While this Friday found me mostly dragging a toddler around town, trying to get all those tiny little errands run that have been put on hold for the last month, thus resulting in lots of really useful but dull “finds” today (postage stamps?), I do find myself home once again with a sleeping toddler and a dwindling to-do list. One of those things on the list is to post the holiday ice cream recipes. I’ve had lots of requests, and thought it easier to just post them once here, so this one might be a long one. Basic tools for the job? I’d say the must-haves include, aside from the obvious ice cream maker itself, a good mesh strainer, a cooking / candy thermometer, and a way to store the finished product if you plan to make more than you’ll eat in a sitting or two. We love our ice cream maker – it’s a Cuisinart, and we bought the set with the extra bowl, which is very nice to have since there is some down time while the bowl refreezes before you can use it again. We keep them stored in the freezer and they don’t take up too much room, plus you can put stuff in them and reclaim some of that space back. I love the new red one they had out everywhere over the holidays, although ours is plain white. We got that mesh strainer awhile back from Williams-Sonoma and use it all the time, and I use a candy thermometer from Sur La Table. The thermometer is essential – since most recipes have egg yolks in them, you need to heat the custard to 175-180 degrees but no higher, so that the end product is cooked sufficiently and is safe, but so that you don’t curdle the milk or cream. My biggest find of the season was a way to store and gift the ice cream. Quick searches online will show you that there are few sources for restaurant grade containers in small quantities. Most require that you purchase 500 or more at a time. Sweet Bliss Containers sells just two things – a pint sized container and a quart – in 25 packs, including lids. They are very reasonable, and can store hot soups as well if you pop out the inner lid to open up the vent holes. They keep the ice cream fresher longer, and are a great way to gift them as well – just write on them with permanent markers.
Straining the lemon zest out of the gelato
The winner for strangest ingredient in an ice cream has to go to the one below…
These were bread slices cut into 1/4″ squares before coating in melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon to make what was essentially a cinnamon toast crouton. These went into the Cinnamon Toast Ice Cream, and just like the recipe promised, the toasty pieces stayed toasty for several days. This one seemed to be a big hit, but was the most time consuming of the lot. We stopped making it as we lost a bit of steam!
A few things you’ll notice – lots of egg yolks, which means lots of leftover egg whites. I burnt out the family on scrambled egg whites and egg white omelets! A good amount of cream and whole milk etc, so not the lightest of recipes, but rich enough you are forced to eat in moderation! And a basic technique throughout of warming the cream, then slowly pouring warm cream into the eggs (to avoid cooking the eggs – scrambled egg ice cream, yuck!), and then slowly warming the cream / egg mixture. Don’t skip those steps in your custard creation. All recipes are best consumed within a week.
So, without further ado – the recipes. I’ve credited the sources, and shown my personal deviations in italics. Enjoy!
Cinnamon Toast Ice Cream
from Gourmet, adapted from Celia Barbour
2 cups whole milk
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
5 slices firm white sandwich bread
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted
2 Tablespoons packed light brown sugar (I used dark)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon molasses
1 cup heavy cream
Bring milk and cinnamon sticks to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then remove from heat and let steep, covered, 30 minutes.
While milk steeps, put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 300.
Cut 3 slices of bread into 1/4″ cubes and transfer to a bowl. Quarter remaining 2 slices and pulse in a food processor to make bread crumbs. Whisk together butter, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon in another bowl. Drizzle 3 Tablespoons of the butter mixture over bread crumbs and stir lightly to coat. Spread in one layer in a shallow baking pan. Add bread crumbs to remaining butter mixture and stir to evenly coat. Spread crumbs evenly in another shallow baking pan.
Bake bread cubes and crumbs, stirring occasionally and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until golden crisp and brown, about 25 minutes total. Cool in pans on racks, then transfer bread crumbs to a bowl.
Return milk to a boil, then pour over bread crumbs and let stand for 10 minutes. Pour milk mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into saucepan, pressing hard on solids, then discarding them.
Whisk together yolks, granulated sugar, molasses, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Return milk mixture to a boil and add half to yolk mixture in a slow stream, whisking until combined well. Add yolk mixture ina slow stream to milk in saucepan, whisking, then cook over low heat, stirring consistently, until mixture is thickened and thermometer registers 175 (do not let boil).
Remove from heat and immediately stir in cream, then pour custard through fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Quick chill the custard by setting the bowl ina larger bowl of ice and cold water, and stir occasionally until cold, about 15 minutes. Chill in refrigerator for an hour or two, or overnight.
Freeze custard in the ice cream maker until almost firm, and then fold in toasted bread pieces. Transfer to airtight container and freeze to harden, at least two hours.
Toast is crunchiest the first two days, ice cream keeps a week.
Cranberry Sorbet
Williams-Sonoma, adapted by me.
1-1/2 cups water
1-1/2 cups sugar
2-1/2 cups unsweetened cranberry juice
Note: I searched high and wide in natural-foods stores for unsweetened cranberry juice to no avail. All drinkable cranberry juice has to be sweetened with some other sweetener – so I just purchased one sweetened with natural sweeteners (i.e. apple juice), but no added sugar or corn syrup, and no artificial sweetener. I then tested the recipe to find the appropriate level of sugar, and reduced it to just under 1/2 cup. So here’s my version:
1-1/2 cups water
scant 1/2 cup sugar
2-1/2 cups naturally sweetened cranberry juice
In a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the water and sugar. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup is clear, about 1-2 minutes.
Pour the cranberry juice into the sugar syrup and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Refrigerate the cranberry syrup until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 8 hours.
Transfer the cranberry syrup to an ice cream maker and freeze. Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.
