A Salute To The Choco Taco

 Lovers of frosty treats may be sad this week. The Choco, Taco, the classic summer ice cream is no longer going to be made.fans are desolute about this demise of this mix of chocolate, muts and crunch,

For those who don't know what this is, it's a waffle cone in the shape of a taco , filled with fudge swirl ice cream. The tacos' edges are dipped in chocolate and topped with peanuts.It was invented by Alan Drazen in 1983.It was even sold at - where else - Taco Bell to commerate its' parent company 's Klondike 's centennial.Itn was first sold through ice cream trucks and became a beloved part of Gen X and Millenials' childhoods.Choco Taco was unusual because most ice cream treats are eaten in stages. The coating goes first followed by the ice cream and then the cone. Not so with the Choco Taco. Every bite contained each of those.It garnered a massive number of fans including Reddit founder and Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian who offered to keep the snack still going. You would think the other ice cream giant, Blue Bunny would step in and create their own version of this but Klondike who also produces those yummy ice cream sandwiches and bars may have the patent. This means no copies or variations by rival companies.

Don't despait though! You can easily make Choco Tacos at home. It's just taking waffle cones and heating themfor eighteen seconds in the microwave.  Wrap them up in a damp cloth and then shape into a taco shell when they come out fo the microwave. Allow it to cool and harden. Fill the tacos with fudge ripple ice cream to imitate the orgiinal recipe.Melt chocolate melting discs in microwave for thirty seconds. Stir and repeat until all the discs are smooth. Carefully spoon this over the tacos tops and then sprinkle on chopped peanuts. Return to freezer to harden. I realize that this recipe can have a lot of variations. For starters, why just have the fudge ripple? You can fill the tacos with any kind of ice cream. You can add in chopped berries , or flaked coconut for a fruity twist. Some nuts can also be tossed in for crunch. Skip the chcocolate and peanuts on top. Add a small bit of hot fudge  caramel or strawberry sauce. The tacos can be topped with wet walmuts or a layer of maraschino cherries instead of the peanuts. Of course sprinkles add a whole new level of fun and these would be perfect at any summer party.

There may be a movement to save this classic treat. Choco Tacos are a big part of the American landscape. Enjoy them and all their icy goodness.

An Ice Cream Classic Redone

One of the best ice cream flavors is fudge ripple . It's a classic that goes well as a scoop, sundae or soda.Imagine a homemade version, spiked with malt.You can, thanks to a recipe in yesterday's New York Times Food section.

Melissa Clark wrote abut this in her A Good Appetite column. The inspiration comes from The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory where she got a double shot of malt in her chocolate malted.Her recipe for fudge ripple is a marriage of  malted vanilla ice cream with a malt shot veins of dark chocolate.There was only one problem with the original recipe. Malt powder is tooth achingly sweet. According to Ms. Clark it's made with heaps of sugar which will impact the flavors tremendously.A better solution is to augment the powder with barley malt syrup, a dark sticky amber liquid.It's heady  and thick but not too sweet.Dilute the malt powder with it to create a richer more layered flavor. Health food stores carry it but it can also be bought at Amazon online (it is pricey, however with a twenty ounce jar costing close to fifteen dollars).If you can't get it stick with the malt powder but maybe cut down on the amount used, from the original 2/3 cup to maybe 1/3.for the base.

The ice cream base is a traditional  French vanilla with two cups of heavy cream and six egg yolks to give it body (save the whites for meringue nests to nest the ice cream if you're ambitious enough) Light brown sugar is added instead the usual white for a mellower, more complex flavor. The fudge ripple is made with  the barley malt syrup  too, mixed with unsweetened Dutch process cocoa.  According to Ms Clark adding the syrup will give it a double duty.It adds a punch of flavor but also keeps the fudge sauce supple in the ice cream. The finished product ends up with soft ripples instead of those rock hard seams that come with store bought fudge ripple.I wonder if this recipe can be varied, with one, making it Philadelphia style without the egg yolks and two, with a coffee or even chocolate ice cream base. There are recipes for these on the net. The malted vein would definitely work with the flavors. Be warned , however.Ms. Clark's recipe is a labor intensive one, with the cream being heated with the milk, then adding the eggs, followed by straining. The marbling is easy.It's a layer of ice cream, then a layer of the fudge sauce, then another layer of ice cream followed by more fudge sauce. She served it with either fresh whipped cream or crushed malted milk balls.

Homemade fudge ripple ice cream is the ultimate dream for any foodie. Imagine it with fresh whipped cream , with the malted taste blending perfectly with the chocolate and vanilla. It truly is an ice cream lover's dream.