Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream

Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams is definitely my ice cream hero. Or I guess she's my ice cream heroine. Which does seem more appropriate because ice cream is my heroin. When I saw this recipe in her book, I was curious to see how roasting strawberries might transform them. But it didn't really do that - it just concentrated the flavor (which is a good thing, don't get me wrong). So in the end, it was a very good strawberry ice cream, but you probably wouldn't be able to tell it apart from a non-roasted strawberry ice cream. Although the buttermilk does give it a nice little tang. I don't think I'll crave it, like I do the pistachio-honey, but believe me, I wouldn't turn my nose up at a bowl.

 

ROASTED STRAWBERRY BUTTERMILK ICE CREAM

Makes about 1 quart

1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced 1/2-inch thick

1/3 cup + 2/3 cup sugar, divided

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 1/2 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/4 cup buttermilk

1.      Preheat oven to 375º F. Combine strawberries with 1/3 cup sugar in an 8" square glass or ceramic baking dish, stirring gently to mix well. Roast for 8 minutes, or until just soft. Let cool slightly. Puree in a food processor with lemon juice. Measure 1/2 cup of the pureed berries and set aside. Refrigerate the remaining puree.

2.      Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

3.      Combine the remaining milk, cream, 3/4 cup sugar and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heat-proof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

4.      Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture in to the cream cheese until smooth. Add the buttermilk and reserved strawberry puree and blend well. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

5.      Pour the ice cream mixture into the frozen canister of electric ice cream freezer and run according to directions of ice cream maker. Pack the finished ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

6.      Serve with refrigerated strawberry puree poured over the top.

by Jeni Britton Bauer

strawberries

sliced strawberries mixed with sugar

roasted strawberries

strawberry puree

The recipe doesn't say to strain out the seeds,
but I did (it just seemed like a good idea).

mixing the cornstarch/milk slurry

adding the slurry to the hot milk/cream/sugar mixture

I used brown rice syrup as a substitute for corn syrup.

softened cream cheese and salt

mixing cream cheese with hot milk mixture

adding buttermilk

mixing in strawberry puree

strawberry custard

I cooled it off in the bowl in an ice bath
(I didn't use a ziploc like the recipe says).

strawberry custard in ice cream maker

ice cream

Instead of pouring the extra strawberry puree
over the ice cream, I decided to mix some into
the ice cream (for a little extra color and flavor).

roasted strawberry buttermilk ice cream

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Fried Ice Cream

I would say the only drawback to frying (aside from infusing your diet with fat and possibly burning yourself with the spluttering hot oil) is figuring out what to do with all that leftover oil when you're done. Last month I made cannoli shells and faced that very dilemma. That time the answer was simple, just strain the oil and save it for another use. Which is why I made fried ice cream yesterday. I really just wanted to get that oil out of my fridge and have a little fun doing it. And I have to say, it was pretty great. Hot and crunchy on the outside and cold and melty on the inside. Of course now I have a nasty pot of leftover oil to deal with. What I really need is a vegetable oil powered car to justify my deep frying. I haven't crunched the numbers, but I'm pretty sure my Thanksgiving fried turkey would pay for itself.

FRIED ICE CREAM

Yield: 4 servings

1 quart vanilla ice cream

1 cup finely crushed cornflakes

1 cup finely crushed cookie crumbs (I used nilla wafers)

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons sugar

coconut oil or vegetable oil, for frying

salted caramel sauce or chocolate sauce for serving (optional)

whipped cream for serving (optional)

1.      With an ice cream scoop, form 4 large balls of ice cream. Place on a waxed paper lined sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze for at least 2 hours.

2.      In a shallow dish, combine the cornflake crumbs, cookie crumbs and cinnamon.

3.      Dip the ice cream balls in the crumb mixture and freeze for 30 minutes.

4.      In a bowl, beat the eggs and sugar. Dip the coated ice cream balls into the eggs, then roll in the crumb mixture, coating completely. Freeze for 1 hour. (If necessary, or for a thicker crust, roll again in eggs and crumbs until the balls are completely coated.)

5.      Heat the oil in a large pot or fryer to 400º F. One at a time, lower the balls into the oil and fry until golden brown, about 15 to 30 seconds.

6.      Remove from the oil and place in a dessert bowl. Drizzle with caramel sauce or chocolate sauce and top with whipped cream. Repeat with the remaining ice cream.

slightly adapted from Emeril Lagasse

scooping ice cream

ice cream balls

rolling in crumb/cinnamon mixture

coated in crumbs

dipping in egg/sugar

rolling in crumb mixture again

coated again

After freezing for 1 hour, I dipped the balls in
egg & crumbs again for an extra thick coating.

frozen and ready to fry

fresh from the hot oil

fried ice cream

drizzled with warm salted caramel sauce

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Beer Ice Cream with Pretzel Crunch

Naturally when I made pretzel crunch the other day, it was screaming out to be paired with beer ice cream. At least I could hear the screaming (it's hard above all that crunching, you really have to listen). And with the superbowl happening today, it didn't have to scream at me twice. I'm not a big beer drinker, but I do have a huge appreciation for booze with sweets. My only regret is that I didn't think of it sooner so you could be dishing this out to your friends tonight. Oh well, if it had to be one of us, I'm glad it's me.

