ceramics from Fifty One and a Half
I've been posting about the joys of making homemade ice cream for a long time now but I have modified my recipe for the better and I wanted to share it with you. Making homemade ice cream is super easy and delicious. Not only do you know exactly what is in your ice cream, but you can make any combination of flavors that you want.
In my old recipe, I used a simple mixture of cream, half and half, sugar and whatever flavorings I wanted (I did not want to make ice cream with eggs). Now this worked just fine and was absolutely lucious and delicious. The problem was keeping the leftover ice cream in the freezer - it would form ice crystals and the ice cream wasn't so creamy anymore. This problem is solved by simply adding a cornstarch slurry and a little light corn syrup into the mixture, which prevents this crystallization.
This method is based on Jeni Brotton Bauer's ice cream making methods. She is the owner of Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream stores and has written a book about making homemade ice cream. She figured out the chemistry of making ice cream and came up with a method that ensures a creamy mixture that will not form ice crystals. In her recipe, there is an added step of adding cream cheese to the mixture, which I have omitted. I wanted to see if I could keep it simple and still have a mixture that remained creamy. It does.
It's important in this recipe to let the mixture boil for 4 minutes - this is another step that she insists makes for a creamy ice cream because it boils off some of the water. So don't rush this step or skip it. To store the ice cream, I used to use just a tupperware with plastic wrap pressed flat right onto the ice cream but my new favorite item is this ice cream storage tub from Williams Sonoma. It has a great width profile for the freezer and the top is airtight.
I've made two types of ice cream for this post - a blackberry flavor and a vanilla honey flavor. They both use fresh vanilla bean, which I highly recommend. It's much better than vanilla extract. I get my vanilla beans from Beanilla and store them in an airtight container. You can sub out the blackberries for blueberries, strawberries - whatever.
If you really want to get into the fun of ice cream making, check out these tips from Jeni.
Homemade Ice Cream
for a printable recipe, click here
adapted from Jeni Brotton Bower
Try to use real vanilla bean in you can - it makes a huge difference in the taste. You can also swap out the blackberries for the same amount of any other fruit - blueberries, strawberries, etc.
Ingredients:
Blackberry Ice Cream
makes about one quart
- 2 cups milk
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1¼ cups heavy cream
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ of a vanilla bean, seeds scraped and pod retained (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
- 1 cup blackberries, pureed (makes about ½ cup of puree)
Instructions:
In a measuring cup, stir together ¼ cup of the milk and the cornstarch; set slurry aside. In a 4-qt. saucepan, whisk together remaining milk and the cream, sugar, syrup, salt, vanilla bean seeds and vanilla bean pod. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 4 minutes, whisking the mixture so the vanilla beans seeds evenly disperse. Whisk in the slurry. Return to a boil and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Remove vanilla bean pod and whisk in blackberry puree. Pour into a 4-cup glass Pyrex and refrigerate for several hours (or overnight) until very cold.
Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's instructions (in my Cuisinart ice cream maker, it takes about 25 - 30 minutes). Transfer ice cream to a storage container and freeze until set.
Vanilla Honey Ice Cream
for a printable recipe, click here
makes about one quart
- 2 cups milk
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1¼ cups heavy cream
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ of a vanilla bean, seeds scraped and pod retained (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
- ¼ cup good quality honey
Instructions:
In a measuring cup, stir together ¼ cup of the milk and the cornstarch; set slurry aside. In a 4-qt. saucepan, whisk together remaining milk and the cream, sugar, syrup, salt, vanilla bean seeds and vanilla bean pod. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 4 minutes, whisking the mixture so the vanilla beans seeds evenly disperse. Whisk in the slurry. Return to a boil and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Remove vanilla bean pod and whisk in honey. Pour into a 4-cup glass Pyrex and refrigerate for several hours (or overnight) until very cold.
Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's instructions (in my Cuisinart ice cream maker, it takes about 25 - 30 minutes). Transfer ice cream to a storage container and freeze until set.