Apple Cider Ice Cream
Serious Eats: Recipes, originally adapted from A is for Apple by Patent
2 cups apple cider
1 cup sugar
One 3-inch cinnamon stick
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon salt
Combine the cider, sugar and cinnamon stick in a heavy medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, swirling the pan occasionally by its handle. Boil until the cider is as thick as maple syrup and the sugar has caramelized, about 15 minutes. As the cider reduces in volume, it will bubble to the top of the pan. When this happens, lift the pan off the heat, swirl until the bubbles subside, and then continue cooking; reduce the heat slightly if the mixture refuses to simmer down. When it is the right consistency, the bubbles will be thick and large and foamy, and you’ll have between 1/2 and 2/3 cup of syrup. The thermometer should be 240 – watch closely. The temp rises quickly at the end, and if it goes over 240 you will end up with burnt syrup and a big mess.
Remove the cinnamon stick (carefully – it’s hot!)
While the syrup is cooking, scald the cream and milk in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. The mixture is ready when you see small bubbles around the edge of the pan and steam rising from the surface. A wrinkled “skin” might be present, just leave it alone. Keep hot over low heat.
As soon as the syrup is ready, pour it slowly into the hot cream and whisk vigorously to avoid it clumping into one large hardened blob. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until the syrup is thoroughly incorporated into the cream mixture. Remove the pan from the heat.
In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks and salt just to combine. Very gradually, whisk in the hot cider mixture. Scrape the mixture into the saucepan and set the pan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly but gently with a spatula until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and the temperature reaches 180. Do not allow the mixture to boil.
Immediately remove the pan from the heat and strain it into a bowl. Cool the custard, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until it reaches room temperature. Cover and refrigerate. Freeze in ice cream maker and store in freezer proof container for at least two hours to firm.
Coffee Ice Cream (I called this Mocha Chip w/ the addition of chocolate)
Williams-Sonoma
Note: I thought this recipe sounded strange with the light corn syrup – seemed weird to add an ingredient we try to avoid in most foods that we purchase. I used a bit less than what they called for, and it honestly was to die for. Also, I had espresso powder on hand and intended to use it, but it wasn’t good anymore, so I went out to purchase more. I stopped at a small, high-end grocery that didn’t stock it, but did stock the coffee extract (found by the vanilla and peppermint, etc.) and although I had never used it before, I thought I’d give it a try. Delish. This ice cream was so smooth and mocha-like that it seemed a crime not to add a bit of dark chocolate. At the last second I added some chopped up dark chocolate, which was nice in it. I made two batches, and in the third batch, I had just a bit more than 3tsp of the extract left, so it had a slightly lighter coffee touch. I added softer Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips, and my sister-in-law, who isn’t the coffee nut I am, loved it. So I say, adjust accordingly and enjoy!
3 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup light corn syrup (I used between 1/3 and 1/2)
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
4 tsp coffee extract or 3 Tbs espresso powder
In a 2 to 3-quart saucepan over medium heat, warm the half-and-half and corn syrup until steam begins to rise to the surface, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
In a heatproof mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and salt until blended. Form a kitchen towel into a ring and place the bowl on top to prevent it from moving. Gradually add the hot half-and-half mixture, whisking constantly until fully incorporated. Return the mixture to the saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring continuously with a spatula, until the custard thickens and registers between 175-180 degrees; do not allow the custard to boil.
Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve set over a clean bowl and stir in the coffee extract. Place the bowl in a larger bowl full of cold water and ice and let the custard come to room temperature, stirring occasionally, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
Freeze in the ice cream maker (add chocolate at the end, if so desired) and store in a freezer proof container until firm, at least two hours.
Toasted Almond Gelato
Williams-Sonoma
Note: This was the biggest surprise. Delicious. I would recommend making this as a topping for a number of desserts. It was unbelievably good.
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
2 cups slivered almonds, toasted (These are often sold in 1-1/2 cup bags, which is sufficient – no need to buy two bags.)
5 egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar (I used dark)
Toast the almonds:
Spread the almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and put into a 350 degree oven for 4-5 minutes, stirring once. Remove once golden brown and fragrant. Don’t burn.
Infuse the milk and cream:
In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk, cream and almonds until a few bubbles appear along the edge of the pan. Remove from the heat and let steep for at least 15 minutes. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a liquid measuring pitcher or bowl and toss the used almonds.
Prepare the custard:
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, granulated sugar and brown sugar until fluffy and lightened in color, 3-4 minutes. Continue whisking, pouring the milk mixture into the egg mixture.
Return the mixture to the pan, set over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens slightly and reaches a temperature of 175 degrees. Do not let mixture boil. Pour the custard into a bowl and let cool, then cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 5 hours or overnight.
Freeze in ice cream maker and transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours. Let gelato soften before serving.
Sweet Cherry Sorbetto
Bon Appetit
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1-16 oz bag frozen pitted dark sweet cherries, thawed, juices reserved.
Stir first ingredients in medium bowl until sugar dissolves.
Blend cherries and reserved cherry juices in processor until cherries are coarsely chopped. Add sugar syrup; blend until smooth. (Note: It doesn’t ever get completely smooth, so there are still cherry bits, so I renamed it Rustic Cherry Sorbetto!)
Process cherry mixture in ice cream maker. Transfer sorbetto to container, cover tightly and freeze until solid, at least 3 hours
…..
And now…I realized just how it long it takes to post 15 ice cream recipes! I’ll take a brief break and post the rest later.
And now…I realized just how it long it takes to post 15 ice cream recipes! I’ll take a brief break and post the rest later.