Rosewater Flavored, Cream Cheese Based Ice Cream

As promised, this week I tried to make ice cream using a cream cheese base versus the egg base I usually use. In an egg based ice cream, the egg yolks act as a stabilizer. In a cream cheese based ice cream, I think it is the cornstarch and corn syrup that act as the stabilizers. I have a limited understanding of both cooking and science, but I believe the cornstarch thickens the ice cream, while the corn syrup binds everything together. The recipe I followed is from Jenni Britton Bauer, who is apparently a goddess in the world of ice cream. She has scoop shops in Columbus, Cleveland, Nashville, Chicago, Atlanta, Charleston, Los Angeles and St. Louis. I have not actually tried her ice cream, but if you live in one of those cities, try it and leave a comment letting us know how it was. I was introduced to Jenni Britton Bauer by a woman I met at an ice cream workshop. I found the recipe for her cream cheese based ice cream base on a website and duplicated it below for anybody who is interested. As you will notice, this recipe is only for creating an ice cream base, you will have to add the flavoring on your own.

Jenni Britton Bauer's Cream Cheese Based Ice Cream

Ingredients:     

2 cups whole milk

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 1/2 ounces cream cheese softened/room temperature

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Preparation:    

           

1. PLEASE NOTE: 24 HOURS BEFORE YOU WANT TO MAKE THE ICE CREAM, WASH THE CANISTER, DRY IT WELL, AND PLACE IT IN THE COLDEST PART OF THE FREEZER. DO NOT REMOVE IT UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO POUR THE CHILLED CREAM INTO IT.
2. PREP 3 BOWLS In a small bowl, mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch to make a smooth slurry. In a medium bowl, add the salt and room-temperature cream cheese and whip all the bumps out. In a large bowl, make an ice bath (heavy on the ice) and set aside.
3. COOK Pour the cream, sugar, corn syrup, and remaining milk into a 4-quart saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, set a timer for precisely 4 minutes and boil for exactly 4 minutes—the timing is critical. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Return the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
4. CHILL Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Do this a little bit at a time so that you can whip out any lumps of cream cheese. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag, seal, and submerge the bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until very cold, about 30 minutes.
5. FREEZE Cut the corner off the bag, pour the chilled base into the frozen canister of your ice cream machine, press a sheet of parchment paper 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. HOW TO TELL WHEN YOUR ICE CREAM IS DONE The ice cream is finished at the exact moment when the machine isn’t freezing the ice cream anymore; the ice cream will begin to pull away from the sides (about 25 minutes). If you stop too soon, there will be a thin layer of really dense ice cream on the sides of the canister.
7. SERVE When you remove the ice cream from the freezer, let it sit and relax for 5 to 10 minutes before you scoop and serve it—it doesn’t need to melt, but it does need to thaw slightly. Ideally, serve and eat it while it’s quite firm but pliable and you are able to easily roll it into a ball. Once you’ve scooped it, return any remaining ice cream to the freezer. If the ice cream has melted too much at room temperature, refreezing it will result in an ice cream that is too icy.

As we talked so much about kulfi last week, I had Indian food on my mind a lot this week. Adding to that, for the past few weeks, I have had a bottle of rosewater sitting in my cabinet just staring at me. I had bought the rosewater thinking I would attempt to make some Indian or Middle Eastern desserts. I do occasionally make things other than ice cream. Alas, like all well laid plans of mice and men, it went awry and I never got around to it. I was curious though to see if rosewater would work well in an ice cream. I used a slight variation of the Jenni Britton Bauer method, so I will lay out my own plan below.

Rosewater Ice Cream (Cream Cheese Based)

Ingredients:     

2 cups whole milk

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 1/2 ounces cream cheese softened/room temperature

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons dark corn syrup

2 tablespoons rosewater

Preparation:    

     

I always leave my ice cream canister in the freezer, so it is ready to use if I need it. I also find that ice cream churns best when the canister has been in the freezer for awhile. 

In a small bowl, mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch.

In a medium bowl, add the salt and room-temperature cream cheese and whip all the bumps out.

      

Pour the cream, sugar, corn syrup, and remaining milk into a 4-quart saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, set a timer for precisely 4 minutes and boil for exactly 4 minutes—the timing is critical (I did not precisely time mine). 

Mix in the cornstarch and stir until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.                

Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Do this a little bit at a time so that you can whip out any lumps of cream cheese. (I did not gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese, I just dumped it all in, and this was probably my biggest mistake. Next time, I will pour it in slowly because you do need time for the lumps of cream cheese to dissolve.) Add in two tablespoons of rosewater.

