Recipe: Buckwheat honey ice cream

Buckwheat honey is among the most distinctive honey varieties available, and lends a beautiful, almost floral characteristic to this ice cream.  As we approach berry season, this is a great top to a slice of homemade pie.

You will need:

500ml / 2C            cream
500ml / 2C            milk (homo is best)
1                            vanilla bean
10                          egg yolks
75ml / 5Tbs           buckwheat honey

Method:

 - scrape the vanilla bean into a pot with the cream and milk
 - bring the cream mixture to a simmer
 - turn off the heat and cover the pot with plastic wrap for 20 minutes
 - whisk the egg yolks with the honey
 - bring the cream mixture back up to a simmer
 - temper the mix into the yolks and honey
 - return the mixture back to the pot
 - get an ice bath ready
 - stirring constantly, bring the custard to 83C / 181.4F
 - immediately strain the mix into a bowl over the ice bath and stir to cool
 - cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight
 - give the custard a gentle whisk
 - churn in an ice cream maker

Recipe: Simple syrup / Sorbet syrup

In the interest of fairness,  I don't want to make assumptions that everyone has taken a culinary course, and occasionally want to make sure certain basics are covered.  Not everyone knows exactly what is referred to when I talk about adding a simple syrup to a recipe, so we can break it down right here.  

As a little something extra, I'm throwing in an alternate recipe for a syrup that I used at a restaurant exclusively for sorbets.  It's worth mentioning that at this restaurant we used a Paco-Jet machine (a high tech ice cream machine - actually grinds rather than churns), so the approach to making sorbets was different.  Even without a Paco-Jet, having a syrup tailored to sorbet making is a good idea.  The inclusion of glucose into the formula helps the sorbet from getting too icy.

Starting with simple syrup, it really is just that.  By definition, it is equal parts by weight of water and sugar.  In a high production environment, you often make a large amount and store it in the fridge.  You then simply take what you need for each recipe.  

Be careful not to forget about the syrup and let it boil too long (it happens with large batches) - a greater amount of water evaporates and the syrup come out sweeter than intended.  It is also important to use cold water as it tastes cleaner.  Do an image search on Google for the inside of a water heater - you want that in your sorbet?

You will need (as an example):

1kg                  cold water

1kg                  granulated sugar

Method:

 - mix the cold water with the sugar

 - bring up to a simmer

 - make sure all the sugar has been dissolved

 - take off the heat

 - cool and store in the fridge

The sorbet syrup is a variation involving glucose for texture.  The procedure is the same as above.

You will need:

1kg                  cold water

750g                granulated sugar

250g                glucose

Recipe: Horchata ice cream

steep the cream

I was thinking ahead when I made the horchata and saved 500ml to make ice cream before adding the milk.  I added cream instead, then adjusted things a bit to account for the egg yolks and keep the flavour profile the same.  I chose not to strain the "pulp" out and keep it pure and it's delicious, but depending on your audience, you may want to strain rather than distract from the product explaining why the ice cream has texture.  If you strain, you will need 500 ml of strained horchata, which will take away from your drinking supply.  Either way, in this recipe, where you use "horchata base", refer to the horchata recipe and take what you need at the stage when everything is blended and flavoured, but before adding the milk (you definitely want the condensed milk in there).  And yes, I used the glucose I made before.

cook the custard

You will need:

500ml / 2C          horchata base

250ml / 1C          cream

125ml / 1/2C       milk

45ml / 3Tbs         glucose

15ml / 1Tbs         vanilla paste (1 bean)

2.5ml / 1/2tsp      ground cinnamon

6                          egg yolks

Method:

churn

 - put the milk, cream and glucose in a small pot to simmer

 - mix the egg yolks, vanilla and cinnamon

 - temper the hot cream into the yolk mix

 - return to the stove and cook to 83C / 181F

 - chill over an ice bath

 - stir in the horchata base

 - chill completely, press plastic wrap onto the surface and let ripen in the fridge overnight

 - give the mix a quick whisk 

 - load into the ice cream machine 

 - churn

 - store in the freezer

enjoy!

Recipe: Caramel balsamic ice cream

This ice cream is definitely out of the ordinary and deliciously rich.  Don't let the vinegar put you off, it's acidity gets balanced out by the caramel and the cream.  I used a 20 year old balsamic when I made this - it's more expensive, but it pays off in the end.  Get one of the ones that's nice and thick and syrupy.  If you don't want to go that route, you can reduce regular balsamic till it starts to get thick, then sweeten it just a bit.  Depending on the caramel sauce you make and the vinegar you use, the proportions may vary a bit, so play with it till you like the balance.  Again, this is a small recipe in order to freeze faster in a home machine - if you can churn a generous litre (quart) of ice cream, by all means double the recipe.

