homemade ice cream?

just wondering if anyone makes homemade ice cream? i haven't made any for about a year and 1/2 because i've been busy brewing beer. would like to get back into making ice cream as often as i brew beer. anyone have any good recipes for homemade ice cream?

I make ice cream... though like you, I have not made any in a while.

My two favorite recipes are both Alton Brown. Both are basic, but I cannot get over them:

banana ice cream

Ingredients

* 6 (approximately 2 1/4 pounds) ripe bananas
* 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
* 3/4 cup light corn syrup
* 1 vanilla bean, scraped (I sub in extract alot with no issues)
* 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (I have used half & half... but it is ice CREAM!)

Directions

Place bananas in freezer and freeze overnight. Remove bananas from freezer and allow to thaw for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Peel bananas and place in bowl of food processor along with the lemon juice. Process for 10 to 15 seconds. Add corn syrup and vanilla bean seeds and turn processor on. Slowly pour in the heavy cream. Process until smooth. Chill mixture in refrigerator until it reaches 40 degrees. Transfer mixture to an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's instructions. Place mixture in an airtight container and freeze for 3 to 6 hours before serving.


Chocolate ice cream:

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder, approximately 1/2 cup
* 3 cups half-and-half
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 8 large egg yolks
* 9 ounces sugar
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

Place the cocoa powder along with 1 cup of the half-and-half into a medium saucepan over medium heat and whisk to combine. Add the remaining half-and-half and the heavy cream. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and whisk to combine. Temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts, until about 1/3 of the cream mixture has been added. Pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F. Pour the mixture into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and once it is cool enough not to form condensation on the lid, cover and store for 4 to 8 hours or until the temperature reaches 40 degrees F or below.

Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Serve as is for soft serve or freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.

yummybeer said:

just wondering if anyone makes homemade ice cream? i haven't made any for about a year and 1/2 because i've been busy brewing beer. would like to get back into making ice cream as often as i brew beer. anyone have any good recipes for homemade ice cream?

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David Lebovitz wrote the book on home ice cream making:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1580088082/davidleboviswebs

His blog has lots of recipes, info on makers etc (also recipes for other desserts).

This is a tangent, but I don't own an ice cream maker and had surprisingly good results from Harold McGee's zip lock bag method he wrote about in his NYT column (two big ziplock bags full of brine and a third bag with ice cream mixed sandwiched in between).

+1000 on "The Perfect Scoop." When I saw this thread title I was going to post about it, but someone already did! I've been making ice cream for a few years, and I haven't found any recipes or techniques better than Lebovitz's. Really, it's a necessity.

chefmike-- the banana ice cream looks really good.

The banana ice cream will change the way you look at banana ice cream forever.


I will have to check out the Lebovits book. Just what I need... another book on food!

Harold McGee always has a good answer. Thanks Remiliard!

gonna have to try that banana ice cream!! We make pretty much all our ice cream these days. One of those wedding gifts that SWMBO said "we'll never use that"... all i'm sayin is it gets way more use than the iron and the color coordinated bathroom candles combined!

One of my favorites to make is a Zabaglione Ice cream recipe from a Biba Caggione cook book. Last couple times, I swapped out the marsala in favor of Belgian ale, and it works well. Not sure of exact recipe but there are many online, e.g.:

http://www.culinate.com/books/collections/all_books/The+Perfect+Scoop/Zabaglione+Gelato

guys & gals - there is but ONE ice cream, and that is guinness ice cream.

BEST. ****. EVER.

the chocolate honey sauce is fantastic with it too, but you can easily halve the recipe and still have plenty. we have some super fresh honey sent from our friend in mississippi, and it took the sauce completely over the top.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/...-dark-chocolate-honey-sauce-recipe/index.html

the wife makes that guiness ice cream often. as well as a strawberry margarita sorbet with patron, and hot chili chocolate that packs a surprising wallop of heat!

my grandparents made ice cream alot when i was younger. i remember my grandma adding a teaspoon of whiskey to it so it wouldn't freeze so hard, making it easier to scoop out of the bucket.

krispy d said:

the wife makes that guiness ice cream often. as well as a strawberry margarita sorbet with patron, and hot chili chocolate that packs a surprising wallop of heat!