 BEER ICE CREAM WITH PRETZEL CRUNCH

Makes about 1 ½ quarts

12 oz. beer*

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons malted milk powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 large yolks
2 cups heavy cream

2 to 3 cups pretzel crunch

*A malty beer that is 8–11% ABV is best (avoid overly hoppy beers since hops become bitter once cooked).

__________________________________________________________________________

1.      Pour beer into liquid measuring cup. Add 5 oz. beer to 8-inch skillet and bring to simmer over medium heat. Simmer until beer is reduced by half, about 10 minutes, lowering heat as necessary to avoid creating too much foam. Return reduced beer to measuring cup with remaining 7 oz. beer. Add vanilla and stir to combine.

2.      Place fine-mesh strainer over medium bowl. Prepare ice bath in large bowl.

3.      Whisk together sugar, malt powder, salt, and egg yolks in large saucepan until smooth. Whisk in cream and cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat, until mixture thickens to custardy consistency and registers 180º F., about 10 minutes (custard should coat back of spoon enough that dragging your finger through custard on spoon’s back leaves visible trail).

4.      Immediately pour mixture through strainer set over bowl, whisk in beer mixture, and set in ice bath. Whisk occasionally until custard reaches room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

5.      Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Mix in the pretzel crunch.

6.      Transfer to glass or plastic container, press plastic wrap or waxed paper against surface of ice cream, and cover with tight-fitting lid. Freeze until firm, at least 8 hours and preferably 24 hours. Ice cream will keep, frozen, up to 5 days.

adapted from the America’s Test Kitchen DIY Cookbook

I know nothing about beer...I picked this one because
the guy at the liquor store told me it was malty.

beer before reducing

reduced beer

adding reduced beer to beer with vanilla

sugar, malted milk powder, salt and yolks

mixed

cream whisked in

getting thick and custardy in the pan

strained; whisking over ice bath

adding the beer mixture

beer custard in the ice cream maker
(the next morning)

beer ice cream

adding pretzel crunch

beer ice cream with pretzel crunch

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Honey Cinnamon Ice Cream

I made this ice cream to top some apple pie (which is a great combination), but it's definitely delicious enough to be served all on its own. As usual, the end product is only as good as your ingredients...so if you use a really nice honey and fresh cinnamon, you'll have great results. But don't take my word for it - dust off the ice cream maker and taste for yourself.

HONEY-CINNAMON ICE CREAM

Makes about 1 1/4 quarts

2 cups (480 g) milk

2 cups (480 g) heavy cream

1 cinnamon stick, 2 inches long

8 egg yolks

3/4 cup (255 g) honey

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1.      In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and cream. Break up the cinnamon stick into several pieces and toss them into the pan. Scald the milk mixture over medium-high heat (bubbles start to form around the edge of the pan, but the liquid is not boiling). Remove from the heat and let the cinnamon steep in the milk mixture for about 1 hour.

2.      In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until blended, and then slowly whisk in the honey, sugar, and ground cinnamon until combined. Return the milk mixture to medium-high heat and scald again. Slowly add the hot milk mixture to the egg-honey mixture, a little at a time, whisking constantly. When all of the hot milk mixture has been incorporated, return the contents of the bowl to the saucepan, and return the saucepan to medium heat. Cook, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon. The mixture will seem watery at first, then it will start to steam, and then it will start to develop a little body and get thicker. Remove from the heat and immediately strain through a fine-mesh sieve into an airtight container. Whisk in the salt. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until cold, or up to overnight.

3.      Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

4.      When the ice cream has finished churning, freeze it for at least 2 hours to allow it to ripen. During the ripening process, the ice cream becomes harder and smoother and the flavors more fully develop. The ice cream can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 week.

from Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe by Joanne Chang with Christie Matheson (epicurious.com)

broken cinnamon sticks

cinnamon sticks, milk & cream

adding a nice local honey to the yolks

As soon as I started pouring, I realized I was supposed
to whisk the yolks first, so I whisked them right after.

whisking in the cinnamon and sugar

hot milk/cream mixture whisked into the eggs

(I'm not talented enough to do that and take a photo at
the same time without ending up with scrambled eggs).

thickened

straining

adding salt

honey cinnamon custard

in the ice cream machine

honey cinnamon ice cream

.