You will need:

250ml / 1C                cream

250ml / 1C                milk (homo)

5                                egg yolks
98g / 3.5oz                sugar
1/2                            vanilla bean
pinch                         kosher salt
35ml / 2Tbs + 1tsp    caramel sauce (refer to previous recipe)
37.5ml / 2.5Tbs         aged balsamic vinegar

Method:

 - make your caramel sauce separately and set aside
 - combine the milk, cream, vanilla, half the sugar and pinch of salt in a pot and bring up to a simmer
 - turn off the heat, cover, and let steep for half an hour
 - mix the yolks with the other half of the sugar
 - bring the mix back up to heat and temper into the yolks
 - return to the stove and while constantly stirring, cook to 83C / 181F
 - strain into a bowl over ice and cool completely
 - measure in the balsamic vinegar and caramel sauce and mix well
 - press cling film onto the surface and let ripen in the fridge overnight
 - give the custard a whisk
 - churn in an ice cream machine
 - store in the freezer
 

Atole ice cream

load the machine

Curious about making an eggless ice cream?  After I made the blueberry atole, I noticed that it was thick like an ice cream base and reserved some to churn in the ice cream maker.  This is a great example of the sorts of things you get up to when you have such a machine hanging around.  Much like playing "will it deep fry" when there's a deep fryer around, "will it churn" is a fun game to play with an ice cream maker.  

15 minutes later

 The result with the blueberry atole was fantastic.  Unlike a blueberry sorbet, it was creamy and oozed on the tongue as it melted like an ice cream does.  The atole character from the cornstarch was there and was very welcome, but the texture's similarity to ice cream was the more interesting outcome.  I used the same atole we drank the night before - I simply chilled it completely overnight, then gave it a quick whisk before churning.  If I were to make it specifically for churning, some variations could be to sweeten it with glucose instead of sugar and add cream where I had added milk.  You could add egg, but that would seem to take away from the character of it.

delicious

Recipe: Double vanilla ice cream

It's always good to have a nice vanilla ice cream in your bag of tricks.  Being vanilla, I always like to bring one that's going to beat the pants off anything store bought.  This recipe has a decadent richness, but that's what separates it from being a "plain Jane" vanilla.  As the name says, this ice cream is heavy on the vanilla, so if you want regular, just cut it in half.  You could also ease off the yolks a bit if you like, but I recommend trying this version first.  This is a small recipe, but fits nicely for a home ice cream machine - by not overloading the chamber, it will freeze faster and be that much creamier.

You will need:

250 ml / 1C      cream

250 ml / 1C      milk (homo)

5                       egg yolks

1                       vanilla bean (1Tbs vanilla paste)

98g / 3.5oz       sugar

pinch                kosher salt

Method:

 - combine the milk, cream, vanilla, half the sugar and salt

 - bring to a simmer, then cover and let steep for half an hour

 - combine yolks and the rest of the sugar and whisk well

 - bring the cream mix back up to a simmer and temper into the yolk mix

 - return to the stove and while stirring constantly over low heat, cook the custard to 83C / 181.4F
 - strain into a bowl over ice and cool completely
 - press cling film onto the custard and let ripen overnight in the fridge
 - give the custard a whisk
 - churn in an ice cream machine
 - store in the freezer

Recipe: White chocolate Godiva sorbet

It's pretty common knowledge that chocolate and water don't mix, but it's that fact that helps keep this tasty chocolate sorbet light and refreshing.  After melting the chocolate with the water, then cooling it, you can strain out the cocoa butter while leaving the flavour of the white chocolate in the syrup.  Godiva liqueur lends an extra level of decadence.

You will need:

500ml / 2C        water

200g / 7oz         white chocolate

75g / 2.6oz        glucose

45ml / 3Tbs       Godiva white chocolate liqueur

Method:

 - melt the glucose in the water

 - chop the white chocolate (if not in small chips)

 - pour the hot syrup over the chocolate and melt completely

 - cool the mixture down so the cocoa butter separates and floats on top

 - strain out the cocoa butter

 - burn off the alcohol in the Godiva

 - add the Godiva to the mixture and chill

 - churn  

Recipe: Foie gras icewine ice cream

The idea of foie gras ice cream seems to either freak people out or get them really excited.  An emotional response to food is good, but when entering the realm of "weird", you definitely want to help people along with the acceptance or you'll lose them.  One chef told me once with reference to using molecular gastronomy that you need to base most people in the familiar before you start throwing the crazy stuff at them.  With reference to this ice cream, I would recommend using it as a midway amuse bouche between courses - it might be a bit much to serve as your dessert itself.  I love to garnish it with crushed up crispy fried duck skin and a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar.  The key as well is the taste.  Think about your guests and their adventurousness.  A more timid guest will probably need a bit of a sweeter ice cream to help conceptually relate the dish with "ice cream".  Taste the mixture and don't temper the eggs until it tastes good - the double boiler will cook the liver, so you'll be safe.  An option a step further is to sear the foie, adding a delicious caramelization.  As lobes of foie tend to vary in size, be flexible with the recipe - as long as the flavour is there, the ice cream machine will freeze it.  Have fun with it!

