I've made a lot of ice creams over the past summer. Some too rich, or not rich enough, some too soft (too much sugar or fat), or too hard (not enough sugar or fat), and some that were nice but a bit icy, which was most likely caused by the custard not being cold enough before getting churned in the machine.
So after trying out lots of different recipes I have settled on one that is perfect for my taste:
2 cups cream
2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
5-6 egg yolks (depending on size)
pinch of salt
Put the milk, cream and 1/2 cup of the sugar into a pot over a low flame. Stirring occasionally, heat the mixture until the sugar has dissolved, but don't allow it to boil.
In a bowl, the egg yolks are whisked with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar until pale. While whisking constantly, pour a little of the hot milk mixture into the eggs to temper them, then slowly add the rest. Pour the egg and milk mixture back into the pot and add a pinch of salt. Over a very low heat and always stirring, cook the custard until it coats the back of your spoon. Be careful not to over cook at this stage or you will end up with the mixture curdling.
Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a clean bowl to remove any lumps. Put the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice water and stir to cool it down quickly. Once it is cold, cover the bowl with cling film and put it in the fridge for a couple hours. Alternatively, you could cover the surface of the custard with cling film, so it doesn't form a skin, let it cool to room temperature and then put it in the fridge for 3-5 hours or overnight. In my experience, If the custard isn't very cold before being churned then the moisture trying to escape from the warm mix will freeze and turn into unwanted ice crystals.
Once the mixture is very cold, churn in an ice cream machine. I guess I'm supposed to say you should follow the instructions of your machine so I don't get blamed for you getting electrocuted or something.
This recipe results in a soft and smooth ice cream that will remain scoop-able even after a few days in the freezer, while most of the recipes I tried went rock solid overnight. I have also started to add a pinch of salt to all my ice creams, it brings out the flavor a lot more. Next time you make an anglaise taste it before adding the salt and you will see what I mean.
Basic Vanilla Ice Cream: Warm a couple vanilla pods in the oven (not in the microwave because they explode, trust me, I have tried.), this helps release the natural oils and will also be easier to split and scrape the seeds. In a small bowl, add the seeds to the 1/2 cup of sugar and using your hands rub the two together. Not only does this separate the seeds from each other it infuses the sugar with vanilla and you get a tastier result in the end. Add the vanilla sugar and the scraped pods to the milk and heat to infuse as directed above.
Hazelnut Ice Cream: In my opinion, this was one of the best ice creams I made. Two cups of toasted and peeled hazelnuts get pureed in a food processor and then infused with the milk for at least 30 minutes, then strained out before adding the eggs. Simple.
Burnt Caramel Ice Cream: Another goody, this is made by adding the 1/2 cup of sugar to a pot and cooking over moderate high heat until it melts and turns a deep amber color. The pot is removed from heat and the cream is added. Be extremely careful here, the mixture can bubble and spit and a sugar burn is probably one of the worst, if not the worst of burns you could get. The idea is to mix in a bit of cream at a time and, back on the heat, stir until smooth. I learned the hard way that too much cold cream at once will make the sugar sieze up and solidify. After writing that out I just realised I should try heating the cream first (Duh! Well at least writing this blog has paid off for me already). After the all the cream is mixed in add the milk and stir until any solidified sugar dissolves again. Continue with the instructions listed above.
Lavender Honey Ice Cream (pictured at top): I steeped a tablespoon of dried lavender leaves in the hot milk mixture and replaced the sugar with an equal amount of honey. The result was really delicious, but maybe slightly overpowering on the lavender. I think I left the lavender in to steep a bit too long. I thought that when frozen the lavender would mellow out, but that didn't really happen. Next time I will taste the mix more frequently and strain it out when it is just right. I served this ice cream with sliced Mandarins, which are now in season here and eating beautifuly, and sugared pine nuts.
I haven't made too many fruit based ice creams, which are a bit trickier because depending on the sweetness of the fruit puree you have to adjust the level of sugar added to the custard base. I will have to play around with that next summer when the berries and stonefruit are back in season.
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