Here's a list of links to various places on the site where you can find more information and tips about how to make ice cream. Also, I'm happy to answer any questions in the comments that you might have as well.
If you have questions regarding a specific machine, I suggest contacting the manufacturer as they're best equipped to give advice on your particular model.
- Recipes to use up leftover egg whites
- How long does ice cream last?
- Tips for making homemade ice cream softer
- Recommended equipment to make ice cream
- Recipes to use up leftover egg whites
- Making ice cream without a machine
- The ice cream shops of Paris
- Meet your maker: buying an ice cream machine
- Compendium of recipes for ice creams & sorbets
- What is gelato?
- How to make the perfect caramel
- Let's Make Ice Cream!
I am cracking up! In my home those would be baby spoons. :-) My last 2 children used "Baskin Robbins" spoons exclusively for their baby spoons. Bright pink and small and very safe for their teeth if they bite them by mistake. We always had a drawer full and if I ran out I was happy to go get more, along with the ice cream of course!
We just got a gelato shop in our city and we love it. Those little spoons are the perfect size. Anyway, I have a question that I haven't been able to find the answer to: How do you know when ice cream is done? I seem to overchurn every batch I make. It's still delicious of course, but it coats your mouth and spoon... What do you watch for? Thanks!
Thank you for your tips! Could you please address how to keep fruit chunks in fruited ice creams soft and delicious? Mine attempts are always great on Day 1, but after a night in the freezer the fruit turns into icy chunks and the texture is never the same.
Thanks!
Becca: The two kinds of machines I use, one is an inexpensive model with a canister you pre-freeze and the other has a built-in compressor, both stop automatically when the ice cream is done. If yours doesn't do that, the ice cream should have the consistency of thick mashed potatoes and will hold a shape if you poke your finger it it. (Turn the machine off before you try that, though!)
Trish: Since fruit is mostly water, and water freezes pretty hard, chunks of fresh fruit & berries added to ice cream will freeze into solid chunks, which some folks don't mind.
Either plan to eat your ice cream soon after freezing, or macerate the fruit pieces or berries in sugar and/or alcohol (such as kirsch, rum, or vodka) for around 30 minutes before adding it to the mix. Both will imbibe the fruit and help keep it softer. (You should drain any excess liquid away, saving it for something else, before adding the fruit.)
David - the pic of the salted butter caramel ice cream in your "tips" post is so great. And it reminded me of a question I had about that particular ice cream. When I make it, after it has been in the freezer for two or three days, there seems to be a layer of caramel that collects on the bottom of the container. Ever heard of that? Any ideas as to why that's happening? Regardless, that's such a great ice cream - thanks for the recipe.
Erik: Sound like another reason to race to the bottom!
In that ice cream, sometimes the little pieces of caramel melt into gooey nuggets, which I love. But if they're pooling at the bottom it sounds like they're all sinking down.
I would make sure the ice cream is churned enough, so it's firm and can support the caramel bits (although that ice cream is softer than others due to the caramel), and you might want to freeze it in a shallow container so that it chills as quickly as possible.
I was one of the lucky few who snapped up the $20 cuisinart ice cream makers on amazon a few months ago. I've been very busy trying out lots of different flavors with my children and husband as willing and discerning taste testers! I think I'm going to try your roquefort and honey recipe this weekend (and it's all for me, the rest won't eat it) can you recommend a wine pairing? Thanks
How funny. I just posted my recipe for green tea ice cream yesterday. My sister in law asked what machine I had and I sent her your page on "buying an ice cream machine". I also have the big Cuisinart (the self freezing one) that I got on sale a few years ago at Williams-Sonoma for $200. It currently is listed at $299. The only drawback to me is that it is so noisy. I keep it in the bedroom so I can close the door when it's running!
Okay, I know I'm supposed to make my own, but I've discovered a new favorite that you can buy, oh so easily! Next time you go to BioCoop look to see if they have Gildo Rachelli ice cream (green container with a silly cupid on it). It's Demeter certified vanilla ice cream that I think is delish! I'm sitting here eating it out of the container and looking at the ad on the sidebar "How to Lose Belly Fat." Hmm sure isn't by eating ice cream!!!
Shira: I recommend port or a sweet white wine, like sauternes, gerwurtraminer , Muscat, or Barzac. But if you ask at your local liquor store, there might be something equally-delicious that's more local.
Tina: That machine is noisy (I have the same one) and keep mine in the bedroom, too! It does do a really good job, though, and for the price, it's a great deal. Last year Amazon had reconditioned ones for only $119, but they got snapped up pretty quickly.
btw: I do recommend buying a back up dasher. They're only $7 and good to have on hand in case they accidentially break, which can sometimes happen. And having an extra on hand is good insurance!
I've been tempted to make chocolate macarons with the leftover egg whites (as you suggest). Can I chop or crumble them into a batch of ice cream or would that just be too convenient?
I have been making multiple flavors again from your wonderful Perfect Scoop for the last few months. And my reputation for providing great ice cream is spreading, although I give you all the credit. Friends mention the fruit flavors in particular. Always tough deciding to go with one of the 20 or so absolute favorites, or try a new one. New this year for me are the Plum & Apricot i.c. (made sorbet in 2007) and the Creme Fraiche---all winners. But friends expect me to have at least 5-6 flavors available at all times; wonder how that happened. Off to have some now. Thanks for the inspiration!
the blue one seems to poke out from the picture :D
Hello David- I have been making ice cream - machine and not for a while now. I have a nice bourbon ice cream recipe and recently tried to make "ice cream" for some vegan friends of mine using coconut milk instead of dairy products. It came out pretty great and I wanted to know if you have vegan substitutes for creamy variety ice cream instead of sorbet, etc. Or if you had any ideas, thanks-Julie Barrett
Hi David, thanks for all your tips. Do you have any ideas for a vegan ice cream or gelato? Have you ever tried soy milk?
Thanks for the tips, David. Do you have any tips for avoiding ice crystals in ice cream?
Ana: I haven't much experience with soy milk but from what I'm told, it best to eat ice creams made with soy and rice milk shortly after they're made, since they can get icy due to the lower fat. I've heard there are soy-based cream substitutes, but I haven't seen them here in France so I can't advise.
One tip I would say would be to make Philadelphia-style (no custard) ice creams, and use a soy-based cream cheese (Tofutti makes one) in place of some of the milk called for in the recipe, (using soy or rice milk for the rest) which have natural gums in them, which will improve the texture of the ice cream.
Dragon: Ice crystals can be caused by a couple of things. One is if you've reduced the fat of a recipe; like if you use milk, which has more water, in place of cream. Another is if the scoop you're using has water on it, and when you re-dip, those crystals freeze. Be sure to lay a piece of plastic directly on top of the ice cream when it's in the freezer, to prevent icy crystals from collecting on the top.
Also, be certain to let the mixture chill thoroughly before churning. The longer the churning time, the more likely there will be a build-up of ice crystals in your ice cream. So you want to shortest churning time possible and making sure the custard or base is super-cold will really help.
Do you have an excellent basic blueberry ice cream recipe? All the blueberry ice cream recipes in The Perfect Scoop contain other flavors such as banana or cheesecake. (btw, I owed the library $11 in fines for that book so I broke down and bought a copy.)
Thanks
Robin
Hi Robin: Because cooked domestic blueberries often don't have a lot of flavor, once cooked, I prefer them in Blueberry Frozen Yogurt (page 88), so the tang of the yogurt accents the sweet blueberries. You could try that recipe substituting a mix of cream and sour cream for the yogurt: I like to use sour cream since it gives fruit ice creams, that aren't custard-based, a creamier texture.
Glad to hear you're a good citizen and supporting your local library!
; )
David - I love your ice cream book and fear that your recipe for the fresh mint ice cream with stracciatella has forever ruined mint chocolate chip from anywhere else!
I do have a question about how to improve the texture of the ice cream. I follow your recipes with no substitutions for the whole milk or cream, chill the mixture overnight and, when the long wait to churn is finally over, the texture fresh out of the ice cream maker is great. However, the next evening any leftovers that I managed to save have an icy, grainy texture. Is this a result of over churning?
Also, I have a friend who is often in Paris on extended trips for work. One one trip, he and his partner discovered a wonderful dessert of lemon sorbet topped with vodka. Upon returning to the states they haven't been able to find lemon sorbet in order to make this at home. When they saw your book on my counter they immediately requested a batch of lemon sorbet. We had a wonderful time taste testing which vodka worked best and we were wondering if there are any tricks to getting a creamier, smoother sorbet more similar to sherbet without having to add milk? Is my slower churning home ice cream maker going to be the limitation?
Thanks so much for your wonderful books and blog!
Amanda
wow, I'm so grateful for that list of egg white recipes!
I've been feeling guilty about all those egg whites that sit in my fridge for a week before I dump them in the trash. I think it's a little too humid right now for any sort of meringue, but angel food cake would do the trick--especially since we're in the middle of berry season!
I made the Blueberry Frozen Yogurt recipe using 1 cup of Greek yogurt (I love that stuff) and 1/2 cup of half and half (anymore half and half and it would have had an adverse effect on tomorrow's coffee). I pint I left plain (for my heathen children) and the other one I stirred some grape nuts cereal in. YUM!! We all loved it. My 3 year old was twice as happy because we used the immersion blender to make it.
Next time I will try it with heavy cream, or rather when I plan ahead I will. Could be months!!
Thanks
Robin
David - As a newbie to the ice cream making game I have to say how much I love your site! The information is so helpful and easy to understand. After three days pouring over your recipes and blog, I am off to buy your book this weekend. However, I do have a question for you - I tried making my first (ever) batch of pomegranate gelato last night. My recipe (from the Epicurious website) included heavy cream, whole milk, cornstarch, sugar (which I substituted agave nectar), POM, and PAMA (a liquor). I fear that after heating the mixture I didn't let it chill long enough (a measly 1.5 hours in an ice bath) because it was still in pure liquid form after 35 minutes in the ice cream machine. Or maybe the sugar substitute or alcohol (about 1/3 cup) played a part. My question is - I poured the mixture into a bowl and put in the refrigerator, can I try to put this back in the ice cream maker for a second go? I have also fully re-froze the canister for tonight as well. Any tips would be appreciated! Thanks!
Hi Kristin: I can't really answer questions about recipes from other sources, although I know people in Bon Appétit's test kitchen and their recipes are pretty thoroughly tested.