You will need:

1                          lobe foie (450 - 500 grams / 1lb more or less)

125ml / 1/2C       icewine

125ml / 1/2C       glucose 

250ml / 1C          cream

250ml / 1C          homo milk

4                          egg yolks

to taste                 kosher salt

as needed            milk to soak the foie

Method:

 - bring the foie up to room temperature (keep it sealed in the package)

 - open the package and gently open the lobe up along the natural seams - remove any obvious veins

 - put the foie in a container and cover with milk

 - press saran wrap down onto the milk and soak in the fridge overnight

 - start water simmering for a double boiler

 - heat the milk, cream and glucose togetherto a simmer

 - temper into the egg yolks

 - return the mix to the heat and cook to 83C / 181.4F
 - chill over an ice bath to stop the cooking, then let sit warm on the counter out of the bath

 - bring the container out, take the foie out of the milk and discard the milk

 - pat the foie dry and roughly cut into pieces

 - pass the pieces through a tamis to remove any veins and transfer the liver to a bowl for the double boiler
 - place the bowl on the double boiler and slowly stir as the foie begins to melt
 - once the foie is more or less liquified, start stirring with a whisk - you want the foie to cook, but don't burn it
 - whisk in the icewine
 - whisk in the cream mixture
 - season with salt and check the taste - if you want it sweeter, now is the time
 - strain the mix through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl in an ice bath and keep whisking it gently as it cools to keep it emulsified
 - once the mix is stable, you can store it in the fridge to cool completely (overnight)
 - churn in an ice cream maker
 - store in the freezer

Recipe: Banana rum ice cream

time for a refill

roasted banana

 This recipe came out amazing.  I started with one of my old work recipes and shrunk it down for home.  I boosted the banana level, incorporated the lime and added a black spiced rum (The Kraken to be exact).  I also used my homemade invert sugar as all the sweetening since we keep our freezer very cold.  The lime comes through beautifully and the rum adds a nice complexity - depending on your taste, there's room for a little more.  I don't keep a supply of black bananas around, so what I usually do when making banana recipes is to roast them in the skins to get a very similar effect.  By pureeing the roasted bananas in the lime juice, the ice cream keeps a nice pale colour instead of oxidized brown. 

scald cream

Cooking the egg and cream mixture to 83C serves two purposes:  it thickens the anglais to make for a creamier product and destroys any potentially harmful pathogens that may be present in the eggs - it's a small risk, but it pays to be safe.  Have the ice bath ready because at that temperature, the eggs want to cook solid, which would give you the "scrambled egg" effect in the anglais.  If this happens and you catch it in time, sometimes a quick strain will remove any solid bits.  A high speed blender can sometimes save the day, but not always - best to use a good thermometer or probe and pay close attention.

temper into yolks

You will need:

250ml /1C                  cream

125ml / 1/2C              milk

2.5ml / 1/2tsp             vanilla paste

3                                 egg yolks

75g / 2.65oz               invert sugar / glucose

250g / 8.8oz               puree of ripe / roasted bananas (2 or 3)

2                                 key limes

cook the anglais to 83C

30ml / 2Tbs                dark spiced rum

pinch                          kosher salt

Method:

 - if you don't have ripe bananas, set the oven to 250F / 121C, set bananas on a pan and roast 1/2 an hour in their skins, turning once or twice over

 -  combine the cream, milk, vanilla,rum,salt and invert sugar and bring to a simmer on the stove

 - lightly whisk the egg yolks, then temper the cream mixture into them

chill quickly

 - prepare an ice bath

 - return the whole mixture to the stove and cook to 83C / 181.4F, scraping the bottom with a spatula continually

 - immediately strain the mixture into a bowl in the ice bath and give a whisk to stop the cooking

 - juice the key limes

 - empty the contents of the roasted bananas and measure out 250g

 - puree the banana pulp with the lime juice till smooth

 - temper the anglais into the banana puree and return to the ice bath

 - press cling film directly onto the surface of the anglais and cool completely

 - move the anglais to the fridge and let it mature overnight

 - set up the ice cream machine and start it turning

 - whisk up the anglais and pour into the machine (if you have a double like I do, use both canisters)

 - churn about 15 minutes

 - scoop into containers and store in the freezer

 - lick the equipment clean

 - return to the freezer and have some more

'ol double barrel

pure deliciousness

fill while running