Nutmeg Ice Cream

This was quite good as an accompaniment to various Thanksgiving desserts (apple pie, chocolate cake, pears & caramel sauce). Kara said that it “wasn’t refreshing,” and it was eggy, both of which were due, I think, to it having egg whites in addition to egg yolks, so it seemed lighter and fluffier then most ice cream recipes.

From Epicurious:

1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

In a saucepan bring the milk and the cream just to a boil. In a bowl whisk together the eggs, the sugar, the nutmeg, the salt, and the vanilla, whisk 1/2 cup of the milk mixture into the egg mixture, and whisk the mixture into the remaining milk mixture. Cook the custard over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula, until it registers 175°F. on a candy thermometer. Transfer the custard to a metal bowl set in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stir it until it is cold. Freeze the custard in an ice-cream freezer according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Makes about 1 quart.

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Good but not outstanding. The recipe was a little strange because it didn’t ask for cooking the custard at all. Instead you mix the egg yolks for a long time, which makes them frothy & thick. However, it seemed thin both before and after its ice cream machine time, so I thought it would ice as it froze, but it was creamy.

From Martha Stewart:

1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Milk Caramel
1 cinnamon stick
6 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canned solid-packed pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Bring milk, cream, milk caramel, and cinnamon stick to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. Remove from heat. Cover, and let stand 30 minutes. Return to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; discard cinnamon stick. Set aside.

2. Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Put yolks and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until pale and thick, about 4 minutes.

3. With machine running, add hot milk mixture in a slow, steady stream. Add pumpkin and vanilla, and beat until combined. Pour mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl set in the ice-water bath. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.

4. To make ice cream sandwiches, smear ice cream between gingerbread cookies just before serving.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Best ice cream I’ve made thus far. 5 stars.

From The New York Times Magazine 

3/4 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
2 cups cream, preferably organic
2 cups whole milk
10 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel, plus more for serving.

1. Place 3/4 cup sugar and the corn syrup in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Do not stir. Cook over medium-high heat to a dark caramel, swirling as it begins to brown to distribute the sugar. Deglaze with the cream; then slowly add the milk. The caramel will harden. Bring to a boil, then simmer, stirring, just until the caramel has dissolved.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining sugar, yolks and fleur de sel. Whisk a little caramel cream into the egg mixture to temper, pour the egg mixture into the remaining caramel cream and mix. Strain the mixture through a fine-meshed sieve. Cool completely, preferably overnight, then freeze in an ice-cream maker.

3. Serve with the warm cakes and sprinkle both with fleur de sel. Makes about 1 quart. Adapted from Nicole Kaplan at Eleven Madison Park, New York.

Honey Lavender Ice Cream

Delicious and subtle. Much better then its competition, Martha’s Honey Lavender, which was much too sweet.

From Epicurious:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon dried lavender leaves (pesticide-free)
5 large egg yolks
5 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Benedictine liqueur

Bring cream, half-and-half, and lavender just to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Pour through a fine sieve into a measuring cup. Whisk together yolks, honey, and Benedictine in a bowl, then add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Pour custard into pan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and a thermometer registers 175°F (do not let boil).

Pour custard through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and cool. Chill, covered, until cold, at least 2 hours.

Freeze custard in an ice-cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

Peppermint Gelato

From AM New York and Otto:

Serves 6 (makes approximately 5 cups)

To obtain a fresh, minty flavor, use black mint or peppermint, available at local greenmarkets. Stokes Farm, at Union Square greenmarket, is a good source.

Ingredients:
1 quart milk
2 bunches (about 1 cup picked leaves) fresh mint, washed
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/2 cup heavy cream
11/2 cups sugar
10 egg yolks
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate (optional)

Directions:
1. Bring the milk to a simmer in a heavy bottomed saucepan.
2. Remove the pan from the heat, and add the mint and vanilla bean scrapings to the milk. Steep uncovered for 30 minutes.
3. Strain the milk, and discard the mint leaves. Return the milk to the saucepan, along with the heavy cream and 1/2 of the sugar. Bring the mint milk to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
4. Whisk the egg yolks, the salt and the remaining sugar in a metal bowl. Slowly pour some of the hot milk into the yolk mixture, whisking to incorporate. Be careful not to add too much hot milk at once, as this will curdle the eggs.
5. Add the tempered yolks to the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly and a little steam starts to rise from the mixture.
6. Remove the pan from the heat, and strain the custard into a bowl. Chill immediately by placing the bowl in a slightly larger bowl filled with ice, stirring quickly to promote fast, even cooling.
7. Chill the custard in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, then process in the ice-cream maker of your choice.
8. If you want to add chocolate chips to the gelato, chill the chopped chocolate in the refrigerator, then quickly fold them into the turned gelato after removing from your ice-cream maker. Chill the gelato in the freezer afterward to firm it up.

Sweet Corn Gelato

Too much corn flavor & really starchy; sort of overwhelming. Denis at Otto said to use corn from a particular vendor at the Union Square Farmer’s Market – and possibly it was actually frozen or dried corn? Sadly, I can’t remember. I might also try it again with less soaking time and fewer kernels.

From AM New York and Otto:

Serves 6 (makes approximately 5 cups)

To get the ultimate flavor, purchase freshly picked sweet white corn, available at local farmers markets. A more starchy golden corn will not yield as good a gelato.

