Don’t be too quick about putting your ice cream makers away. We still have a lot of hot weather to get through, and what better way to cool off than digging into some homemade ice cream?
When I was growing up, we had a rule about making ice cream: If you did not help churn, by turning the crank for a good amount of time, you did not get any ice cream. I don’t think there were electric ice cream makers during that time. I always suspected that the rule was never tested.
I couldn’t imagine any of the grown-ups sitting around enjoying their ice cream in front of kids who for whatever reason didn’t help make it. Luckily, I was always eager to pitch in for the big reward.
Here are a few recipes to try out, if you wish. For the firmer ice cream consistency, it is probably better to make the ice cream the day before planning to serve it. Hope you get to enjoy this end-of-summer treat.
Peach ice cream
6 egg yolks, beaten
3 1/2 cups sugar
10 ripe peaches, peeled and chopped, plus 3 peaches, peeled and diced
4 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1. Puree the 10 peaches in a food processor or blender, keeping the 3 diced peaches aside. You will need 5 cups of puree.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth. Stir in 5 cups of puree; blend well.
3. Add the cream, milk, vanilla and salt; blend well. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions (do not overfill your machine). Add the cubed peaches according to the instructions for inclusions.
Vanilla ice cream
Allow plenty of time for this one.
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
6 large egg yolks
Ice and water for ice water bath
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1. In a medium nonreactive saucepan, combine the cream, milk, 1/2 cup sugar, salt, vanilla bean and its scraped seeds.
2. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar until smooth.
3. Prepare an ice-water bath for chilling the base before refrigerating.
4. Return the pan containing the cream mixture to the stove. Uncover and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
5. To temper the egg and sugar mixture, stream in 1/2 cup of warmed cream mixture, whisking constantly. Repeat with another 1/2 cup of warmed cream mixture.
6. Slowly stream in tempered egg and cream mixture into the cream mixture in the saucepan stirring with a heatproof spatula.
7. Continue to heat over medium, stirring constantly, gently scraping the bottom of the pan as you stir, until thickened. (The mixture should coat the back of a spatula or wooden spoon, leaving a trail when you run your finger through it. The base should be thick like tomato soup but no thicker.)
8. Pour the base through a fine-mesh strainer into a container for chilling. Carefully set the container into the ice-water bath, and stir the base with a clean spatula or wooden spoon until cool. Remove base from ice-water bath, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours or up to overnight.
9. Once base is totally chilled, stir in the vanilla extract until well mixed.
10. Freeze base in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. (Be careful to avoid over-churning.)
11. For soft serve, enjoy immediately. For firmer ice cream transfer to freezer safe container, cover, and freeze for at least 4 hours. Makes about 1 quart.
Cherry ice cream
16 ounces fresh or frozen pitted dark cherries
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/4 cup tart cherry juice, or 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
2 tablespoons dry milk powder
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1. In a medium saucepan, stir together the cherries, 1/4 cup of the sugar, cherry juice and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until bubbling. Using a fork, pastry blender or a potato masher, mash the cherries to break them up. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Turn off the heat and set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Strain the cherry mixture, pressing out as much juice as possible. Set the juice aside.
3. Transfer the cherry solids to a storage container and let cool. Once cool, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
4. Prepare an ice bath using two nesting metal bowls.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and milk powder. Add the eggs and whisk vigorously for 1 minute, or until the mixture is lightened.
6. Whisk in the cream, milk and reserved cherry juice. Transfer the mixture to a heavy-bottomed medium pot.
7. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, especially along the edges and the bottom of the pot, until the mixture reaches 175 degrees, about 8 minutes. The mixture should be slightly thickened. To check if the custard is set without an instant-read thermometer, coat a wooden spoon with the custard. Draw a horizontal line on the back of the spoon with your finger. If the line “holds,” then the custard is set. If the line does not set, cook the custard for another minute or so, being careful not to let it boil.
8. Immediately remove pot from heat and continue to stir the custard for 1 minute. This helps bring it up to 180 degrees.
9. Strain the custard through a clean fine-mesh strainer into the inner bowl of the ice bath. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
10. Chill the custard thoroughly in the refrigerator until at least 40 degrees, preferably overnight.
11. Freeze the custard, following the recommended manufacturer’s instructions for your ice cream maker, until the ice cream has reached the consistency of soft-serve.
12. In the last minute of churning, add the reserved cherry solids. Transfer the ice cream to one or more airtight containers. Place a piece of parchment paper on the surface to prevent any freezer burn. Freeze until firm, at least several hours. Makes about 3 pints.
Strawberry ice cream
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, diced and chilled
1 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons extra
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. In a bowl, mixed diced strawberries with 2 tablespoons sugar and let the mixture sit for up to 1 hour.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the milk and 1 cup sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in heavy cream and vanilla until well mixed. Place bowl in refrigerator to chill about 15 minutes.
3. Turn ice cream maker on and pour very cold milk and cream mixture in. Follow manufacturer’ directions for your ice cream maker. In general, the churning process takes about 25 to 30 minutes.
4. During the final 5 to 10 minutes of churning, add drained strawberries.
5. Eat as soft-serve, or freeze the ice cream for several hours for a firmer product. Makes 12 servings.