But I can offer a few tips:
-Agave is somewhat sweeter than white sugar, so I would reduce the amount by 25-30%.
-Letting the mixture chill really, really well cuts the freezing time considerably. And some machines take longer to churn than others.
-1/3 cup of alcohol is quite a bit, but it depends on the rest of the recipe and strength of the liqueur.
You might want to add a bit of whole milk, say 1/4-1/3 cup to the mixture, and try refreezing it. Good luck!
Amanda: You should check the post linked above about keeping ice cream soft. And most machines nowadays turn off when the ice cream is done to prevent over-churning. Check your owner's manual to see if that's true for your model.
I have some amazing nectarines and I want to try out your recipe. You swap sour cream for eggs and I wonder what effect that has? I love the effect that the eggs have on the texture and flavor,why not use eggs in the fruit based iced creams?
Thanks!
Jonathan
Hi Jonathan: I use sour cream in my fruit-based ice creams for a couple of reasons:
1. It's easier!
People who haven't made a custard can be hesitant to give it a try. So in instances where I don't think it makes a huge amount of difference (like in recipes where the flavor is fruit), I prefer to offer a recipe that's more accessible to the widest number of people.
2. Flavor.
I like the taste of sour cream with fruit. It's tangy flavor offsets the sweetness of perfect fruits beautifully.
3. Texture.
Sour cream has some natural gums in it which give the finished ice cream a nice texture. You can substitute heavy cream for sour cream in any of those recipes, if you wish.
Happy churning!
David, My husband and I are starting to sell homemade ice cream at our local Farmers Market. My questions has to do with blending the melted chocolate with the creams. Once I have the chocolate nelted and start to mix into the cream I get little specks of chocolat instead of a true blend. What can I do differently to avoid this?
Thanks
David, it seems that gourmet soft serve ice cream is everywhere these days - everywhere in NYC and on the west coast, that is. I live in Philadelphia and want to make my own. Any recommendations or recipes? I suspect there is more to it than simply serving the ice cream straight from the machine without ripening it in the freezer; the article I read in the NYTimes mentioned natural stabilizers like carageenan, guar gum, lecithin, agar agar or invert sugar. Any help you could give me would be MOST appreciated!
Here's a link to the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/23/dining/23soft.html?8dpc
P.S. I doubt I could qualify as your biggest fan because you have so many ardent admirers, but I have been besotted with you and your blog and your recipes since I first stumbled across your recipe for kouign amman. You make such a contribution in this world - thank you and please keep it up!
hi Laura: I've never made ice cream that was specifically intended as 'soft serve', but I know that Cuisinart sells a machine specifically for that purpose and perhaps their website offers some recipes. I would imagine any ice cream base would work, though.
I did read that article, and although they didn't mention it, a lot of places make soft-serve style ice cream so they can get around certain regulations which requires places that make and store ice cream to have a dairy license.
Glad you're enjoying the blog & thanks for your kind words, too!
hi Laura: I've never made ice cream that was specifically intended as 'soft serve', but I know that Cuisinart sells a machine specifically for that purpose and perhaps their website offers some recipes. I would imagine any ice cream base would work, though.
I did read that article, and although they didn't mention it, a lot of places make soft-serve style ice cream so they can get around certain regulations which requires places that make and store ice cream to have a dairy license.
Glad you're enjoying the blog & thanks for your kind words, too!
Gostaria de receber a receita da pasta de pistache
Just want to say that I really enjoy reading your blog - esp everything you have to say about making ice cream. Thank you.
Dear David,
I am enjoying the cookbook, The Perfect Scoop. However, I have tried two times to make the Leche Merengada without success. The only pasturized egg whites that I could find were in a quart egg carton containing only pasturized egg whites. Each time I waited until they were room temperature and then tried to whip them. In both cases, they stayed liquid and refused to whip up. I know how to whip egg whites and have never had this problem with normal egg whites. What do you think might have been the problem, and what would you propose as a solution? I love meringue, so I'm eager to make this recipe work.
thanks.
Hi Lucy: Certain brands of egg whites aren't suitable for whipping, and generally say that on the packaging. It's something I learned the hard way, when doing a demonstration in front of a lot of people, as I watched the whites slosh around in the mixing bowl for an eternity... So search out a brand that is suitable for whipping in your area.
(Deb-El are powdered egg whites which the company says works for meringues, although I personally haven't used them.)
Interesting, according to the American Egg Board Website, only one in 20,000 eggs may have salmonella and they say that the average person "...might encounter a contaminated egg once every 84 years." And if using raw eggs in a recipe, it's best to buy them from a trusted source, using the freshest you can find.
Still, for those who, for health reason, wish to avoid eating raw eggs, the pasteurized ones offer a good alternative to fresh. But read the label first.
Hi David,
on another forum (cuisinartstandmixer dawt com) some believe that you are using the kitchenaid icecream accessory. but since you live in 220V/50Hz world, I have some doubt because kitchenaid website says that this accesory does fit 220V/50Hz mixers. Can you confirm?
Thx
I don't quite understand the question, but the European ice cream attachment for the KitchenAid is different than the one of the US market, due to EU regulations on small appliances and safety features. My Cuisinart ICE 50 is indeed 220V, which I had sent over from the UK. -DL
My question was for Kitchenaid mixers, not cuisinart. On the Kitchenaid website, they say the icecream maker accessory only fits US mixers, not Europeans.
on another forum, some people said you were using a kitchenaid mixer and a kitchenaid icecream maker accessory. Since you live in Paris, I was wondering how you manage to get the kitchenaid icecream maker accessory work in France.
But you answer seems to imply that there is also an European version of the Ice Cream maker. My local Dealer in the Netherlands told me the icecream maker does not exist for europeans mixers.
M
David:
I just returned from my honeymoon in Bali where I bought the most delicious vanilla beans EVER. My soul intention is to make vanilla ice cream with my brand new Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker. However, I have NEVER done this before... Do you have a fool-proof recipe so that I don't waste my precious beans in my novice effort?
Hi David - I've been loving trying out all of the recipes in your book, and this week it's rice gelato. The mixture is cooling now in the fridge, and I must say it took some willpower not to just eat it straight out of the oven since it smelled so amazing! I want to make the sour cheries in grand marnier that you recommend as a pairing - do you use unsweetened or sweetened dried cherries? I realized that I already have a bag of dried tart cherries that have added sugar, and was wondering if I needed to tweak the recipe to use these?
Thanks!
S
Denise: Yes, all the ice cream recipes in my book, The Perfect Scoop, work very well. There's two different vanilla ice cream recipes, one is custard-based and the other isn't. Happy churning!
Sarah: That's a great gelato, although depending on how cold your freezer is, it may be more or less time to come to just the right temperature for scooping. So plan to take it out prior to serving, giving it sufficient time. Either sour cherries are fine to use. If unsweetened are used, you can always add a bit of sugar or honey if they're not sweet enough, although there's already some sugar and Grand Marnier in the recipe. (But I do like mine on the tart side, personally.)
Matthieu: There is indeed a KitchenAid ice cream attachment which fits the French models, but I don't know anything about other countries. Visit their Website to get in touch with the company headquarters in the Netherlands.
David - thanks for the quick reply. The dried cherries taste sweet enough to me (I like tart also!) so is it ok to omit the sugar altogether?
I'm new to making ice cream as an adult, although years ago I would faithfully take my turn at crushing ice and mixing it with rock salt when my mother's inspiration for ice cream took hold.
My first attempt recently involved liquid nitrogen and my KitchenAid mixer, a combo that I can recommend wholeheartedly if one has the time and money to ferret out the gas (try a welding supply shop). The liquid nitrogen freezes stuff fast -- it takes about five minutes -- and the ice cream itself is amazingly creamy. In my three tries at it I never had a problem, even when I used a custard straight from the stove. Too, making ice cream in front of your guests makes for a fun event -- as the nitrogen boils off, great clouds of smoky, cold steam waft away, like so much "witch's brew." It's so much more fun than my slow, boring KitchenAid ice cream canister attachment...
Keep in mind to read up on liquid nitrogen safety, as it's really, really cold, colder than anything occurring naturally on Earth. Misuse can cause injury, just as misuse of boiling water can.
Hi David. If anyone can answer my question, it must be you. I think that lemon-mascarpone ice cream sounds divine, but can't find a recipe online or in any of my books. You have a lemon-buttermilk in Perfect Scoop; I'm tempted to remove the buttermilk, add mascarpone and give that a whirl, so to speak. But, have you come across any recipes for my search?
Thanks!
Julie
Hi Julie: I'm almost certain you could adapt that recipe, using mascarpone, although I haven't tried it...because I love buttermilk so much. But there's no reason not to give it a spin! -dl
Hi David. My question is actually about ice cream containers. I would love to give the unique ice cream flavors to some of my friends, but I don't necessarily want to worry about getting the containers back. Do you know where I can find just plain pint or quart sized empty ice cream containers that I don't have to order in quantities of 500? I've been looking on the internet for a while and haven't been able to find much of anything.
Thanks for your help.
Shannon
hi Shannon: I go to restaurant supply stores and buy sturdy plastic containers, which aren't super-cheap, but they're not expensive. And I know they'll get re-used. I buy them in packs of 50 and just about every city has a restaurant supply shop. (And there's plenty online.)
I know that companies are selling sturdy plastic containers, like these Glad-ware ones, which are inexpensive and reusable.
Also those paper Chinese food pails with metal handles work well, too!
David:
Just bought an ice cream machine. Frustration kicked in. I bought the wooden old fashion bucket with the motor and also manual. I just did my first attempt, and it was a disaster i think. After 40-50 rotating with the motor the mix came out almost exactly the same consistency it went in.
The machine didn't came with instructions so i filled it around with ice, salt and water (i think my mistake).
I placed the watery mix now on the freezer to see if at least it gets hard a bit.
David, i think i've never been so frustrated with something. I make French Bread, Roast Coffee, and this is by far my hardest one...... Ice Cream.....
Well i guess ill give it one more try later then.... no sure.... I don't know what i did wrong...
Francis: I haven't used rock salt machine for many decades (reallly!) but agree that you shouldn't add water; it should just be rock salt and ice. The bag of rock salt, or the instructions with the machine, should say exactly what proportions work best.
Also make sure your mixture doesn't have too much sugar or alcohol in it, two things that can inhibit freezing as well.