Put the mixture in your fridge until it is cool (I left mine in overnight). Churn in your ice cream make until thick and creamy (approximately 40 minutes in my ice cream maker).

The cream cheese based, rosewater ice cream came out deliciously! As I mentioned, my ice cream was not perfectly smooth because I did not do a good job of really whipping out all the lumps of cream cheese. I will definitely take care to do this next time. Nonetheless, the ice cream was very creamy and dense. It also held the ice cream texture and looked like ice cream much more than my egg yolk based ice creams, which tasted great and had a good consistency, but tended to melt quickly. My husband thought the rosewater made the ice cream taste like rasmalai, another Indian dessert, which I love, so all in all it was a win-win.

My only complaint about the Jenni Britton Bauer recipe is that it does not specify when would be a good time to add the flavoring. For flavors that are more viscous, such as rosewater, I think adding them in at the end, as I did, is fine. However, for flavors that need to be steeped before being strained out, such as in the Honey Thyme Ice Cream, I think they will need to be added in before you combine the milk mixture with the cream cheese. I will keep experimenting in the weeks ahead and report back.

I have read on some ice cream making websites complaints on using corn syrup in making ice cream because it is not a "real" food. Many feel like using corn syrup in homemade ice cream destroys the integrity of the ice cream. Here are my thoughts on the "corn syrup controversy." First, corn syrup is different than high fructose corn syrup. While they are both made from corn, high fructose corn syrup has had its glucose enzymatically converted to fructose, hence the name. Thus, while corn syrup has been processed, just as sugar cane is processed, it has not been enzymatically altered the way high fructose corn syrup is. In that sense you can say high fructose corn syrup is a "fake" food. Since corn syrup is not being altered the way high fructose corn syrup is, I am not exactly sure it is ruining the integrity of homemade ice cream. On the other hand, are both corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup bad for you? Yes. Are both hard for your body to digest? Yes. If you want to be healthy, you should avoid eating both corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup. If you want to be healthy, you should also avoid eating ice cream. The corn syrup you do or do not put in your ice cream is not going to make it any more or less healthy for you. If you want to be healthy, stop eating ice cream and reading ice cream blogs. Otherwise, everything in moderation, including moderation. So get out there and train for a marathon. Run 9 miles in 80 degree weather and when you get back, scoop yourself a large bowl of high-fat, high-sugary goodness and enjoy!

Overall: I would give my Rosewater Ice Cream 4/5 scoops. It has a unique, enjoyable flavor and good consistency that hits your sweet spot and satisfies an ice cream craving.

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.

How To Make Ice Cream Without An Ice Cream Maker

My blog is devoted to making ice cream, but I realize an ice cream maker is something many may not have just lying around their kitchen. If you would like to join me on my ice cream making expeditions, but do not want to want to shell out the money on fancy kitchen equipment, have no fear. I have recently learned of a way to make ice cream without breaking the bank or requiring anything more than a whisk (preferably electronic) and a bowl.

Ingredients:

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

1 pint of heavy cream

Flavoring (of your choosing)

 

Preparation:

Mix your flavoring into the sweetened condensed milk and set aside.

Whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks.

Gently combine the whipped cream with the sweetened condensed milk. Freeze for 4 hours prior to eating.

Full Disclosure: I have not actually tried to make ice cream using this method. However, I have recently eaten ice cream made by someone using the above steps and it was quite tasty. It was a little fluffier than most of my ice creams turn out, but I would never have known it was made without an ice cream maker if I had not been told. Apparently, this method of making ice cream is inspired by the steps taken to make kulfi. Kulfi is a delicious Indian dessert that is somewhat similar to ice cream.

I was introduced to this method at an Ice Cream Club meeting I was invited to this weekend by a friend of mine. As the name suggests, the club was for ice cream making enthusiasts. Each person brought a pint of of ice cream to share and a pint of ice cream to trade. I tasted a number of new and interesting flavors, including: avocado ice cream, cardamom ice cream and black sesame ice cream. The flavors were delicious, but by the time we left, even I was feeling ice creamed out and that is hard.

More enjoyable than the experience of eating ice cream at 10:30 in the morning was the opportunity to talk to fellow amateur ice cream makers. It was the first time either of my friend or I went to this Ice Cream Club. I have to admit I was feeling a bit apprehensive about the experience. I was not sure exactly what to expect or if I would be surrounded by ice cream making snobs. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Everyone was very friendly and it was a great environment to talk shop and swap secrets of the trade. I never realized there were so many fellow ice cream enthusiasts out there! In addition to learning about this new way to make ice cream, I met a young woman who had some suggestions on how to improve the texture and consistency of my ice cream. She recommended using cream cheese, corn syrup and corn starch rather than egg yolks. I will be trying this trick next, so stay tuned for the following week's blog post.