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really i am about to reach through this thing and strangle you if you dont post the recipes.

I haven't made any in a while but....

I like the Bananas Foster Ice cream from one of the foodnetwork shows... Probably Emeril.

chefmike said:

Chocolate ice cream:

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder, approximately 1/2 cup
* 3 cups half-and-half
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 8 large egg yolks
* 9 ounces sugar
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

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Need some ice cream help.

I have a bunch of leftover cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate from a Breakfast Stout and decided to try to make some chocolate ice cream with it. The recipe I got seems quite a bit different than AB's (AB's has way less chocolate) so if any homemade chocolate ice cream experts could comment I'd appreciate it. I made the custard last night and haven't churned the ice cream yet.

This recipe is 1/2 the size of AB's:

1 pint half-and-half
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean or 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup + 2 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder (Pernigotti)
2 oz. semisweet chocolate (I used Belgian Callebaut bittersweet instead)

I tasted it and it was extremely chocolate-y but not sweet enough so I added sugar 1 tsp at a time to taste. Ended up adding 6 tsp. more. Still very chocolate-y but at least it has some sweetness now.

It looks like it has somewhat 'set' (like a custard but not nearly as firm) in the fridge. Should the chocolate flavor be this intense before I churn it? How sweet should it taste pre-churn?

Any tips/caveats to purchasing an ice cream maker? Buying one today and churning tonight. Any help appreciated.

You've got three options in machines:

Old school - adding ice and salt
Frozen canister - put the canister in the freezer overnight and make ice cream the next day
Compressor driven - no freezing or ice required

There are pros and cons to each. My wife and I went with a compressor driven one because we wanted to be able to make batches back to back which you can't do with the canister one (unless you buy an extra canister.)

Old school ones give you that option, but apparently the motors on them can burn out very easily.


We got this big fella from Williams Sonoma with a bunch of leftover gift certificates from our wedding. It works well, but it's loud. YMMV

SpanishCastleAle said:

Need some ice cream help.
It looks like it has somewhat 'set' (like a custard but not nearly as firm) in the fridge. Should the chocolate flavor be this intense before I churn it? How sweet should it taste pre-churn?

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The flavor has to be more intense before it freezes as the cold numbs your tongue. It looks like you made more of a purist chocolate recipe with a strong chocolate flavor, not too sweet. Note that many commercial chocolate ice creams are sweet but not deeply chocolatey (chocolate isn't actually sweet).

Note that chocolate itself (rather than cocoa powder) can be hard to deal with because of the fat content. Also, adding more sugar is fine, but can make it harder for the ice cream to freeze (same with alcohol).

Last, you can't buy today and churn tonight unless you buy an expensive one with a freezer. For most, you have to put the bowl in your freezer the night before.

McGarnigle said:

The flavor has to be more intense before it freezes as the cold numbs your tongue. It looks like you made more of a purist chocolate recipe with a strong chocolate flavor, not too sweet. Note that many commercial chocolate ice creams are sweet but not deeply chocolatey (chocolate isn't actually sweet).

Note that chocolate itself (rather than cocoa powder) can be hard to deal with because of the fat content. Also, adding more sugar is fine, but can make it harder for the ice cream to freeze (same with alcohol).

Last, you can't buy today and churn tonight unless you buy an expensive one with a freezer. For most, you have to put the bowl in your freezer the night before.

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Thanks (Hokie too). I was expecting to buy/use one with rock salt but I like the idea of less mess and no salt required. It's no rush, this is an experimental batch anyway. Maybe I'll try Lebovitz's 'no machine required' technique.

No problem, that's a great book btw. My wife and I are actually in the works of opening a homemade ice cream shop so I've been doing plenty of research!

