When I was 17, I had a summer job making ice cream at Peter’s on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. It was a cinch. You poured the milky contents of a container labeled “base” into the machine, added your flavorings (chocolate, vanilla, kiwi or what have you) and turned the switch.
I discovered that ice cream making — and the critical task of frequently tasting it — was one of the most enjoyable and creative things a person could get paid to do on a sultry afternoon. The possible flavor combinations are infinite, and endlessly satisfying. And while my guanabana-chocolate chunk was not as successful as my mocha-caramel-almond, it was just as thrilling to mix up.
Although I know a lot more about making ice cream now than I did then, the fundamental lesson is the same. As long as you start with a good ice cream base and add excellent ingredients, you can make any flavor in the universe: almond, basil, lime. It’s also going to taste a whole lot better than any you can buy.
There are many kinds of ice cream bases, ranging from the simplest mix of cream and sugar to more elaborate combinations including xanthan or guar gum, corn syrup and milk powder.
Here I offer a classic custard base using egg yolk. Yolks vastly improve the texture of ice cream, especially the kind of ice cream made in small batches in home machines. (Industrial machines, including the gurgling goliath at Peter’s, are another animal.) Egg yolk acts as an emulsifier, keeping ice crystals at bay and making home-churned ice creams scoopable even after they’ve firmed up in the freezer. The yolk, along with the cream, also gives you the luscious mouth feel of a great ice cream, that tongue-coating velvet that you just don’t get from sorbet.
I designed this base to support pretty much any flavor you, or your inner 17-year-old, could think up. It also yields a lot of extra egg whites, which you should save in the fridge or freezer for other uses. I used mine in coconut financiers, which rely on whites for their light, spongy texture.
But the flavors aren’t the only variable to play with here.
Adjust the number of yolks for a richer or lighter ice cream. You can also tinker with the ratio of milk to heavy cream. I like my ice cream on the richer side, so my base recipe uses the traditional ratio of six yolks. If you like yours lighter, increase the milk and decrease the cream and yolks. Or for something richer, increase the yolk and cream. The ice cream will be heavenly as long as you use at least two and no more than eight yolks for three cups of liquid dairy. You practically have a mandate to experiment here, so take advantage.
You also have room when it comes to sugar. I think 2/3 cup is just sweet enough. But take this up or down as you see fit. Or replace some of the sugar with an intense honey to make a fabulous honey vanilla. Ditto maple syrup for a maple walnut ice cream. Brown sugar adds a slightly bitter molasses note that’s lovely with chocolate.
Making a proper custard does take careful technique, but it’s not hard, especially if you take it low and slow. You want to heat the egg yolks just enough so they thicken the custard until it’s silky and coats the back of a spoon. Turn the heat too high and you’ll get curdled, scrambled eggs. If you’re new to custards, better to stir everything over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes rather than watching it all clump up in the frenzy of a high flame. Straining will help eliminate any minor curdling and stray bits of egg, but if you have large chunks, you’ll have to start again. The more custards you make, the hotter and faster you can push it, but it takes practice.
Once you’ve mastered the base, freestyling with flavors is your reward. You can either infuse aromatics into the milk and cream mixture as it heats, or stir flavor ingredients into the custard before chilling and churning it.
The key is to anticipate how you’ll need to adjust the base to accommodate different ingredients. Take, for example, berries or stone fruit. “When adding fruit purée, you’re essentially adding water,” said Ben Van Leeuwen, whose company, Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream, is known for its custard-based ice creams in delicate flavors. Too much water leads to ice crystals. And when adding high-fat ingredients, such as chocolate or nuts, you risk ending up with something so rich it’s more akin to frozen butter than ice cream.
To keep things in balance, Van Leeuwen recommends adjusting the percentages of milk and cream. (He tries to maintain the fat content at about 22 percent for a custard ice cream.) He uses more cream and less milk for fruit flavors, and more milk and less cream for nut flavors.
I’ve added suggestions for nearly two dozen flavors in the chart below. Work your way through them, or use them as a jumping-off point. You may find that you never tire of making them. Or, at least, that you never tire of tasting.
ICE CREAM BASE
Time: 20 minutes plus several hours' cooling, chilling and freezing
Yield: About 1 1/2 pints
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. fine sea salt
6 large egg yolks
Your choice of flavoring (see note)
1. In a small pot, simmer cream, milk, sugar and salt until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk yolks. Whisking constantly, slowly whisk about a third of the hot cream into the yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream. Return pot to medium-low heat and gently cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer).
2. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cool mixture to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
3. Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Serve directly from the machine for soft serve, or store in freezer until needed.
Note: This recipe for ice cream base may be churned on its own, but it is meant to have flavors added.
BROWN BUTTER COCONUT FINANCIERS
Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 30 small cakes
16 Tbsp. butter (2 sticks), more for greasing muffin tins
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
2 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
1 cup egg whites (about 6 to 8 large egg whites)
1 Tbsp. dark rum
Sweetened shredded coconut, for topping
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 30 mini muffin tins.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat until the milk solids fall to bottom of pan and become a rich brown, about 5 minutes. Strain brown butter through a mesh sieve into bowl. Stir in coconut oil and reserve.
3. In a food processor, process unsweetened coconut until very fine. Transfer to a bowl. Sift in sugar, flour and salt. Using a spatula, fold in egg whites and rum until batter is moistened. Slowly mix in brown butter mixture until well combined.
4. Spoon batter into tins and sprinkle tops with shredded sweetened coconut, separating any clumps with your fingers. Bake, rotating pans several times, until edges are dark brown and tops are golden, 20 to 24 minutes. Cool on rack for 5 minutes and pop out financiers onto rack.
About the Author