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.

Coffee Ice Cream

Memorial Day weekend just past and with it the unofficial start of summer, the official opening of beaches and drumroll please, ice cream season! Now that the weather has gotten warmer, I have decided to get back on my ice cream making game. I wanted to make a flavor I have been meaning to try for a while, coffee ice cream.

Coffee Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups milk

3/4 cups sugar

1 cup instant coffee (any brand will do)

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

Heat the milk, sugar, instant coffee and 1/2 cup of the heavy cream in a pot until hot and steamy, but not boiling.

Once the mixture is warm, remove it from the heat and let steep for 1 hour.

After the hour is up, reheat the coffee mixture.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks together.

Temper the egg yolks by pouring in a half cup of the coffee mixture, whisking constantly.

Then combine the egg yolks with the rest of the coffee mixture in the pot.

Add the rest of the cream and stir the mixture over medium heat for roughly ten minutes.

Pour the mixture through a strainer and into a clean bowl.

Chill in the refrigerator overnight and churn in your ice cream maker.

I love this ice cream. It has a rich, creamy texture and a smooth coffee flavor. It reminds me of last summer when I traveled to Vietnam and spent my days drinking Vietnamese Iced Coffee, which is a combination of coffee, condensed milk and sugar. Although they make Vietnamese Iced Coffee here, often called Thai Iced Coffee, it comes no where as close to good as the coffee I had in Vietnam. I think this is because of the quality of the coffee beans the Vietnamese use. For the first time since leaving Hanoi, the rich, creamy blend of this coffee ice cream transported me back to my Vietnamese Iced Coffee drinking days. Would it be wrong to eat coffee ice cream for breakfast?

Overall: I would give this Coffee Ice Cream 5/5 scoops. It is one of my favorite flavors and everything you would want in a coffee ice cream. It is perfect for a hot summer day!

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.



Lavender Ice Cream

Happy Spring, and to those who celebrate, Happy Easter! Hopefully spring is here to stay, not least because this week's ice cream requires some flowers. As I head to my family house's for Easter Sunday dinner, I wanted to have an appropriate ice cream to take with me. I thought of the flowers and pastel colors usually associated with Easter and felt stumped. Then I remembered the lavender ice cream I had tried a few weeks ago, and decided to try to recreate my own.

Lavender Ice Cream

 

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons lavender

1 cup sugar

5 egg yolks

 

Preparation:

Combine the first three ingredients in a pot and bring them to a slight boil over medium heat.

Cool and allow the lavender to steep in the cream mixture for two hours.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together.

Pour the cream mixture through a strainer and combine with the egg mixture.

Whisk the two mixtures together for two minutes.

Transfer the mixture back to a pot and cook on medium heat for four minutes, stirring constantly.

Strain the mixture once again and place in a clean bowl. Place the bowl in the refrigerator and allow the mixture to chill for a minimum of three hours and up to one day. Churn in your ice cream maker.

 

Overall, I am very pleased with this ice cream. It has a strong lavender flavor, but is still so delicious. One thing to note is that this ice cream will still remain white. Often the lavender ice creams you see in the store are purple. This leads me to believe that companies just add a lot of food coloring to their ice cream, as there is not nearly enough lavender in this ice cream to overpower the color of the cream or milk. So what do you say, get in the spring spirit and add some flowers to your ice cream.

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.





Bailyes Irish Cream

Happy St. Patrick's Day! In honor of the man who drove the snakes out of Ireland, I made a Baileys Ice Cream with Baileys Caramel sauce. Unfortunately, it did not turn out so well. As many of you may know, alcohol does not freeze all that well. Hence, why so many people keep alcohol in their freezers. The ice cream tastes pretty good, but unfortunately, is pretty soupy. For those who do not mind eating soupy ice cream, I have presented the recipe below.

Baileys Ice Cream

 

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup Baileys Irish Cream

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Preparation:

Combine all the ingredients in a big bowl, stir together well and then churn in your ice cream maker.

Baileys Caramel Sauce

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon butter

Pinch of slat

1/2 cup Baileys Irish Cream

1/2 cup heavy cream

 

Preparation:

Caramelize the butter, sugar and salt over medium heat. Stir frequently so the mixture does not burn. Once the sugar turns a golden brown, add the Baileys. Continue stirring.

As the mixture thickens, add the heavy cream. Stir until all the ingredients are combined.

Remove from stove and allow to cool. Pour over ice cream.