David - Always a big fan of your recipes. I'm trying to come up with a more appealing version of "cookies'n'cream" ice cream for a baby shower I am hosting and wanted to get your advice on which ice cream and/or mix-ins you would recommend? I didn't quite realize that cookies'n'cream is based on the Oreo concept....
Thanks in advance,
Mariangela
Hi David,
I own a small homemade ice cream shop in Chelsea, Quebec, Canada. We make all our own ice cream that we only sell at our shop. I found your book last winter, while we were closed for the winter, and have been pouring over it ever since. -Lots of inspirational recipes.
I am always looking for ways to improve our ice cream, and so I am considerting turning to pasturizing my own ice cream mix. At the moment I buy my mix from a small local dairy which makes life much easier for me; but I'm convinced that if I pasturize my own mix I'll have more control over the finished product and therefore a better finished product. Do you know anything about pasturizer machines?
Chris
Hi Chris: Since Italians usually pasteurize their ice cream (by law) you might want to check a source that sells gelato-making equipment. I don't have any specific ones in mind, but a Google search will likely yield results. Glad you're enjoying the book!
Mariangela: I don't have any recommendations for baby showers, but I like one can't go wrong with chocolate truffles folded into ice cream : )
Hello David!
How are you? Did you spend a good time here in Italy. I hope so. :)
I write you because I have the idea to prepare a dessert with these ingredients: white chocolate, white yogurt and mascarpone (typical Italian cheese ideal for making desserts). Can you give me some idea/advice?
Thanks a lot
ilaria :)
in my past attempts at making vanilla ice cream, it often comes out with a subtle metallic taste to it...i sometimes find this with store bought ice creams as well....is it just me, or is this a result of the preparation method?
Ilaria: When creating an ice cream recipe, I try to keep the sugar at around 25% of the volume, so you can use those proportions when figuring out what balance of those other ingredients works best for you.
kim: Don't know why you'd get a metallic taste from all (store-bought and homemade) vanilla ice cream. You may be a supertaster, and there's something in vanilla that you're especially sensitive to.
David, I'm wondering if you have a recipe for pumpkin ice cream? This time of year, I love all things pumpkin, and came up short flipping through my well-worn copy of The Perfect Scoop. I could experiment with the spices, but am at a loss for where to start on proportions for the actual pumpkin puree. Any thoughts, or could you point me in a direction?
katy: Try the Sweet Potato Ice Cream (page 67) replacing pumpkins for the potatoes (although if you don't tell anyone, they probably won't know.) And maple-glazed pecans are the icing on the cake!
Hi David, thank you so much for your amazing Perfect Scoop book! I cannot suffer most store bought versions of ice-cream now!
I hope you can help me with the following...I wish to make the green tea ice-cream, but have had trouble getting a hold of green tea powder where I live. If I take green tea leaves from tea bags and grind them with my mortar and pestle, will that give me the same results?
Thank you for your time and the sharing of your knowledge!
Hi Aaron: Thanks and glad you're enjoying the book!
The green tea in bags (or loose) isn't the same as green tea powder. It has a different flavor, texture, and color.
Many Asian markets do carry it, or you can order matcha green tea online.
Hi David, I've made a few of the recipes in "The Perfect Scoop", and they've been wonderful! I have a question about the Roasted Banana Ice Cream recipe on page 72; I wonder if it is missing heavy cream as an ingredient. I followed the recipe as written, and it was exceptionally sweet and intense. I noticed many of the other recipes have around 3 cups total of milk and cream, and this one only has 1 1/2 cups whole milk.
Thanks for a great book!
Jeff: The recipe is correct as written. Since the caramelized bananas provide richness, I use milk instead of cream. You can use cream in lieu of some or all of the milk if you prefer.
Hi David; I just did a little riff on your Guinness Milk Chocolate ice cream... I used a double chocolate stout instead of the Guinness (chocolate beer.... thought you might be into that), and 4oz of 64% bittersweet chocolate instead of the 7oz of milk chocolate. It turned out great (not as good as the original... you are the master, obviously), I think the dark caramely beer/chocolate combo is so interesting.
Question though - the bittersweet chocolate didn't seem to melt quite "right" or something, I don't know. There are little teeny tiny "granules" of chocolate in the ice cream, something I don't recall happening in your recipe. Is there something about the milk chocolate that lends itself better to this application? Did you experiment at all with other chocolates when developing that recipe?
Thanks for any feedback, and for your always entertaining and informative blog!
Hi Erik: If you're using unsweetened (aka: bitter chocolate) you'll get those little granules and I always have to blend mixtures made with them, once cool, in a blender to smooth them out. Since milk chocolate has less cocoa solids, it'll melt smoother.
David--help! Why is my custard curdling despite a very SLOW tempering? (Was doing the choc ice cream and had to do twice). Is it bc I'm tempering w/ a milk based since the cream was w/ the choc?
Also, despite the whisking to loosen the chill custard to help poor it, it still was very thick almost like when I make ganache. This caused my machine to struggle to churn and stopped after only 5 min since it became too thick. Needless, it didn't get much volume. Any advice with both problems? (Had similar problem w/ thickness w/ the roasted banana as well. Maybe it's meant that way?)
Thanks
Hi dpn: Custards usually break if they're either overheated, or if there's an acidic ingredient. You say it's happening during a SLOW tempering, so I am presuming that means it's happening when you are, indeed, tempering (pouring the warm milk into the egg yolks.) You should be stirring constantly while adding the warm milk to the yolks. I use a whisk. You can also check the temperature of the milk before adding it to the yolks.
According to Harold McGee in his excellent reference, On Food and Cooking, egg yolks begin to thicken at 150F, and set at 158F (70C). So if the milk is below that temperature, you shouldn't have any problems.
Am not sure what is happening to your custards (although the Roasted Banana Ice Cream isn't custard based). I'm not sure where you live, but if you're using extra-rich, high-fat cream (like they have in France and Australia) that could be the problem. Try whizzing it in the blender before churning.
I love all your books and after getting The Perfect Scoop for my birthday I begged and what do you know I got my Lello gelato machine (I pray it's as good as recommended) for Christmas and last eve I made my first batch BUT why when you taste it what comes to mind is ice crystals in my mouth. So of course all day I've been trying to figure this out so I can learn but now I have to bother you. I used 6 eggs, 3 cups half & half & 2/3c sugar. Now for years I have made Lindsey Shere's vanilla ice cream from Chez Panisse Desserts and it has turned out really good. Any suggestions which recipe from The Perfect Scoop you'd suggest I start with? But what is the ice crystals?
Thanks!!!
Hi trish: I've not used the Lello machine, but in general, if your ice cream is icy, the causes are 1) Too low fat or sugar content, or 2) The mixture not being chilled thoroughly (preferably overnight) before churning.
My bases are similar in proportion to that which you wrote about, so you shouldn't have any problems.
For tips on which ice cream you might want to try, check out The Perfect Scoop Flickr group, which has pictures and notes from various users of the book.
I used the custard based vanilla ice cream on your web site and made a batch in my new kitchen aid ice cream maker. Parts of my ice cream turned out with an odd texture (almost like fruit leather). I thought that it might be just a bad job tempering my egg yolks, but when I strained the custard after chilling, there were no bits of egg and it was completely smooth. Clearly the solution is to eat the first batch (damn it tasted good) and try again, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something obvious.
I really enjoy your book The Perfect Scoop! My son and I make a new ice cream or granita every week.
Question: I have the Cuisinart ICE-50BC compressor ice cream maker. I think you use the same model. Your granita recipes are all based on the traditional put-it-in-the-freezer-and-stir method. Is there a reason you do not use your ice cream maker? I have had just great results and I am wondering if I am missing something?
Hi Andrew: I don't use my machine to make granita since I like the texture of finely-chopped crystals and don't know if the machine makes the same style of granita.
The recipes in the book were intended for folks who don't have a machine (or are avoiding dairy, or on low-sugar diets) so I left them as is. I know in Sicily, where granita is an art, they do use a machine to mix the crystals, but I think they store it in special containers or keep it churning all day in special machines made exclusively for that purpose, from what I've seen.
I'm wondering how yours holds up after a while, post-churning. Does it remain scoopable and in crystals after a day or so in the freezer?
Try it! Try a granita in an appropriate machine like the Cuisinart. I think a prefreeze type would work well. Ice and rock salt is probably not saving you any time...
Right after I posted the question, and having way too many Comice pears, I decided to try your pear granita both ways.
The traditional method made great flakey snowy heaps and the machine made something equally wonderful but somewhat denser. It was easy to fluff up the machine made to be lighter and 'snowyer' using a few strokes with a fork.
Don't just make it in the machine and store in the machine container. You will have a pear ice cube. If you fluff it after making, the machine version stores well too.
Overall, if you have a good machine, it is a lot less work and a very satisfying result.
Dear David
After reading Heidi Swaonson's wonderful review of your The Perfect Scoop I decided to give my new Cuisinart Ice Cream Machine a workout. I used the low-fat plain (tart) recipe that appears in 101Cookbooks.com I'm a huge fan of tangy frozen yogurt and was delighted to find your recipe on-line. It sparked me to order The Perfect Scoop for my own cooking library.
To make the recipe I used 3 cups of yogurt (a 50-50 combination of plain yogurt and greek-style yogurts), along with 2/3 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of cream, and I omitted the vanilla because I like the brighter, less-ice cream taste. I actually LOVED the flavor of the end result, but there was a sort of chalky taste (for lack of a better description), and I was wondering if you could make a suggestion about how to make a more creamy variety. I'm just a novice and have absolutely no clue which way to go. I don't even like yogurt when it's not in a frozen state - so being unfamiliar with the products doesn't give me much of an edge. . . Was it the greek-style yogurt that gave it that chalkiness perhaps, or was it something else?
Please also let me qualify that I really did LOVE the recipe and the taste was really delicious, and if it couldn't change at all I would still make it just as it is. I didn't want to shed any negativity to the recipe itself; rather, I was just looking to make it a little more creamy (similar to the one I used to purchase in Louisiana). I am not opposed to adding milk, cream, or something else to give a more creamy taste, but I simply don't know where to start. Where better to go than the expert himself!.
Can't wait to peruse the new book when it arrives! Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on the afore.
Hi Roxanne: I don't recommend using low-fat yogurt for frozen yogurt, as the results will be icy and grainy. Whole milk, especially Greek-style, works best. (I haven't tried the lower-fat Greek-style yogurts, since they're not available in France.)
