The Summer of Ice Cream
In my experience, summer’s come around each year with a theme, something that sets them apart from all the summers that have come before. Last year was the summer of rediscovering – rediscovering a place that I loved and had been missing for too long, the year before was the summer of champagne cocktails- trying every possible concoction I came across. *Yes, this is one that should be revisited and one that you should try!* This year, this year is The Summer of Ice Cream. Over Memorial day weekend I unearthed my ice cream maker and got to work with a little bit of inspiration from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream. I may even be keeping an ice cream journal with all the recipes I’ve tried and notes on what to do different next time, but maybe that is something no one really needs to know about me and my type A personality.
Here are my top three so far, with many more flavors to try before Labor day weekend.
Cold Brew Cinnamon Coffee Ice Cream
Adapted from Ina Garten’s Espresso Ice Cream Recipe
3 cups half-and-half
6 extra-large egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
Dash of cinnamon
Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks, sugar, and salt until mixed. Slowly add the hot half-and-half until combined. Wipe out the pan and pour the mixture back into the clean pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 10 minutes, until it’s thickened and the cream coats the back of the spoon.
Pour the cream through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl. Add the ground espresso beans, iced coffee concentrate, coffee liqueur, and vanilla and refrigerate until completely chilled.
Pour the espresso cream into an ice-cream freezer and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. Mix in the chopped espresso beans, spoon into a container, and allow to freeze for a few hours. Soften slightly before serving.
Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
Using Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream base
Ice Cream Base
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Mix-Ins
2 cups fresh strawberries – quartered
8 large graham crackers – broken into smaller pieces
Cherry Crisp Ice Cream
Recipe and photo via Annie’s Eats -originally from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream
I followed this recipe closely without changes
For the crisp streusel:
4 oz. (8 tbsp.) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. packed light brown sugar
¼ tsp. kosher salt
Dash of ground cinnamon
¾ cups old-fashioned rolls oats
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and halved
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
DIRECTIONS
- To make the crisp streusel, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except the oats. Blend together by rubbing the dry ingredients into the butter with your fingertips. (You can also use a pastry blender or two forks if you prefer.) When the mixture is crumbly and resembles coarse sand, stir in the oats and mix well. Spread the mixture out in an even layer on a baking sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper. Break up into small clumps. Bake, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is browns and crisp, about 25-30 minutes total. Remove from the oven and let cool. Freeze until ready to use.
- To make the cherries, preheat the oven to 450˚ F. Combine the cherries and the sugar in a small roasting pan and toss well to combine. Roast the cherries for 10 minutes, or until they begin to release their juices. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cherries cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- To make the ice cream, combine 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in small bowl and whisk to a smooth slurry. In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese and salt and whisk until smooth. Combine the remaining 1¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons of milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup, the seeds scraped from the vanilla bean and the vanilla pod in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil over medium-high heat and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Return to the heat and bring back to a boil, stirring with a spatula until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
- Whisk the hot milk mixture into the bowl with the cream cheese until smooth. Transfer the mixture to the refrigerator to chill thoroughly before churning. (Alternatively, you can place the bowl with the mixture into a larger bowl with an ice bath and stir until chilled.)
- Remove the vanilla pod. Once chilled, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Layer the finished ice cream into a storage container with all of the cherries and a generous amount of the crisp streusel. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
- Notes:
- This makes more crisp streusel than you will need for the ice cream. You won’t be sad. We like to sprinkle a bit of additional crisp over each serving of ice cream.
- Other berries or fruits can work well here. Raspberries and blueberries both should be lightly cooked similarly to the cherries, just so they are softened and begin to release their juices (though they may require less time than the cherries so keep a close eye on them.)
Related Posts
Your post has me craving ice cream! Nothing like Jeni’s Ice Cream… yum!