 

 

As I mentioned, the flavor of this ice cream is quite nice, if you enjoy Baileys. The flavor of the Baileys comes across strongly, while still being sweet, the way you would like a dessert to be. However, the ice cream itself does not freeze well. I am assuming this is because of the high quantity of alcohol. If anybody has any ideas on how to make this ice cream freeze better, I would love to hear your suggestions. In addition, I did not really like the way the Baileys Caramel Sauce turned out. I thought the Baileys was too strong and detracted from the flavor of the ice cream. Overall, I would not label this a success. Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on!

Coconut Ice Cream

My apologies, it has been awhile since I posted a new ice cream flavor. This time I actually have a good excuse. I got sick with strep throat, which kept me in bed for a few days. It even ruined my husband's Valentine's Day plans to make a romantic cheese and chocolate fondue dinner for me. Instead I stayed in bed, watching the Oscar nominated Boyhood and drinking tea with honey and lemon. I hope other people had a more eventful Valentine's Day.

After I started to feel better with the help of some antibiotics, my husband and I headed to Vermont for my second downhill skiing experience ever. As we drove to Vermont, my husband told me, "not all mountains are created equal." Truer words have never been spoken. I did not realize how flat the bunny hills in New York were compared to the bunny hills in Vermont. My first day in Vermont, I headed to my "Learn To Ski" class thinking I would show everyone how those "Vs" or "pizzas" were done. To my shock, we actually went to the top of a big hill and the instructor sent everyone down already weaving in and out as if they had been skiing their whole life. Everyone that is, except for me, who stood on the top of the hill shaking in fear and refusing to move. The instructor had to come back up the hill to get me, literally holding my hands the whole way down the hill. After recovering from that embarrassment, I improved. I am pleased to announce that by the time we left, I was going down the green trails, weaving in and out, all by myself.

Since returning from Vermont, I participated in a Scavenger Hunt and learned how to shoot a bow and arrow, while pretending I am as badass as Katniss Everdeen. Finally, I managed to come good on a promise I made about a month ago now and make a simple coconut ice cream.

 

Coconut Ice Cream

 

Ingredients:

2 13.5oz cans of coconut milk

1 cup of sugar

 

Preparation:

Bring the coconut milk and sugar to a boil and then let them simmer for approximately 10 minutes.

Allow to cool in the refrigerator overnight.

Churn in your ice cream maker.

 

Note: This ice cream tastes best after it has just been churned. I have made a couple of ice creams with coconut milk now and it never seems to respond well to freezing. It becomes kind of chunky. Nonetheless, if you eat this ice cream immediately after it has been churned, it is very refreshing.

 

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on!

Super Bowl Sunday Ice Cream!

Seahawks or Patriots? Flatgate? These are the questions on every American's mind tonight. Even the President has weighed in with his opinion on such heavy topics. Not being nearly as diplomatic as President Obama, I am just going to come out and say I am rooting for the Seahawks tonight. As such, I made a flavor in their honor - blueberry lemon ice cream (blue and yellow/green like their uniform). Maybe if the Seahawks win, I will send a deflated carton of it to Tom Brady.

Blueberry Lemon Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 pint of blueberries

3/4 cup sugar

6 tablespoons lemon juice

3 egg yolks

1 pint of cream

Preparation:

Boil the blueberries and sugar together until you have created a jam.

While the blueberries and sugar are boiling use an electric whisk to beat 3 egg yolks.

After the blueberries and sugar have turned to jam, add in 6 tablespoons of lemon juice and lower the heat.

Add in a pint of heavy cream and stir for two minutes.

Add half a cup of the warm heavy cream mixture to the egg yolks and beat for two minutes to temper the egg yolks.

Add the egg yolks to the rest of the blueberry mixture and stir for another two minutes.

Strain the mixture into a clean bowl and chill. (Note: I usually ignore recommendations to strain my ice cream, but in this case it is important. You do not want blueberry skins ending up in your ice cream. If you do not have a strainer, a colander will also work).

After the mixture has cooled, churn it in your ice cream maker.

This is another ice cream recipe that I created completely on my own. I am very proud of the consistency and the way the flavors developed. It is also definitely the prettiest ice cream I have made. While the blueberries and sugar are boiling, you will see a nice rich purple color in your pan. Once it is churning in your ice cream maker, it becomes more of a lavender, grey color. The ice cream tastes similar to a blueberry yogurt or smoothie. I am not a big fan of it because I do not really enjoy fruit yogurts, but my husband loves it. Fortunately for me, after spending a couple days in the freezer, the maple ice cream from last week tastes delicious! My husband and I are now all set to watch the Super Bowl with a couple bowl of ice creams - blueberry lemon for him and maple for me. Happy Super Bowl everybody!

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on!