buttermilk ice cream

This recipe is from Tom Douglas' The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook.

buttermilk ice cream

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup honey

8 large egg yolks

1) Put the buttermilk, vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl. Place a strainer over the bowl. You will use this setup after you make your creme anglaise.

2) To make the creme anglaise, put the cream, sugar, and honey in a saucepan and scald- bring to just below the boiling point until it begins to steam and little bubbles appear around the edges- stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

3) Meanwhile, put the egg yolks in a bowl and whisk until the yolks are pale yellow. Gradually add a ladle of the scalded cream to the bowl of yolks while whisking to warm the yolks. Pour the warmed yolks into the saucepan with the cream mixture and return to medium heat, stirring until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Immediately pour the creme anglaise through the strainer into the buttermilk mixture. Set the bowl over a large bowl of ice water and stir to combine. When cool, cover the bowl and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. 

4) Churn and freeze the chilled custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container. Cover and freeze for several hours or overnight until firm before serving. 

Jackie's maple syrup ice cream with walnuts and espresso

As if it is not clear by now, I love food. I love eating it, making it, shopping for it, talking about it and writing about it. I also love thinking about how memories of previous meals influence a recipe or cause a food idea to come together. So, how did it come to be that I am sharing with you a dessert for maple syrup ice cream with walnuts and espresso?

One of my favorite books ever, is Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. It is a wonderful memoir from a literature professor about living and teaching in Iran. In the book, the author describes eating one of her favorite desserts, ice cream with cold coffee and walnuts. Small details like this are part of what make it such a wonderful read.

Cold coffee with ice cream is a real treat. I first enjoyed it at a restaurant in India. Big scoops of creamy sweet vanilla ice cream was served in a tall highball glass, submerged in cold, smoky dark coffee. It was not blended up, but rather like a coffee version of a root beer float.

I grew up eating a lot of ice cream. My parents owned a pizza and ice cream parlor. Eating pizza and ice cream, for us, was not reserved for special occasions- it was a regular part of our lives. This became even more true once I was old enough to work summers in the restaurant. For breakfast, almost every day, I would have a slice of hot plain cheese pizza topped with a large slice of fresh tomato. In the late afternoons, when the restaurant would quiet down a bit, I would sometimes catch my Dad taking a break from the heat of the pizza ovens by taking a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and drizzling birch syrup over it. Birch syrup is like maple syrup, except it was made from local birch trees. The sticky dark birch syrup against the cool vanilla ice cream has a similar flavor profile as the cold coffee and ice cream. (Sadly, the birch syrup company went out of business a few years back. My husband and I, however, still have quite the stockpile of their syrups. In addition to their classic birch flavor, they also made syrups from local berries: cherry, blueberry, etc. High-bush cranberry is my husbands absolute favorite.)

For Christmas, my sister bought me a copy of The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook. It is a collection of recipes from the celebrated Tom Douglas Seattle bakery. (If you watched this past season of Top Chef Seattle, you saw quite a bit of Tom Douglas.) While perusing the book, I saw this recipe for maple syrup ice cream. It reminded me of my Dad's predilection for birch syrup and vanilla. It is quite possibly the easiest ice cream recipe ever (no eggs, no need to cook a custard base) and has all the wonderful flavors of smoky sweet maple syrup.

After I made the batch, I was thinking about how to best serve it. All alone or as a topping for another dessert? I decided to do a spin on espresso con affogato, the Italian dessert of dumping a shot of hot espresso over cold ice cream. This time, as a nod to Azar Nafisi, I topped the maple syrup ice cream with a bit of chopped walnuts first.

The resulting dessert would be a perfect end to a brunch or light dinner. Mostly, for me, the enjoyment of it is in pulling together, in a single bite, different strands or experiences in my life: time spent with my Dad in the restaurant, a trip to India, and a favorite book.

Recipe from Tom Douglas' Dahlia Bakery Cookbook (Jackie is Tom Douglas' wife)

Jackie's maple syrup ice cream

2 cups cold heavy cream
3/4 cup cold milk
1 1/4 cups pure maple syrup, preferably grade B
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1) Put the cream, milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt in a bowl and, using a whisk, mix lightly, just enough to combine everything well. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

2) Transfer the ice cream to a container. Cover and freeze for a few hours or overnight, until the ice cream is firm.

My final step: rough chop a few walnuts and sprinkle over a few small scoops of ice cream. Fresh brew a shot of espresso or strong brewed coffee. Pour the hot coffee over the ice cream.

banana ice cream

Here is the truth- I do not like banana's. A strange confession from someone who is about to give you a recipe for banana ice cream but stick with me: I do like banana incorporated into desserts. It is a dominant flavor to be sure, but adds warmth and richness. This ice cream is a beautiful pale yellow color and creamy rich banana flavor. It is a nice change of pace and elegant enough to serve all on it's own.

Also, do you not think banana ice cream would be a great base for a sundae? I am thinking a scoop of this, maybe a little salted caramel sauce or dark chocolate ganache, and fresh whipped cream. Could be a lovely dessert solution for a summer party.

The recipe is from Martha Stewart.

banana ice cream

4 large egg yolks
2/3 cups sugar, divided
1 2/3 cups whole milk
1 2/3 cups heavy cream, divided
3 to 4 very overripe bananas- skin should be more brown than yellow, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

1) Vigorously whisk together egg yolks and 2/3 cup sugar in a medium bowl until pale yellow and slightly fluffy, about 2 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, bring milk and 2/3 cup cream to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat, and gradually whisk into egg mixture. Pour mixture into pan, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, 1 minute.

3) Reduce heat to medium, and cook until thick enough to coat the spatula, about 1 minute (do not let boil.)

4) Pour custard into a bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water, and let cool, stirring occasionally.

5) Puree bananas with half the custard in a blender until smooth, and transfer to bowl with remaining custard. Stir in vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 cup cream until combined, and pour through a fine sieve into another bowl. Refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours but preferably overnight.

6) Freeze custard in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.

mint ice cream

Even all by itself, this would make a refreshing and light dessert. 

The color is not quite green- more lemongrass or light pistachio. I attribute this to the number of egg yolks in the custard. 

A note I have learned about making ice cream: when things are warmed up, the flavors appear much stronger. For example, after making this ice cream custard, but before freezing it, when I first tasted it, it seemed far too minty and sweet. I panicked a little bit. However, once frozen, the mint and sweetness are perfect.

The recipe is from Martha Stewart. 

mint ice cream

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups whole milk

pinch of salt

2 bunches fresh mint

1 cup sugar

8 large egg yolks

1) Combine the cream, milk and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer and add the mint. Remove from heat and let steep at least 1 hour and up to overnight (I think I steeped it for 5-6 hours) Covered in the refrigerator.

2) In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar and yolks; set aside. Remove mint from cream mixture, and discard. Bring the milk mixture just to a simmer. Using a measuring cup or ladle, slowly pour about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg-yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Keep adding milk mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time until it has all been added. (Be patient with yourself during this process. The goal is to avoid making mint flavored scrambled eggs.)

3) Pour mixture back into saucepan, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 3 to 5 minutes. The custard should retain a line drawn across the back of the spoon with your finger. Pour through a fine sieve into a medium bowl set in the ice bath. Stir occasionally until cooled. Cover and transfer to refrigerator until chilled at least 1 hour and up to overnight. 

4) Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturers' instructions until set but not hard. 

5) Transfer the soft ice cream to a plastic container, freeze at least 4 hours and up to overnight.