Here's my recipe for vanilla sherbet. It's one of my favorite frozen dessert things:

1 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups fresh water
1/2 cup whole milk
1 vanilla beans
lemon juice
lemon zest
3 teaspoons vodka
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.
2 Place both the seeds and the pod in a saucepan along with the sugar, salt, water, milk, lemon juice and zest. Add only as much juice and zest as how lemon-y you want it to taste. I use the juice of 1.5 lemons and zest of one.
3 Heat the mixture until the sugar dissolves and it just begins to boil, about 7 minutes.
4 Add the 3 teaspoons of vodka and chill the mixture in the freezer until it just starts to freeze.
5 Beat the cream to soft peaks. While beating, slowly drizzle in all of the milk syrup mixture.
6 Churn in an ice cream maker until done, 35 minutes. Freeze overnight in the canister with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface of the sherbet.
7 Enjoy.


I've also made beer & pretzel ice cream with Adventinuus Eisbock, good ****.

Couldn't find an ice cream maker (thought for sure Walmart, Target, or Sears would have them) so tried the 'no machine' method last night. Consistency isn't right and it's too chocolate-y and rich, very dark too. Going to Bed, Bath, & Beyond tonight and will cut it with some more half-and-half and a bit more sugar and rechurn (tomorrow).

One tip for consistency -

Freeze the ice cream according to machine's directions. It should be a thick soft serve consistency at that point. Pack it into a carton or container and place into the freezer. Freeze for 4-6 hours. At that point, pull it out of the freezer and let it soften for a few minutes before scooping.

Or just eat it at that soft serve stage.

Commercial ice cream makers freeze it to the soft serve stage and then place it in -40F blast freezers, getting it frozen solid extremely quickly. Then they bring it back to serving temperature, essentially tempering the ice cream to keep the right consistency. It's probably the biggest issue with making ice cream at home.

Hokie,
Looking back at AB's recipe it appears that my recipe uses over twice the amount of chocolate as his. The 9 oz. sugar in AB's recipe should be just over 1 cup which makes every ingredient except the chocolate in his recipe almost exactly double mine (mine is a half batch). He uses only 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder for a full batch and I used 1/3 cup + 2 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder + 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate for just a half-batch.

My question: Since I have time (have to freeze the IC maker container overnight tonight) do you think I should just make another custard (4 egg yolks, 2 cups half-and-half, 1/2 cup sugar, no chocolate) and then blend/rechurn? Or can I just 'cut' what I have with half-and-half and sugar and rechurn?

If you can fit the combined recipes into the canister, I say redo the full custard. If the consistency was screwy, combining the recipes should help. Eggs are pretty essential for consistency (IMO - others have different opinions)

Anybody have an ice cream maker recommendation?

RDWHAHB said:

Anybody have an ice cream maker recommendation?

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I have a Girmi (bought on sale at Amazon), but it's really the same type as the popular Cuisinart 1.5 quart. I'm not sure how much brands matter as types. There's the 'frozen bowl' (like the basic Cuisinart), there's the old salt-based (for nostalgia only?), there's the Donvier, which uses a frozen bowl but requires you to manually churn it. This typically produces a firmer ice cream with less air. You'd save money, but otherwise I'd say no.

Then there are those with their own compressors, as a poster mentioned above. These would be the best, but also cost hundreds. Otherwise, the basic Cuisinart might be the choice:

http://tinyurl.com/2ftpzgy

There's the dry ice method which works pretty well, but it takes some practice and can make a mess.



And yes it really does work.

FWIW, Good Eats had a timely episode last night (looks fairly new) called "Churn Baby Churn II". Here is Part I:


It's about making 'premium' (i.e. custard-based) ice cream.

He recommends the 'frozen bowl' types for most homechurners. I just bought the Cuisinart 1.5 qt model last night but haven't used it yet.

He also says after tons of experimenting his favorite recipe/ratio is 9:8:3:2:1. That's:
9 oz sugar
8 large egg yolks
3 cups half-and-half
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream

If making chocolate add 1.5 oz dutch-process cocoa powder.
EDIT: same as posted earlier but the 9:8:3:2:1 makes it easier to remember.

Just remembered another point AB made in that episode: Cocoa butter at freezing temps is too hard and in his opinion detracts from the consistency of the ice cream. So no chocolate (like I did), just cocoa powder (dutch-processed preferred).