You can drain whole milk yogurt, for a richer, tangy-er frozen yogurt following the instructions in the book. If you really like tangy frozen yogurt, you can add a pinch of citric acid, available at most pharmacies.
If corn syrup keeps from hardening like sugar, can it be used in yogurt making as well as ice cream making? And if so, do you use equal increments (i.e., 1 cup sugar = 1 cup corn syrup)?
Your second query about using corn syrup: You can use a liquid sweetener, like corn syrup or honey, replacing it 3/4s for each part of sugar (ie: if the recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, use 3/4 cup liquid sweetener.)
I don't recommend using that much corn syrup and you might want to experiment with alternative sweeteners, such as agave or mild honey. Of course, both of those have flavor, which corn syrup doesn't, but I don't mind them.
Dear David,
You are the BEST! After going to the market to get the whole milk yogurt you suggested in the post above, I went straight to work on the new yogurt. Your suggestion not only "creamed" up the end result, it also made me aware of how icy (kind of like ice milk) and chalky the previous batches actually were. I'm amazed at how easy it was to totally alter the frozen yoguft recipe.
I also upped the sugar based on a previous post on your blog a bit and it was divine! It is easy to see why you do what you do . . . as you do it so well!
Thanks so much for your kindness in sharing. Can't wait to read more!
Hi David,
I'm a huge fan of The Perfect Scoop. Everything I made so far has been delicious.
I am interested in making an ice cream cake utilizing one of your ice creams. What kind of cake would you recommend? Would a pound cake be best in this application?
Any funky flavor combinations of cake/ice cream that sound crazy good to you?
Thanks!
Sara
sara: If you're interesting in making an ice cream cake, which I'm presuming means layers of ice cream (or sorbet), you can line a bowl or pan with plastic film and spread layers of slightly-softened ice cream in there.
Then for the final layer, I'd use either spongecake or poundcake for the final layer. You could also layer cake between them, too. One thing you might want to do is to brush (or saturate) the cake with a sugar syrup, preferably spiked with a favorite liqueur. (Make a sugar syrup by boiling up 1 part sugar to 3 parts water, add liqueur to taste.)
This will help keep the cake from freezing to hard.
Afterwards, you can top the whole thing with meringue, broil it off...and make yourself a baked Alaska!
There's detailed instructions in my book Ripe for Dessert, or you can perhaps find some elsewhere.
David,
It seems every batch of Ice cream I make there is always a rock solid build up of ice cream on the edges of the cannister. Any tips on preventing the quick freeze build up on the edge of the cannister? Would using pam or any other non stick product help or am I doing something consistently wrong?
Cuisinart ICE 20
Cannister is always in freezer 24 hours prior to use
Thanks
Hi Andrew: I wouldn't put anything like Pam in your machine and it's likely butterfat that's sticking to the side. Make sure your mixture is unformily cold when you pour it in, so it freezes uniformingly. Some manufacturer's say to pour the mixture in the machine, then turn it on. In my experience, with the machines like you have, it's best to turn the machine on and pour the mixture in while the dasher is turning. When I used a similar Krups machine, that was how I had to proceed to prevent ice cream from freezing to the sides, which'd prevent the dasher from turning.
Hi David,
I'm trying to make a sauternes + creme fraiche ice cream. I plan on using your creme fraiche ice cream recipe and then adding 1/2 cup sauternes after the custard is cooled in a water bath before it goes into the machine. My worry is that the 1/2 cup of liquid is going to mess up the consistency of the ice cream. Do you agree? Any suggestions?
hi dtsavvy: Yes, that's too much Sauternes. There's guidelines for how much alcohol to use in the book (page 5), but you can reduce the sauternes down in a skillet, which I do when making ice cream. I can't tell you exactly how much (unless you want to send me a bottle of Yquem!) but you can do it to taste. You can use an inexpensive sauternes, or a muscat, or a similar wine.
In the custard recipes, you frequently call for warming the milk first, then adding it to the egg yolks as a means of tempering them. I've done recipes this way many times, and they always turn out well. But the method always means an extra pan, and a bit more effort. So, I thought to experiment. This last time, I just dumped everything into a pan, stuck a thermometer in the liquid, heated pan slowly (but while whisking) until the thermometer read 170º F, removed from heat, and then proceeded as normal. I'm no refined taster, but the ice cream didn't seem to suffer from skipping the tempering.
What am I missing here?
Thanks for any tips you might have.
--Brent
Hi Brent: You can certainly make custards that way, by adding everything to the saucepan at once, cold, then cooking while stirring constantly. However you need to stand over it the entire time, stirring, to make sure the egg yolks don't cook.
In the old days, it's was recommended that people 'scald' milk, to remove any microbes. But that doesn't seem to be a problem any more. Other ice cream recipes sometimes call for one to whip the egg yolks with the sugar, but if people don't act fast, the sugar can 'burn' and cause tough little granules to form, so I don't do it.
If you're infusing ingredients, though, you do need to let the warm mixture rest for an hour or so, and I don't recommend letting warm egg yolks sit for a few hours without refrigeration.
I'm not into washing dishes either, but the method I use only uses one extra bowl so it's not a lot more clean up. But feel free to do it either way.
Candy in ice cream? How to grind - what about the texture?
The best way to grind candy up for inclusion in ice cream would either be in a food processor or mortar and pestle. You can grind them as fine, or as coarse, as you want in either. Stir them in just after churning; if you add them first, they can prevent the dasher in the machine from turning properly.
David, How do you scoop that perfect scoop of ice cream? All the pictures in your "Perfect Scoop" feature a perfectly rounded, beautiful scoop of ice cream. Can you share any tips on how to scoop the ice cream into that beautiful ball? I'm trying to make a pretty scoop for a picture of my pear caramel ice cream, but after eating all the imperfect scoops (not complaining about that), I've almost finished all my ice cream! Any tips will be greatly appreciated!
Hi Ann: I'm glad you like the photos in my book. This was the first book I did that I didn't style the food for the photos, since I live too far away now. George Dolese, who is a professional food stylists, did the scooping. And as you can see, he's one of the best.
For great-looking scoops:
1. Use a professional-quality scooper, one that's springloaded. (One like this.)
2. Make sure the ice cream isn't rock hard. If so, take it out of the freezer prior to scooping to give it time to soften a bit.
3. Immerse the scoop in very warm water before you scoop.
Stylists use lots of tricks but he didn't for my book since we wanted things to look natural and not too "styled." I think he did a great job~
David,
I'd like to try low calorie sorbets made with Stevia instead of sugar. Stevia is around 100x stronger than sugar, so cups of sugar will be replaced by teaspoons. I'm worried that the final product will be different because the sugar affects the density and other properties of the sorbet. What do you think?
Thanks,
Graham
Hi David,
Just bought your book and my first ice-cream machine. Before I begin making ice creams, I was wondering if you had any recommendations for storage containers to keep the finished products in. Tupperware? Old plastic yogurt containers? What's best?
Hi Julie: On page #15 of my book, I discuss what kind of containers I prefer to use and where you can find them, too.
Graham: I have no experience with Stevia but sugar prevents things from freezing too hard, so if you don't use it, your results will be different and your sorbets will be pretty hard-to-scoop. You could follow some of my Tips for Making Homemade Ice Cream Softer or make granitas, where the amount of sugar isn't important since they're meant to be icy crystals.
Hello. Is there a general rule that I could use to convert ice-cream recipes to Philadelphia style ice-cream? I grew up eating "ice milk" and now I prefer the taste of ice-cream without the eggs. Thank you.
David,
I want to try the salted butter caramel ice cream recipe I found here, but always have difficulty with "dry" caramels. (Yes, I have read your excellent tutorial, but still have no success... ) So I want to try it with a "wet" caramel, but wondered if the added water would change the texture of the finished ice cream. Thanks for the help!
Diana: There is no rule that I know of, but I do present both style in my ice cream book as well as here on the site.
Annalisa: I don't know but it should work fine, although I can't say for sure as I haven't tried it. If you do, let me know!
Hi David, I wish i could buy a dummy's guide to making homemade ice cream.
Please enlighten me, why my vanilla ice cream is so yellowish in colour compared to store bought ones? The texture came out great though, but it didn't taste that vanilla either. What went wrong? could it be my choice of vanilla pod or? i made it according to ur custard vanilla recipe .Thanks and appreciate ur help! Ur blog is awesome!
Dear David
Yes a big fan of yours- question 1) did you study food science, that you know so much?
2) I am trying to understand crystal size and if it will effect taste -as if you add some ingredents that keep the icecream stable longer, it effect the crystal size and then my concern will it effect taste.
Please help.
Hello David!
I just purchased your book Perfect Scoop because I got the Cuisinart Ice-50BC as a gift. I have made ice cream before so I have the basic flavors under control but now I'm trying to imitate one of my favorite flavors. Here in Miami, there is a gelato place that serves Banana Split gelato. It is banana gelato with stracciatella and caramel swirled into it. Today, I made the gelato with only the chocolate swirl.
I'm really enticed to use your Salted Butter Caramel recipe and swirl that in, as well as the chocolate to mimic my favorite gelato but I am afraid the caramel will just seize when it hits the cold ice cream surface and won't swirl in, leaving me with a lumpy, gooey... mess.
What do you suggest? I love caramel swirled into my ice cream and I need to know how to do it. Thanks for your help!
-Bianca
E: Depending on where you live, most egg yolks can be light in color, or darker, as they are where I live, in France. If you shop at a farmer's market, you'll often find eggs with brighter yolks. Vanilla can vary depending on age and variety, so you can certainly add more extract to taste in your ice cream mixture before churning.
Gary: Yes, I took some food science classes in college and took professional chocolate classes in Belgium and in France, where we learned food science as well.
Crystal size in ice cream mostly relates to mouth feel. The easiest way to keep the crystals small is to chill the mixture very well before freezing; the less amount of time it spends churning, the smaller the crystals.
Other options include adding things like corn syrup, glucose, and/or ice cream stabilizers, which I generally avoid in ice cream as they do affect the taste.
