Practically the same unconditional appreciation that I have for chocolate, I also have for ice creams. Sorbets and sherbets are included, of course. Over the years I have been collecting recipes and the vast majority end up being posted here on Prato: Sorvete.
Unfortunately, we do not have national literature focused on the art of making ice cream. It’s true that having good ingredients is important, but without specific machinery (in this case, commercial) the ice cream turns into a stone of ice and fat. But we will discuss this at another time.
So, in my last book purchase from Amazon I chose a famous one from the world of American food: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home.
And that changes everything. Everything really.
The base proposed by Jeni will contra all the most traditional part of ice cream production that generally revolves around an English cream, basically.
Normally, egg yolks are used to give consistency and create the emulsion (mixing water and fat), in Jeni’s recipe eggs are not used! So what do we use? Cream cheese. That’s right, you didn’t read it wrong. Cream cheese.
In addition to this, an additive ingredient is also used that would be a heresy, a taboo: maize starch. In the industry as a whole, starches are used not only to change the consistency of products, but as a stabilizer as well. In other words, it helps to maintain the emulsion.
And after all, are all these changes worth it? I give my arm: sim. The final texture that the ice cream acquires is great. Incredible indeed. No, it doesn’t taste like cream cheese.
My version underwent some adaptations, as usual. The original uses “heavy cream” (over 36% fat) and whole milk. As I find “fresh” cream (in fact, it is pasteurized) with fat content above 38%, I decided to use skimmed milk to compensate for this extra fat. And yes, it makes a difference.
I chose the salted caramel flavor because I have a bit of a tantrum with it. Half the world falls in love with the saying and it’s one of Jeni’s signature flavors. In this version, I understood why.
It’s really good, unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before. It’s a more adult flavor, she would say. It’s not absurdly sweet, it seems like it’s going to be lacking, but it’s not. And the salt brings out the caramel and burnt notes.
Salted Caramel Ice Cream
Makes: 1 L
1 cup: 250mL | 1 tablespoon: 15mL.
- In a bowl mix the cream cheese and salt, beat with a whisk until creamy. Reserve.
- In a small container mix about 40mL of the milk with the cornstarch. Reserve.
- Add the clear liquid glucose with the 58g of cream (#1). It won’t be very well mixed, put the glucose on top of the cream and stir as little as possible.
- In a wide and tall pan, add the sugar to make the caramel. Use medium-high heat. Occasionally stir the sugar into the caramel that forms. Be careful not to burn yourself, the caramel is very hot.
- When it reaches the color and aroma of caramel, it should turn to an amber tone. Reduce the heat to add the liquid glucose mixture and cream. Be very careful! It will bubble and may splash as well.
- Then, continue adding the rest of the cream (#2) until it runs out. Mix well to make everything homogeneous.
- Increase heat to medium, add milk. Mix well. Let it boil and then count 4 minutes. Remove from heat and add cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly. Return to the heat to cook for 1-2 minutes, it will become more consistent. The consistency changes practically instantly.
- Pour the milk mixture over the cream cheese, mixing well to combine. If using vanilla extract, add it now.
- Run an ice bath to cool the base faster or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
- Use the chilled ice cream base in your ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions.
Jeni made this video for Chow showing how to make ice cream without an ice cream maker. I disagree with her, the equipment does make a difference: it requires less work and the texture is different. But if you don’t have a dog, you hunt with a cat, right?