Ice Cream
COVID-19 has revived an interest in Sourdough and our household was no different. My daughter Tash actually started her Sourdough starter in the beginning of January. She has become an expert at it and has developed recipes for donuts, pretzels, bengals, pizza and even croissants using her starter. With a new recipe every three or four days, the pounds started to add up. She dehydrated the starter and we moved on the a new project, making ice cream. Lois, Lois, Lois what are you thinking, this project is just going to add on more pounds! I decided to make two or three litres for our weekly BBQ with our small bubble. I was able to restrain myself to 2 scoops a weekend.
Durning the past 6 months, I have made approximately 25 different flavours and want to expand the adventure to wine flavoured ice creams…… stay tuned.
What I have learned during this process is that there is a general formula.
Depending on the texture, taste and richness you are wanting will determine what % butter fat you use.
To make 1 litre of ice cream you will need the following
750ml dairy I tend to use 500ml 35% and 250ml 18%
You can substitute the dairy for oat, almond, soy or coconut milk. Heat until bubbles start to appear but do not boil.
1 cup sugar Here you can use white, golden or muscovado or a combination with honey or corn syrup.
Adding a couple of tablespoons of corn syrup will assist in decreasing the ice crystals and make the ice cream smooth and easier to scoop.
4-7 egg yolks I generally use 4 yolks but if there is a flavour like vanilla that I want to be richer, I will add up to 7. The yolks need to be whisked with or without sugar and and then temper (add a small amount of the hot cream and thick to warm the eggs up) the eggs then add them back to the cream pot stirring constantly on medium heat until 80 degrees C or when you run your finger across the back of a wooden spoon the top will not drip over the wiped area.
1 Tsp vanilla I use a vanilla paste. This is where you start adding your flavouring. If you are wanting Chocolate, I would add 1/4 cup of a very good cocoa like Valrhona to the cream before you heat it. If you are wanting to use real chocolate, make sure you have small pieces so that when you pour the hot custard through a strainer over 1/2-1 cup of chocolate.Stir until the chocolate is melted and completely incorporated. At this point you can add up to 1 cup of a fruit puree if you want a fruit flavour.
You can add a small amount of alcohol for flavouring but remember the more alcohol you add the less the ice cream will have the ability to freeze. If you want an intense alcohol flavour you can heat the alcohol and reduce it to a thick liquid before adding to the custard. This will remove the alcohol that alters the freezing process.
pinch od salt I have found that a pinch of salt just heightens the flavours.
One thing to remember is to strain the mixture before you ice it down and put it in the fridge to develop.
So now that I have given you the formula for a custard base, you can actually make ice cream from start to finish in 30 minutes. My two favourite flavours are lemon and orange creamsicle. I haven’t tries any other flavours this way but hope to do more experimenting in the comping months.
Quick Lemon Ice Cream
600 mls 35% cream
150 mls 18% cream
1 cup sugar
1 tsp lemon paste — this is made by the same company that makes vanilla paste.
Mix the above ingredients together until the sugar is dissolved.
Pour this mixture into your ice cream machine and turn it on. Add
juice and zest of 3 lemons (2/3-1 cup) and continue to churn until desired consistency.
Ice Cream need to freeze in a freezer for at least 3-4 hours before eating.