Here's two recipes made from soy milk maybe they could help:

CAROB ICE CREAM

2 c. lukewarm water
1 c. soft cooked rice
1/2 c. soy milk (Soyagen or Soyamel)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. carob powder
1/4 c. oil
1 tbsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt

Whiz all ingredients in blender. Freeze until semi-solid, whip until creamy. Freeze again until almost solid. Serve immediately. Yield approximately 5 cups.

MAPLE NUT ICE CREAM

1 1/4 c. dates
2 1/2 c. water
2 c. soy milk powder
2 tbsp. oil
2 tbsp. liquid lecithin
1 tbsp. maple flavoring
1 1/2 c. water
Pinch of salt
1/2 c. pecans pieces
1 banana

Whiz 2 1/2 cups water, powder, oil, lecithin and maple flavor in blender. Pour into ice cream freezer. In blender, whiz the 1 1/2 cup water, banana, dates, and salt until smooth. Pour into freezer. Stir in pecans. Assemble freezer per instructions.
Servings: 8 (2/3) cups.

hope these help. good luck and enjoy.










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Made a batch of White Chocolate Jalepeno this weekend. Used the White Chocolate recipe in Perfect Scoop and grated two jalepenos into it before freezing. Pretty awesome stuff!

FWIW, my plain ole chocolate turned out too dense. It may just have been the cocoa butter in the chocolate I used. I plan to try again with just cocoa powder. The flavor was really good just too dense and didn't look like enough air in it.

I did buy the Cuisinart 1.5 qt machine with the frozen bowl. It seemed to work well but I'm not entirely sure if the density of my batch was due to the cocoa butter or if my freezer (i.e. the frozen bowl) was too cold or something else. It churned for a while (around 20 minutes) and then stopped 'turning over' so that's when I shut it off. The 1.5 qt model will not fit a whole batch the size of the AB recipe posted earlier itt, seems a batch half that size would be about right.

That happens with mine too. What I do is scrape down the sides really well with a rubber spatula and let it churn some more. The sides freeze while the majority isn't quite ready, resulting in poor texture.

Question for audience - If you swung by an ice cream store, would you be interested in tasting single hop sorbets? I'm planning on making a few flavors such as grapefruit/centennial, blood orange/cascade, tangerine/amarillo, and passionfruit/citra.

Recent flavors:
Espresso Fudge Chunk
Oatmeal Praline
Goat Cheese/Cherry

HokieBrewer said:

Recent flavors:
Espresso Fudge Chunk
Oatmeal Praline
Goat Cheese/Cherry

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Sounds good. Just happen to have chocolate custard in the fridge right now for batch #2. Might stop and get some walnuts or pecans. Do you normally roast nuts in the oven first?

I toast them in a dry skillet until they start to get fragrant. Usually 3-4 minutes.

HokieBrewer said:

Question for audience - If you swung by an ice cream store, would you be interested in tasting single hop sorbets? I'm planning on making a few flavors such as grapefruit/centennial, blood orange/cascade, tangerine/amarillo, and passionfruit/citra.

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I'd sample all of the above. Sounds insanely awesome!

Thanks! I'm working on opening up an ice cream shop in a city that has a great brewery and an even greater beer festival, so beer related flavors are a must.

Flavor of the weekend: Salty Chocolate Coconut

HokieBrewer said:

Flavor of the weekend: Salty Chocolate Coconut

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mmm...sounds good!!

RDWHAHB said:

Anybody have an ice cream maker recommendation?

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I have three ice cream makers. Two of the Cuisinart 1.5 quart freezers, and my favorite maker which is a White Mountain 6 quart. I prefer doing ice cream in the White Mountain and only use the Cuisinart when I want some ice cream for the family. I grew up hand cranking an ice cream maker, and still feel that the canister freezer, adding salt and ice, produces a better ice cream that you actually have to know something about in order to make.

Favorite ice cream is an extremely old (family) vanilla ice cream recipe, with a butter-pecan in second, followed by strawberry, and of course chocolate in the form of rocky-road.

Pair the vanilla up with a Sheath Cake or an Eggless-Milkless-Butterless Cake, and the world becomes a wonderful place.