Ingredients:
2 ears sweet corn
1 quart milk
1⁄2 cup heavy cream
11⁄2 cups sugar
8 egg yolks
1 tsp. salt

Directions:
1. Slice the corn kernels off the cobs, and break the cobs into 3-4 pieces.
2. Place the cob pieces and the kernels in a heavy bottomed saucepan with the milk, and bring to a simmer.
3. Remove the pan from the heat, and steep for 30 minutes.
4. Remove the cob pieces, and use an immersion stick or a blender to break up the milk-kernel mixture.
5. Pass the mixture through a coarse sieve, reserving the milk, and discard the corn mush.
6. Bring the milk, the heavy cream and 1⁄2 the sugar to a simmer in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
7. Whisk the remaining sugar, the egg yolks and the salt in a metal bowl. Slowly add some of the hot milk to the yolks, whisking constantly to slowly warm the eggs.
8. Add the tempered yolks to the saucepan over low heat and, stirring constantly, cook until the mixture thickens slightly.
9. Remove the pan from the heat, and strain the custard into a bowl. Chill immediately by placing the bowl in a slightly larger bowl filled with ice, stirring quickly to promote fast, even cooling.
10. Store the mixture in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, then process it in the ice-cream maker of your choice.

Guinness Ice Cream

From The Boston Globe

Makes 1 quart

1/2    vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1    cup whole milk
1    cup heavy cream
2/3    cup Guinness stout
2    tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons molasses
4    egg yolks
1/3    cup sugar
1/2    teaspoon vanilla extract
1. In a medium saucepan, scrape in the vanilla bean seeds. Add the pod, milk, and cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the flavors infuse for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the stout and molasses. Bring to a boil and turn off heat.

3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the yolks, sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk in a few tablespoons of the hot cream mixture, then slowly whisk in another 1/4 cup of the cream. Add the remaining cream in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.

4. Stir the beer mixture into the cream mixture. Cook the custard over medium heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon, for 6 to 8 minutes or until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon.

5. Strain the mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Process the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

All recipes adaptedfrom ”Sunday Suppersat Lucques”

Sour Cherry and Black Pepper Ice Cream

1/2 cup dark rum
2 cups dried sour cherries
16 egg yolks
10 ounces granulated sugar
4 cups creme fraiche or sour cream
4 cups homemade condensed milk, recipe follows *make recipe 1 1/2 times
4 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
1 vanilla bean (cut lengthwise)In a small saucepan, bring rum and dried cherries to a simmer, cover and remove from heat. Let stand for 30 minutes.In a mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar and creme fraiche.
In a 2 quart saucepan, let simmer for 5 minutes the condensed milk, heavy cream, black pepper and vanilla. Strain and chill.

Stir the cherries into the chilled custard, discarding the rum. Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Homemade Condensed Milk:
6 cups nonfat milk
5 tablespoons sugar

Pour the milk into a medium heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the sugar and continue simmering 10 to 15 minutes or until reduced to 3 cups. Strain. Homemade condensed milk can be refrigerated up to a week.

Bacon and egg ice cream

From The Guardian and The Fat Duck

This forms part of a dessert served at the restaurant. It’s a twist on breakfast: caramelised brioche in place of toast, tomato and red pepper compote for jam, chewy salted butter caramel with wild mushrooms, and this ice cream, all washed down with a small cup of jellied Earl Grey. The idea stemmed from thinking about why some ice cream tastes of egg. I came to the conclusion that it’s because the custard is overcooked. When you cook custard, the heat makes the proteins in the egg coagulate, which thickens the mix. If you continue cooking the custard, it will scramble, with the proteins completely clumped together. Egg yolk sets at 72C. So, by cooking the custard to 82C or more, as advised in many traditional recipes, the proteins begin to coagulate. Although the custard may still look liquid, tiny clumps of protein will have formed. And so, according to the coffee bean theory, the custard will be full of little bursts of egg flavour.

All of which got me thinking about how to exploit this eggy flavour, and so this recipe was born. The other parts of the dessert (bar the caramel/mushroom dish) follow, because the ice cream needs them to deliver the full impact of the breakfast dessert. And yes, you do need this many egg yolks; use the whites to make the chocolate fondant from the March 9 issue. These quantities make around one litre.

300g sliced streaky smoked bacon
1 litre full fat milk
25g skimmed milk powder
24 egg yolks
50g liquid glucose
175g unrefined caster sugar

Roast the bacon in an oven at 180C until slightly browned. Place in cold milk and leave to marinate overnight. Tip the milk and bacon into a casserole, and add the milk powder. Put the egg yolks, glucose and sugar in a mixing bowl and, using an electric whisk, mix at high speed until white and increased in volume.

Heat the milk and bacon mix to simmering and, with the whisk still going, pour a little on to the yolks. Tip this back into the milk pan, and cook over a lowish heat until it hits 85C. Hold at this temperature for 30 seconds, then remove from the heat. Cool the mixture down by stirring it over ice, tip into a blender and liquidise until smooth. Pass through a sieve and churn.

Bill Addison’s Vanilla-Bourbon Ice Cream

From The Washington Post

Makes 1 quart

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups half-n-half
1 vanilla bean
7 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup bourbon

Method
Place cream and half-n-half in a saucepan. Slice the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds into the cream mixture.

Add vanilla bean to the cream mixture and bring to just under a boil over medium heat. Remove the cream from the heat and let steep, covered, for 20 minutes.

Separate eggs. Combine the egg yolks with the sugar and salt in a mixture bowl, whisking until the mixture lightens. Slowly whisk in a small amount (approximately 1/4 cup) of hot cream to temper the egg mixture. Transfer the egg mixture into the saucepan with the cream and cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon without running.

Remove from the heat. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve. Add the vanilla extract and bourbon.

Chill completely and freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.