Bianca: Because that ice cream is rather soft, I don't recommend swirling caramel into it. The recipe on the site does have small bits of crushed caramel, which melt nicely as they sit, and become deliciously gooey!
dear david,
I was reading the LA times article and was fascinated by buckwheat ice cream. I wanted to take it a step further and make it with buckwheat honey swirl, but the honey turned into a chewy mess. do you have any tips for honey to stay runny, creamy and smooth in the ice cream, like commercial honey swirls do.
iztok: I've not seen a commercial honey swirl, but I'd imagine it's some sort of creamy caramel ripple with a honey base. Perhaps try a very thick unfiltered honey maybe mixed with some cream, just enough to make it less-gunky when frozen.
hi david,
i've been putting my philips pre-freeze ice cream maker and your perfect scoop book to good use! i have two quick questions for you..
1. how hard does ice cream from a pre-freeze machine usually get? I churned the chocolate sorbet for almost an hour and it was less firm than a 7-11 slurpee. I had refrigerated the sorbet liquid for 24 hours before. I must add, however, that I stay in tropical Singapore, but I did try to help the sorbet along by churning in an air-conditioned room.
2. does the chocolate sorbet melt relatively quickly? (again, this may be due to the weather here, but just wondering)
thanks!
hi alexandra: There may be a problem with your machine and you might wish to contact the manufacturer. Most of my sorbets are fruit-juice based, so they should freeze pretty firm if you're following the recipe. You might want to try freezing a batch of straight water and see what happens.
As for the chocolate sorbet, Deb made it and you can see the right consistency here. Of course if it sits in the freezer, it'll likely be much firmer, depending on the temperature of your freezer. You may want to dial up the temperature of it.
Hi David,
I have The Perfect Scoop, and read it cover to cover before finally getting my own ice cream machine last week. I got the Cuisinart ICE50, which I understand you have experience with. My question is, does the paddle on yours move as slowly as mine does? It moves as slow as a paddle on a mixer set at LOW speed. I am not sure if this is how this machine is supposed to work, or if something is wrong with mine. If it is working properly that way, then how is it getting any air into the mixture? I thought air was needed to produce a nice consistency.
Also, how long did you let the machine run for ice creams (or what consistency did you stop it at)? I am afraid to let it run too long because I have been told that the longer it takes to freeze, the more ice crystals form. I am asking these questions because the two batches I have made so far have come out very hard, dense, chewy, and with ice crystals:( Please help!
Thank you:)
Shannon
Shannon: The dasher does not move very fast, which is normal on home machines, but I've not had problems with ice cream that's too hard or icy. You can see a just-frozen batch of ice cream as it came out of my machine.
For specific questions about the machine, though, it's best to contact the manufacturer.
You're right about not wanting to churn too long, although my ICE 50 has an automatic shut-off, that seems to occur about 40 mins or so after I start churning. Make sure your mixture is very cold before churning: I always chill mine in the refrigerator overnight for best results.
Can I use the marshmallow sauce (from A Perfect Scoop) as a mix-in? I want to ribbon it through the chocolate ice cream (basically, I want to make a homemade version of Ben & Jerry's phish food).
I love the book, and I'm (slowly) working my way through it.
Hi David...thanks for responding so quickly to my question! So do home machines NOT rely on incorporating air into the mixture for their ice creams? It seems to just be lightly stirring it rather than getting any air in there. I have made your peach frozen yogurt, but it came out full of ice crystals and hard as a rock after being in the freezer. I did use low fat yogurt though rather than regular, could this make such a big difference?? With the vanilla ice cream I made, I used 1/4 cup less cream than called for, and only chilled my base for less than an hour, rather than all night (but it was cold). The end result had crystals and was a bit chewy, and very dense, like a semifreddo. Could the adjustments I made create that big of a difference, or do you think something could be wrong with my machine? I am trying to decide to return it or not. I make ice creams at work (I am a pastry cook) on a commercial Taylor machine, so maybe my expectations are too high!? But your ice cream seems to be very smooth and creamy, and we are using the same machine....any advice? Are home machines and recipes really so tempermental and specific? I am ice cream obsessed and this is very frustrating:)
Thanks a lot for your time!!
Shannon
Salpy: I'm not sure, but I would imagine it would work. Give it a go! And let me know how it turns out-I'm interested...
Shannon: If you're used to a commercial machine, the home machines don't churn as fast and you won't get the same airy ice cream. As mentioned in the book, I don't use low-fat yogurt and don't recommend it for that reason.
I had this INCREADIBLE champagne gelato with strawberry swirl in an Irish gelato shop, and I really want to recreate it! Any ideas? The closest I've found on the internet has been champagne sorbet...
Hi David,
I recently was able to purchase a huge quantity of ripe mangoes from my local Indian market. I made your mango sorbet (amazing) and mixed some in with toasted coconut ice cream (so amazing there are no words). But I wanted to try my hand with some mango ice cream. Most of the recipes I found were kulfi-esque, using whipped cream and the like. Do you have any ideas for how to go about making an American-style mango ice cream? Would you go with a cream base, or milk? Is it okay to pep up the flavor using lime juice/rum/vanilla extract when you're using dairy in the blend as well?
Thanks, David!
Hi Julie: I can't recall if I've made mango ice cream, but you could likely add puree to a favorite vanilla (or coconut!) ice cream recipe. Simply measure out how much puree you have, add 25% of the amount of sugar (ie: if you have 1 cup puree, add 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup puree, add 2 tablespoons sugar, etc...) and heat it until it boils and the sugar is dissolved.
Mangoes may contain a tropical enzyme which prevents proteins from forming, so you might wish to heat it thoroughly, which kills it. (You can scoot around the internet to find out if mangoes have it.)
Then add your ice cream custard until it tastes right to you. A squeeze of lime or a bit of rum is a good idea, as mangoes are rather sweet. Happy churning!
I noticed you had a recipe for chocolate ice cream with agave nectar but wondered if you'd experimented with fruit ice creams or sorbets using agave nectar?
Hello David,
I follow you in Portugal and I would like to start making my own ice cream's to try your recipes. I would like to buy a Cuisinart ICE20WH but I cant't find it in Portugal and Amazon don't send it to Portugal. As I'm going to be in Paris in june, can you tell me please whre can I find it?
Thanks and congratulations for the new book! I'm waiting for it!
Teresa
Hi Karen: I haven't, but in general you can substitute about 3/4s agave for the amount of sugar in a recipe (ie: if there's 1 cup of sugar in the recipe, use 3/4 cup agave.) You might want to add a bit more or less, depending on the sweetness of the mixture.
Teresa: I don't know if that machine is available in France, but the BHV department store and Darty appliance shops carry several affordable ice cream makers. I think the Darty website allows you to pre-order online or check stock.
(Click on Petit électroménager>sorbetière)
We make ice cream/ breads etc. Was wondering if you could recommend a digital scale (preferably one that you employ) for accurate weighing of foods.
Thanks
Alan
David, thanks for posting such an extensive tip list for making softer ice cream at home. I'd like to try using vodka or other liquors, and was wondering if this would also work for frozen yogurt? I ask because when I tried following the recipe for frozen yogurt, it came out rock hard. Would alcohol do the trick here? Also, does it impart a noticeable taste? Thanks!
Christine: You could add liqueur, but with the yogurt, I think the taste might clash. You should be using whole milk yogurt; low-fat and non-fat milk will yield icy results. You could also used strained yogurt (drained in a cheesecloth) or replace the sugar with a certain percentage of honey or another liquid sweetener (like agave nectar), to taste.
Can sorbets be made into popsicles?
What if you've chopped up more fruit than the recipe calls for? Can you toss it in without altering the texture of the ice cream/sorbet?
Will decreasing the sugar in the ice cream/sorbet recipes alter texture?
Eppie:
Yes, I cut the sugar in half.
No, you can't, unless you add more sugar (and other ingredients), proportionally to what's indicated by the recipe.
Yes, it will. For more information, you can read Tips for Making Homemade Ice Cream Softer
David, I made the Orange Popsicle ice cream from TPS. It was heavy on the orange (perhaps too much zest -- I used 3 good-sized oranges), so I decided to try the tartufi you suggest to balance out the flavor. I followed the instructions in the book, just substituting good-quality (I guess... Venezuelan 34% cocoa content white chocolate?) white chocolate for the dark. But the mixture of chocolate, butter, and corn syrup first melted, then quickly curdled, then separated into irreconcilable masses of melted butter and thick, stringy chocolate. Does white chocolate function differently than dark when melting for tartufi? Should I have used a different type of white chocolate? Or skipped the butter?
David, I made the Orange Popsicle ice cream from TPS. It was heavy on the orange (perhaps too much zest -- I used 3 good-sized oranges), so I decided to try the tartufi you suggest to balance out the flavor. I followed the instructions in the book, just substituting good-quality (I guess... Venezuelan 34% cocoa content white chocolate?) white chocolate for the dark. But the mixture of chocolate, butter, and corn syrup first melted, then quickly curdled, then separated into irreconcilable masses of melted butter and thick, stringy chocolate. Does white chocolate function differently than dark when melting for tartufi? Should I have used a different type of white chocolate? Or skipped the butter?
HI Katy: Yes, white chocolate is very different than dark chocolate and can't be substituted. It has more cocoa butter, sugar, and milk solids.
For tartufi, you can just use plain melted white chocolate with nothing else added.
Hey David, I went to the cafe at Chez Panisse last week and had an Elderflower drink. It was amazing. I was looking through The Perfect Scoop for an idea on how to make an Elderflower ice cream of granita, and your Champagne/Cassis recipe looked like I could just substitute the elderflower syrup for the cassis, but what about the champagne? I would really like the elderflower to be the most prominent flavor.
Any thoughts?
Jonathan: I don't know how make all those substitutions, but if anyone else has ideas, feel free to post them.
If you're interested in making your own syrup, you can find Hank's recipe for Elderflower Syrup and give it a try.
I fell in love with these coconut sorbet bars by Edy's. They have a not too sweet but intense coconut flavor. They also have some tiny flecks of coconut in them, just enough for texture. I looked all over for a coconut ice cream or sorbet in a container but can't find any, at least not here in Pittsburgh.
I'd really like to make a version of it at home, something I can serve in bowls to guests, perhaps a granita since I don't have an ice cream maker.
I'm not an experienced cook.
What would I use? Coconut milk?
Hi Jill: In the recipe for Toasted Coconut Ice Cream in The Perfect Scoop, I infuse toasted shredded coconut in the base of the custard since I like that slightly-nutty flavor. But you could use coconut milk in a standard sherbet or ice cream recipe as well.
If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can follow the tutorial I wrote about making ice cream without a machine, linked up above.
