The Still Sweet Essentials is coming to an end. I'm ending with my favorite essential of all.
Something that will have you licking the bowl completely clean.
Have no fear, you won't even need a special appliance.
I have to say that many an event at my house has ended with a big bowl of ice cream. Yes, even with my dairy disadvantages, I will still make an exception for a small spoon of ice cream.
My ice cream maker is one special appliance purchase that I'm not at all sorry that I bought. I think it's paid for itself a million times over.
That being said, I sort of didn't want to post an essential that couldn't be essential in everyone's kitchen. So I made some of my regular extremely delicious ice cream with my machine, then I forgot I owned one and went rogue.
I went to the guru to check if it was feasible. Lebovitz says yes. So I decided to give it a try.
I really prefer to make my ice creams with a custard base. Lebovitz says that if you are attempting ice cream with out a machine that absolutely it must be custard base.
I'm not beyond sweetening up some milk and cream and letting it whirl away in my machine. But once you taste the difference between custard and philadelphia style ice cream the choice becomes clear.
I made 2 different flavors - vanilla in the machine and coffee without the machine.
I always start with 2 cups of whole milk and 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream. It's very rich, yes. I heat up the milk on the stove ever so slowly as not to scorch the milk. In one pan I added a vanilla bean, split with the caviar scrapped in to the milk. The second pot had 2 heaping Tablepsoons of my favorite instant espresso.
In the mixer went 4 egg yolks and 3/4 cup milk. Then whisked away until the yolks get light and the sugar mixes in. Then you make a giant mess while you slowly pour in the heated milk.
It is a process that is so worth switching hot milk in to an appropriate pouring container. Once all the milk is in the sugar yolk mixture and whirred up well, it goes back in to the pan. It will be all frothy and foamy and that's always the point where you wonder if it's all going to work out in the end.
That is what is so great about custard base ice cream making, it's a lot like making pudding, but not so fussy.
After more than a few minutes of stirring over medium low heat the froth disappears and it will thicken. It doesn't get as thick as say pudding, but it gets lovely and silky and hot. Don't wait too long or let things seriously bubble. Once it's hot and amazing pour it through a mesh sieve just incase any eggs decided to really heat up.
From here things need to cool down before any freezing will occur. I usually make my custard a day ahead.
Then the vanilla went in to the machine, and after it was all frozen up I stirred in some cookies that had met their end during a road trip in the bottom of the bag.
I didn't even get a chance to take a picture of my vanilla mashed cookie ice cream. It was gone as soon as it was made.
But wait, there's coffee.
David said to place the custard base in a larger surface container and then visit the freezer often.
After 45 minutes I took a whisk to the coffee custard and broke up the ice pieces. Honestly it only took 2 trips to the freezer to whip it into something amazing.
Really I couldn't tell the difference between my hand churned no machine ice cream and the one made in my cute little ice cream maker. I'm not sure if one would have the exact same results again and again, but hey I would definitely try and try again. Just so I could lick the bowl.
Want more ice cream? That's silly, who doesn't?
Now I want to know, if you had to choose one essential of your own, what would your kitchen have to have, special appliance or not?
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