Maggie Rice

SoRiceCream

We’ve spent the past few days of Baking & Pastry class whipping up creams and custards and churning ice cream! According to Harold McGee, there are two main styles of icecream: Philadelphia and French. Made primarily from cream, milk, and sugar at a general ratio of 4:2:1, the eggless Philadelphia method relies on high levels fat and sugar to ensure a smooth frozen texture — often with a little help from a starch thickener. The French approach, on the other hand, involves the preparation of creme anglais, a cooked custard sauce consisting of milk/cream, egg yolks, and sugar, at a ratio of 4 qt dairy:12 yolks:1 c sugar. In this case, the emulsifying power of gently cooked egg yolks enables the desired creamy frozen texture.

(NB: Italians use a French-like custard based method to make gelato.)

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PHILLY-STYLE: STRAWBERRY BUTTERMILK ICE CREAM

The strawberry ice cream I made to glam-up my dark chocolate souffles, falls under the Philly category of frosty treats, utilizing the thickening power of cornstarch as textural insurance. The pure, buttery flavor of the eggless cream base allowed the delicate flavors of the meyer lemon, honey, roasted strawberries, and buttermilk to shine.

INGREDIENTS

2 pts strawberries, hulled, ½” slices, divided

1/3 c sugar

1 meyer lemon juice, zested, juiced

1 ½ c, plus 2 T, whole milk,

2 T corn starch

4 T cream cheese, softened

1/8 t sea salt

1 1/4 c heavy cream

2/3 c sugar

2 T honey

1/4 c buttermilk

1 c strawberries, brunoises

1 c simple syrup à ½ c sugar dissolved into ½ c water

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Combine 1 ½ pts of the sliced strawberries with 1/3 c sugar in an 8″ square baking dish and roast in oven until softened, about 8 mins.
3. Strain juice from strawberries into small sauce pan. Simmer over med heat until reduced by half.
4. In a blender puree roasted berries with juice reduction, reserved sliced berries, lemon juice and zest. Set sauce aside.
5. Combine 1 ½ c milk, cream, sugar, and honey in a large saucepan. Boil over med-high heat for 4 mins.
6. Meanwhile, whisk together 2 T of milk with cornstarch in a small bowl to make a slurry.
7. Remove boiled cream mixture from heat. Whisk slurry into cream. Return to med-high heat and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
8. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Add ½ c of the strawberry sauce and buttermilk and blend well. Refrigerate uncovered, over an ice bath until completely chilled.
9. Meanwhile, bring simple syrup to boil. Remove from heat and add brunoised strawberries. Set aside.
10. Process chilled ice cream base in an ice cream maker until thick and creamy.
11. When ice cream is frozen, strain brunoised strawberries from simple syrup and fold into fresh ice cream.
12. Pack into a storage container and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
13. Serve ice cream drizzled with reserved strawberry sauce.