential idea—cold vanilla ice cream in a crisp chocolate shell—remains unchanged and widely emulated.