Just wanted you to know that I finally tried the salted butter caramel ice cream recipe with a wet caramel and it seemed to work fine. Tasted fabulous! It was a very soft ice cream, but I think that's how the original recipe was as well, from what I've read.
Is there any way to salvage melted ice cream? I made the Toasted Coconut ice cream then left it on the counter instead of taking it to the party. It's back in the freezer now. Toss it? Save it?
Epppie: I most cases, ice cream can be refrozen. If your machine is very powerful, watch it carefully so you don't overchurn it (the butterfat can get grainy.)
Or you can use your melted ice cream and serve it as crème anglaise, a pouring sauce for berries or cake. If it's very thick, whisk it vigorously for a few second to thin it out.
I would love to try and make the olive oil ice cream from The Perfect Scoop, but am at a loss as to what type of olive oil to use. You specify it should be fruity. But I'm not exactly sure what you mean. Virgin? Extra Virgin? Italian, Spanish, or Greek?
Hi Kay: It's hard to advise folks to use a specific oil from a specific country, since there's so much variation in taste (and price.) I use extra-virgin Puget for that ice cream, which is inexpensive in France where I live, but is more expensive elsewhere.
It's best to taste your oil and if it's fruity and strong, give it a pour!
For more info, read my post: 8 Tips for Choosing and Using Olive Oil
I recently got a Cuisinart ICE-20 and have been trying to make a good Philadelphia style vanilla ice cream. I am using some combination whole milk and heavy whipping cream. No matter how long I churn I seem to wind up with ice cream that leaves a butter like film on my tongue. I have followed the instructions in the book and am only churning for 20 minutes, any less it would be soup. What is going wrong and how can I fix it? Help is really appreciated, I can't wait to make some good ice cream.
hi david, i recently bought an ice cream maker (kenwood IM 280). i attempted making a chocolate gelato (as in baking bites.com), and it froze well in the freezer bowl during the churning process. however, after i started transfering the ice cream from the freezer bowl into another container, the ice cream started becoming quite melty =(. i've read somewhere that the finished ice cream should be in the freezer for 4 hours before eating, but i'm not sure if this is standard procedure.
another thing to note is that i live in southeast asia, where the climate is hot all year long. has got anything to do with the fact that the ice cream is melty? i had ensured that the freezer bowl was kept in the freezer for 24 hours before using it.
any advice?
si: I can't answer questions about other people's recipes. Did you try and contact the person whose recipe it is? They are best prepared to assist you.
eric: I'm not sure which recipe you're using. If it's mine, I've never had that problem so perhaps it's the cream you're using? I tested my recipes with cream in the 30-35% butterfat category.
Heavy Cream vs Light vs Whipping, etc? In your recipes you use "heavy cream" correct? Per Wikipedia heavy cream is 36% and up. So I should really be aiming for whatever cream has 30 to 35%? What is the difference between all the creams, milks, etc other than the fat content? Or is there one?
What are reasons ice cream/sorbet fail to thicken in the ice cream maker? This has happened to me twice.
Thank you for your responses. They have been very helpful.
David, I live in the Berry near Auvergne and have a farmer I can order all sorts of fresh dairy products from a few kms from home. Could you point me to what French dairy products I want to use for making ice cream and frozen yogurt? Thanks!
David I have enjoyed reading your suggestions on making ice cream. We are a small family owned dairy farm in Kentucky that ventured into the ice cream business to help subsidize a declining market for milk. We have a local source for home made peanut brittle that we have incorporated into our ice cream (Jersey Brittle). My question is will the peanut brittle in the ice cream hold up over time? We know it will over several weeks but worry it may not over a month. In our shop it is not a problem because it does not last that long but we do worry that if we wholesale it the peanut brittle might not hold up.
We do appreciate your time and again coming to you since you are the expert!!!
Carl Chaney
I just recently bought and Ice-50 ice cream maker. I tried their chocolate truffle ice cream, but used Splenda as a sweetener. The custard turned out to be very thick, more like a ganache, and I had to thin it out so the freezer could churn it.
The ice cream came out great, although when put in the freezer it turned very hard, somewhat like a rich chocolate fudgsicle. I am assuming after reading all your previous comments that the hardness is probably because of using splenda rather than sugar in the ice cream. However, I can't figure out why the custard solidified when left in the fridge for a day. Is it possible to cook a custard too long???
Francine: Splenda doesn't behave like sugar, and other sweeteners, which prevent custards from freezing too hard. I have no experience using Splenda but that sounds like what happened.
Eric F: I do mention the difference in my book in greater depth, but you can use heavy or whipping cream in my recipes interchangably.
Eppie: I would contact the manufacturer for their advice if the machine isn't functioning properly.
Carl: Brittle should hold up over time. It may soften slightly but the freezer should keep it relatively firm.
Jon: You need to adapt to what's available. Crème liquide or crème fraîche can be used in place of heavy cream in my recipes.
Check out my post: American Ingredients in France
Hi David
I would like to make rum & raisin ice cream using real rum. Any help on what type of rum to use for best flavour and how much???
David, I am having a blast making spectacular ice cream from Perfect Scoop. The most recent recipe I tried is the one I had the highest hopes for, as I am a Nutella and nocciola gelato fiend. I set out to make your Gianduja gelato, and decided to forgo the straciatella option, just to focus on the hazelnut. Unfortunately, the hazelnut flavor was there, but not very pronounced. And the chocolate flavor was pretty light too. I keep my hazelnuts in the freezer, but roasted them prior to use, as called for. I also used Ghiaradelli milk choc, with a little Guittard semi sweet mixed in. I followed all instructions to the letter. Do you see any issues with my ingredients? Or should I have definitely added the stracciatella? Thanks so much, look forward to getting this one right!
Hi David,
I was trying out your lemon sorbet recipe in the Perfect Scoop and I had a question about the sugar and water. Why only put a bit of water and sugar in the saucepan? Why not just put the entire quantity of sugar and water? I'm not sure if it would make a difference or not. Thanks for any help.
Vu
Hi David,
First Luv "The Sweet Life in Paris" book, very funny and very true(lived there for a month, now coming back for a yr - as a petit main)
Your Perfect Scoop book, I tried and loved the Orange-Cardemom ... though I admit... I frankensteined it with your orange dreamsicle recipe and one other(can't quite) remember... also adjusted your pear-caramel one too!... Is there a reason that these two didn't freeze to the tongue-frozen-to-the lampost stage? - very smooth and gelato-like, but never froze hard....changes made -
Orange - cardemom -
added Oj(1/2 cup) and Pelligrino Arancia drink(1/4 cup), added 1 tsp honey.
Pear - double the number of pears - 6x(they were tiny), and added burnt pecan brittle pieces...cooked the sugar till amber then REALLY cooked the pears...
Definitely will try others...As for the orange - my personal fave - out of the 30+ experiments over the years..tasted like ....froot-loop-ish/captn crunch pina colada - bad taste-bud memories...sorry!
Thank you and who knows maybe I'll see you around when I come to Paris!
ed-from SF!
Vu: You could heat it all up, but I just use the minimum necessary to dissolve the sugar so the whole thing cools down faster.
Ariana: Perhaps the hazelnuts you were using weren't flavorful or toasted enough. You may wish to read Cenk's version of my Gianduja gelato. If stored in the freezer, in my experience, nuts can lose their flavor and not taste fresh.
Ed. T: Most people say that homemade ice cream freezes too hard. So if it's been churned, then stored in your home freezer, and is still not firm, check the temperature of your freezer. There's guidelines in the book for proper temperatures.
Francine: I use dark Meyer's rum, if possible. Any good dark rum should work.
Hi David, I have been enjoying your blog for sometime and my family has enjoyed your Perfect Scoop book since I purchased it last summer. I have become quite obsessed with homemade ice cream myself, and my current obsession being an ice cream flavor that I just can't quite recreate. It's cookie dough ice cream, but not the usual kind that is found in stores and ice cream shops these days. This ice cream was like biting into a bowlful of raw cookie dough...the whole thing tasted like dough with chocolate chips in it. I am just dying to have it again and am having the hardest time figuring out the right way to get ice cream to taste like cookie dough! The last time I had it was about 20 years ago, and the shop that made it is now gone so I have no good way of finding out the recipe. After flipping through your book the other day for inspiration, I realized if anyone could figure it out it would probably be you ;). And if it ends up in your next ice cream book, you can be sure I will be buying it!!! Thanks! (Merci!)
Hi David I read a little while back the post about the caramelised white chocolate and its looks amazing. I also loved the idea you mentioned of swirling it into fresh ginger ice cream. Im thinking of trying this at the weekend (your recipe from TPS) but reading the post you mentioned if you were going to use it as a swirl you should add 25% liquid to it. What would you suggest for this liquid
Thanks
Edd: I'm not quite sure; it would need to be something that stays soft once frozen, such as agave nectar, glucose, or corn syrup perhaps. I would play around with something with a neutral flavor, whatever you decide to go with. Mix a little into the caramelize it, freeze a bit, and see how it behaves. If more is needed, try it again. Good luck!
Hi David,
I am a huge fan of your book, The Perfect Scoop. I make ice cream for fun all the time. A good friend of mine has a dairy farm and I want to make some ice cream using his milk. I told him I usually use a mixture of cream and milk, and he suggested we experiment with light cream as opposed to the separate cream and milk. Have you ever done this? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Take care,
Rebecca
Rebecca: Lucky you living near a dairy! Because light cream isn't widely available (or at least it wasn't in Northern California, where I lived for 20 years), I've not developed any recipes for it. But give it a try...you can't go wrong with fresh cream, light or otherwise.
Just note that if your lower the butterfat content of an ice cream mixture, it'll be less-creamy.
Hi David
So I tried the white chocolate and boy was it good once caramelised, but then i tried to add glucose to it and it behaved in a way i really didn't expect. I caramelised 200g of 30% chocolate and added 3 tsp of glucose (corn syrup not available in UK) and I can only describe it as weird it first went very very grainy and then i heated it a little to try and help it incorporate and then it separated a little. it is now in a kind of firm putty like texture. Im going to freeze it over night and see what happens in the morning. im thinking it may have been because the difference in heat caused the reaction and i actually need a bit more glucose but im just making a complete guess
Hi David,
I know you're a fan of the Cuisinart and Kitchen Aid brand ice cream makers, but have you ever come across or used a Gaggia Gelatiera? I'd like to find a used ice cream maker, and there is one for sale locally that I'm interested in.
In the meantime, going to attempt raspberry ice cream tomorrow, sans electricity!
Thanks.
Nicki: Unfortunately the Gaggia machines aren't available in France (which is odd, since we share a border with Italy), so I haven't used one.
Edd: If you do a search on Google, you'll find a few people have made various things with my base recipe for caramelized white chocolate, which may give you inspiration and further ideas.
David,
I was out harvesting dill seed. As I'd bite off the stem of the flower stems that were dry enough, the stems are still green and left a wonderful taste in my mouth.
And I wondered about making a Dill Ice Cream.
Any ideas?
I found this recipe
Cucumber-Dill Sorbet
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/appetizers-snacks/cucumber-dill-sorbet/
David, I have your recommended Cuisinart Ic Cream and Yogurt Maker but recently I have seen that Cuisinart has a Soft Ice Cream maker and I would like to know if you have used the latter and if so what you think of it? Is it worth buying or is another?
Richard: I would infuse a relatively-small amount of the seeds (maybe start with 1-2 tablespoons, as they're quite strong) in the cream for about an hour, then make the custard with that. If it's not strong enough, infuse more seeds in the custard while it's cooling, then strain it before freezing.
You could use the Black Pepper Ice Cream recipe in The Perfect Scoop as guidance, for quantities and technique.
Natalie: I've not used the Cuisinart soft ice cream maker, but if someone else has, please feel free to chime in with your opinion.
Got It! and yes someone let me know if the soft ice cream maker is worth the bucks...
HI David
I managed to save the chocolate and I used it as a swirl in your ginger ice cream and its really great thanks for the idea I can see this getting made quite a bit
Hello David,
Your book has been highly recommended by Pascale Weeks author of the excellent blog C'est moi qui l'ai fait. I didn't find it in the stores around here (Luxemburg) so I couldn't have a look at it to check the ingredients you use (it is of course not possible to do that on the Internet shops either). One of my daughter is allergic to eggs, among other things. I was wondering if your book contains many recipes of eggless icecream. I am not talking of sorbet (or sherbet, thanks to your post I now know the difference). I bought an icecream maker to be able to make her "safe" icecream and I am now looking for recipe books. And your website is beautiful. Thanks in advance for your reply. Au plaisir. M.
Hi Manon: Yes, the book has many recipes for ice creams that don't have eggs in them (they're called "Philadelphia-style" ice creams) and include vanilla and chocolate, as well as many fruit-based ice creams without eggs (I find adding eggs overwhelms the fruit). Also there are chapters on sorbets and granitas, a vast majority of which are egg-free.
The recipes are in metric and standard, and you may be able to get a copy by ordering it from your local bookseller. The book is also available at Amazon.fr.
Hi David,
My mother bought a new ice cream machine and we have been using your book nonstop. However, to use up the egg whites, I made macaroons, which I stuffed with a maple buttercream... Now I have a ton of maple-flavored buttercream. Have you tried putting buttercream into ice cream? Would you recommend an attempt? And if so, would you add it at the end, so that there are buttercream swirls? Or, if folded in just before freezing in the ice cream maker, what do you think will happen to the mix? Will it separate? Or not freeze at all? I suppose there's no harm in trying but I thought if you'd already tried it, it might save me some time. Thanks in advance! -Cole
Hello David,
Your Perfect Scoop is my go-to for so many ice cream questions, and since this one doesn't have an answer there, I'm coming directly to the source! Have you ever used a Brix/refractometer in making sorbet, and if so, can you recommend a target reading? Thanks so much,
Sandy
David,
I found your website while looking for a caramel fleur de sel ice cream recipe after a recent trip to Paris. I wish I had seen your website and book before the trip, but I am having fun exploring it nonetheless.
Your caramel fleur de sel ice cream recipe looks terrific and i am going to try it. But we had another ice cream, coquelicot de nemours, which was described to us as poppy ice cream. It was terrific; what a great floral aroma! I would love to recreate it at home. Do you have any idea where to start?
Thanks!
Chris
Hi David,
I must first say your blog is inspiring! It has gotten me into ice cream making which I once thought was impossible without a machine. I have a couple of quick questions here...hope you'll help me out.
1) Strawberry Ice Cream:
Once I've mashed up the berries into a puree, should I 'cook' them in a saucepan together with sugar or is it preferable that the sugar be added separately after I'm done with the berries?
2) General:
I noted that I had the same problem with one of the commentators above, that is, my ice cream left an oily film on the lips. Could it be the thick cream I'm using? I've heard about Creme Fraiche, is it any lighter than thick cream?
Thanks, David!
Clicky: I never cook berries for ice creams or sorbets, as they lose their freshness. As for the oily film that you and the other commenter reported, I've made ice cream in America, France, and Japan, and have never experienced that. Perhaps it has something to do with the cream you're using. The heavy cream that I call for is roughly 36-40% butterfat and suggest you check to make sure you're using the same. I know some countries have cream with much higher butterfat.
Christian: It's likely for that poppy ice cream they use a commercial syrup which may, or may not, be made for the real thing. You can make your own by searching for 'coquelicot sirop recette' to find one to make yourself.
Sandy: Because I write recipes for home cooks, most don't have refractometers or saccharometers, so I don't use one. I do have one that I use for making pâte de fruit, but haven't used it for sorbets or ice cream-making.
Cole: I probably wouldn't add buttercream to ice cream as it may be too rich or greasy when churned. But if you do give it a try, let us know how it turns out. btw: Buttercream can be frozen, if tighly-wrapped, for a few months.
Hi David,
Thanks for the quick response last time. I was making your strawberry sorbet recipe from the Perfect Scoop and noticed how you let the sugar dissolve with the hulled fruit. Why do you do this? And are there any other fruits with which you can use this method?
David, you've talked about giving your ice cream to various people around Paris. (The butcher, I think, got some of the candied bacon ice cream.) How do you transport ice cream around town? I've got a variety of coolers and a car with air conditioning, but I'm afraid to take my ice cream on too long a drive.
Joleta: I use a sac isotherme, an insulated bag that the frozen food shops sell in France. The bags I have say they will hold the temperature for about 30 minutes.
You can get insulated bags in the states very inexpensively, that can be reused over and over, which do the same thing.
hi david - do you know if i can substitute lemon juice and zest in place of the pistachio in your gelato recipe? i've been searching all over the internet for a sicilian version of lemon gelato (no eggs + whole milk) and can't seem to find one... would the acidity of the lemon juice cause a problem with the freezing of the base? any help you can provide would be appreciated!
ok here it is I have searched and searched this internet and I want to buy a slow churning machine to make authentic gelato for my home use..is there one that is slow churning and will make this at a reasonable price? thank u
ronda: Most home machines slow-churn, but Lello makes a machine specifically for churning Italian-style gelato. I haven't used this particular machine, but it gets good reviews online.
vivian: No, I wouldn't swap out the pistachio paste with lemon juice. I don't think it would work.
The Super Lemon Ice Cream (pg 85 in The Perfect Scoop) has no eggs and uses half-and-half, so if you have the book, you might want to give that one a spin.
Hi, David
Ice cream season has begun at my place in San Francisco. I kicked off the season with your recipe for Fig Ice Cream believing I followed it to a T. However, it didn't come out as purple or creamy looking as your recipe. It has a strangely icy texture and it is a purplish grey and speckled white with infrequent white mini-lumps. I suspect that the lemon curdled the cream or something, but I don't know how to avoid this as the directions say to mix the two ingredients in simultaneously. Is it supposed to be creamy and more purple? I used Black Mission Figs, also as you suggested.
Thanks for your help!
Evelyn
Evelyn: It most likely was the figs that were responsible for the light color. You can check out Clotilde's post, Two Fig Ice Cream and see the color of her ice cream.
Hello David! Hope you can help me. I love ice cream as well my kids.
I make a dulce de leche ice cream in a Cuisinart maker. I used 2 cups of half-half and 1/2 cup of whipping cream also I used 360 gr of dulce de leche. I heat the half-half, the cream and the dulce de leche until the dulce de leche dissolved. I let it cool and then I pour the mixture in the machine. I let the mix for about 1 hour maybe a little longer, but the mixture never got thick. I want to know what was wrong to avoid the same mistake again.
Thank you,
Adriana
Adriana: That's an awful lot of dulce de leche! (And that's coming from someone who loves the stuff...)
For 3 cups of liquid, I would not add more than 3/4 cup of dulce de leche. And that will make a very soft ice cream. I would maybe go all with half-and-half as well. Good luck!
Hi David,
Love "The Perfect Scoop". For the Peach Ice Cream, do you think full fat buttermilk would work in place of the sour cream? I often use them interchangeably in baking, but wasn't sure about using it in ice cream.
Thanks!
Shauna
Shauna: Yes, you can swap out the 1/2 cup of the sour cream with buttermilk. Sounds good!
David, the recipes in the Perfect Scoop are way wonderful. My questions are can heavy cream be substituted for milk in, for example, chocolate and lemon sherbets? And what would it taste like--the same, better, worse? Thanks, Kathy
Hi David,
I'm making some profiteroles to serve later today with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce at a dinner party. Could there be some problem with the recipe (page 232 The Perfect Scoop)? I had a nice dough going before I added the 4 large eggs, and then it became soup. No way to scoop that onto a baking sheet. So I kept adding flour, probably to about 3 cups (recipe called for 1 cup) and they're in the oven now. Did I do something wrong, or is there (horrors!) an errata sheet for the book?
Thanks,
Joleta
Joleta: Hmmm, that recipe is almost the same proportions as the recipe for Gougères, and you can see by the photos on that page, they turned out fine. (I did cut the proportions in half for the cheese-puffs, but they're the same proportions as in the book.)
The recipe does call for one egg yolk and a teaspoon of milk to be used as a glaze before baking. If you had to use 3 cups, I'm unsure of what went wrong. (I double-checked and in Michael Ruhlman's book Ratio, he has almost nearly the same proportion as my recipe, although I've cut back a bit on the butter.)
Kathy: You could likely use heavy cream in those recipes and the texture would be closer to ice cream. I haven't done it, but whether or not it tastes better would be a matter of personal preference.
Wow! Having you point out that gougeres recipe was worth the price of a botched batch of cream puffs. Actually, the first batch came out tasting like little challah rolls, and we had a few for breakfast. For the second batch, I found this recipe, which has the same proportions of water/flour/egg but also some photos so I could be reassured about the consistency. I let the dough cook a bit in the pan to dry it out and then cooled it longer than I had the first time before adding the eggs. I got in all four eggs and the dough was still reasonably thick. Once I got my brain switched over to "pipe" and not "scoop," everything worked out fine. I'm serving them tonight with your Vanilla Ice Cream and Classic Hot Fudge.
BTW, my wonderful husband got me the Lello 4080 ice cream maker for my birthday, and I'm working my way through The Perfect Scoop until I've made every single recipe (but not in order).
Do you have a recipe for strawberry sherbet? Can your recipe for raspberry sherbet be tinkered with to make it strawberry--how? There are a lot of wonderful strawberries around now. Thanks, Kathy
Hello,
My daughter just got back from the Netherlands and she said the ice cream there is much better than in the states. I'm guessing that she probably had a custard style ice cream. What is the predominate style of ice cream in the Netherlands or was it just her perception that it was better?
Thanks
Hello, David!
I ran across a reference to smoked bacon and egg ice cream in The Flavor Bible (wow) and that got me thinking about sneaking smoky flavor into ice creams. Something like s'mores ice cream or a smoky coffee-chocolate combination.
I know you've done candied bacon in ice cream, which has its own smoky-bacony goodness, but have you any experience using liquid smoke or infusing a custard base with lapsang souchong? A little smoke goes a long way, I imagine, and my online searches have turned up next to nothing. Any suggestions before I start experimenting?
(Constantly running out of malted milk ice cream, by the way; love The Perfect Scoop.)
kathy: There's a recipe in The Perfect Scoop for Strawberry Sorbet (pg 128). On the site, there's a recipe for Strawberry Frozen Yogurt, too.
Brian: I'm not aware of anything in the Netherlands regarding their ice cream, but if you do find out anything, it would be interesting to know about.
Sarah: I've made lots of tea-based ice creams, but not a smoked one. Liquid Smoke is one route, although it has a rather 'specific' flavor that's kinda strong. I'm hoping to do a post on the site about a simple technique for smoking things at home in the future, so that might give some guidance.
Hi David,
Made your mint ic last weekend & doubled the recipe as you suggested, OH MY GOSH...that "was" delish! We also made your chocolate cookies for ic sandwiches. Ir was so late when we finished baking that we decided to assemble the sandwiches the next day but they came out really crunchy, so we just ate the cookies with the ic. Are they supposed to be soft or crunchy? Not sure if we did something wrong. Would prefer a bit softer, any hints?
Also, any suggestions for a mango ice cream recipe that doesn't use condensed milk or a lot of other fruit of ingredients? Could I use the base recipe of the mint ic & just add mango?
Thanks in advance,
Catherine
Hey David! I haven't seen you in years (since my days at Citizen Cake when you were living here in SF) but really enjoy keeping up with you through your blog & tweets. I have a question for you on the Vietnamese ic recipe in Perfect Scoop. After spinning, the ic separated in the freezer -- pretty much 3 layers: coffee, condensed milk and rest of the base. I'm wondering if you ever experienced that? It was spun to what I know to be the right consistency. I used real Vietnamese coffee (weasel coffee, bought in Hanoi) and the usual suspects for the other ingredients. Does this recipe need to be spun longer? Any clue to my woes? Merci. nb - love the required box below! I was once told that one shouldn't judge a teacher by his/her students. Anyone paying attention knows you live in Texas... Paris, right?
Katie: I don't know why that is happening. You can see Cenk's post on Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream from the book, and his didn't have that problem. I've actually never had ice cream separate. Perhaps there's too much sugar in your condensed milk, which could keep the ice cream too soft in the freezer, allowing separation.
Catherine: Sure, you could add mango puree to that base, making sure the base that you add is sweetened to 25% of it's volume, ie: If you add 1 cups mango puree, add an additional 1/4 cup sugar. 1/2 cup puree would be 2 tablespoons of sugar, etc..
David, I'm doing a riff on a Manhattan cocktail for dessert. Got some stellar sour cherries for pie, and obvioiusly need an ice cream accompaniment. Something along the lines of bourbon/honey ice cream? Maybe incorporate a little orange in there somehow (maybe a couple shakes of orange bitters)? Any other thoughts or suggestions of things I could infuse the custard with?
And would I add the bourbon after straining the custard, during the cooling process when you often call for additions of vanilla extracts and the like?
Thanks for any input!
Love The Perfect Scoop!! I made the Gianduja-Stracciatella Gelato recently and wondered if there is anything else I can use the ground hazelnuts for after removing them from the milk (other than just eating them with a spoon) ;-). Thanks.
David,
'Ever made Sweet Corn gelato? I'd love any tips you may have in making my fantasy into frozen reality! Thanks so much.
I'm very delightedly making many, many recipes from The Perfect Scoop this summer and have a few more questions. Can you put the apricot sorbet mixture straight into the ice cream maker, as you say to do with the raspberry sorbet, without chilling it first? Does that make its flavor more pronounced as well? And, can granulated sugar and light corn syrup be substituted for each other without a great change in taste and with the same results (for example, the Lean Chocolate Sauce)--and what are their equivalent measures? The Perfect Scoop is making me, and many other people, very happy this summer--thanks.
Hello David,
I enjoyed your site so much that my wife and I went out and bought your book. I have a question though about the ice cream reverting to normal runny cream after it is left out for awhile (or if it is swirled around with the spoon). It comes out of the ice cream maker fine and is even great from the freezer, but sometimes I like swirl my ice cream to get it to about soft serve consistancy;however, when I do this is just seems to turn into cream (tasty cream to be sure, but not what I'm aiming for.) Now we have not been using heavy cream si I guess that could be it?
Anyway thanks for the great site and book.
I just bought some fabulous peaches and nectarines at the farmers market, and now I'm dreaming about peach and/or nectarine ice cream. My husband has a strange semi-lactose intolerance where he can have heavy cream and yogurt but can't have uncooked sour cream or creme fraiche. I know you say it's ok to substitute additional heavy cream for the sour cream component of your recipe, but I'm wondering if Greek yogurt might work. Or am I better off just sticking to heavy cream?
Nina: You could likely add them to a bread or muffin batter. You could try washing and drying them on a low oven, until re-crisp.
Debbie: Yes, Greek yogurt would certainly work in place of the sour cream in my recipes.
Jared: Ice cream, if left out, will invariably turn into a runny mixture again and I'm not sure there's anything you can do about it. Cuisinart makes a Soft-Serve ice cream maker. I haven't used one, but it might be what you're looking for.
Erik: I generally add liquor to ice cream mixtures before churning. For best results, I don't use more than 4 tablespoons per quart (liter) of ice cream. You would have to play around with infusions as I'm not entirely certain what's in a Manhattan, although I like them very much!
kathy: All mixtures benefit from being as cold as possible before churning. It reduces the size of the ice crystals, but those mixtures that are uncooked, it's possible to just freeze them right away since they're not hot. For your corn syrup question, check out my post: When to Use (and Not Use) Corn Syrup.
David,
I am loving your book The Perfect Scoop! My wife and I have discovered that we really prefer Philadelphia style ice creams and not French custard style which to our sensibility taste too rich and "pasty".
My question is, can your recipes that use egg yolks be modified in some reliable way to make them Philadelphia style? Is there a conversion secret? I want to try all your recipes in the Philadelphia style if possible.
By the way, what an amazing web site. We are traveling to Paris soon and can't wait to use your suggestions. Thanks for your generosity!
Scott Jones
Making (and loving) more ice cream makes more questions . . . Do you have a recipe for peach sorbet or sherbet? Or can peaches be used in the apricot sorbet recipe with those same amounts of water, sugar, and vanilla? Do you have a recipe for creme anglaise (which would be good with your chocolate sorbet)? Thanks.
Scott: No there is no standard conversion that I know of. I tried to do a good mix of both recipes, since not everyone wants to make a custard, yet some prefer to do so. (And have a great trip to Paris!)
kathy: There's a recipe for Peach Sorbet in The Perfect Scoop (page 125), at the end of the Nectarine Sorbet recipe. You can find my recipe for crème anglaise here on the site.
David,
I think I have this ice cream business down but I am trying to step it up to ice cream CAKE and was wondering what is the best kind to use? first try I made traditional almondrado pound cake with espresso ice cream. Everything was perfect except the pound cake because all the butter froze super the cake super hard and it wasn't soft at all. If I just switch the butter to crisco will that make it soften? or is there a better kind of cake to use?
My 20th birthday is the 22nd and my family is trying to work out a praline blackberry ice cream with amaretto chocolate cake and chambord whip cream frosting. We basically are just fumbling with the cake part and if you have any suggestions please let me know! I wish I could experiment more on my own but the ingredients are expensive so I thought I would cheat and ask an expert/my favorite Parisian, for help.
Thank you so much,
Gabrielle
p.s. I tried getting the perfect scoop but my library doesn't have it :(
Thanks David for the feedback! I wil start experimenting.....
I have two children allergic to soya and dairy products, do you have a recipie for rice-milk ice-cream or anything similar that isnt sorbet?
kids would truly love to eat something that resembles ice-cream
Thanks
k: I don't have much experience in non-dairy ice creams but there are two books I've heard that are good, that you might want to check out:
The Vegan Scoop: 150 Recipes for Dairy-Free Ice Cream
Vice Cream
Kathy again. I bought some (pure) pistachio paste--I had to buy Trablit because I couldn't find any Bronte--to make your gelato, and it was heavenly. Now I want to make your other pistachio recipes which call for shelled nuts. How many shelled nuts are equivalent to how much paste? Thanks.
Hi David,
Thanks for the plethora of information on this site...I'm loving it!
I still have a couple of questions on strawberry ice cream which I simply can't get right despite several attempts.
1) I realised that after several minutes of churning, the mixture developed white lumpy bits. Is it a result of over churning or are the fats separating?
More importantly...
2) Many people use a hand whisk and the ice cream turns out fine but I'm having a hard time getting the mixture to 'bulk up' despite using a hand-held electric blender! And if I persist long enough, the lumpy bits appear...help!
Thanks again, David.
Hi David - I've got a ton of watermelon in the fridge right now, so the sorbet in your book seems like the perfect solution to make sure it all gets used up before going bad. I was just wondering how crucial you think the optional vodka in the recipe is - is it just a taste difference with/without it, or a texture one? We don't have any vodka in the house right now, so any other alcohol(s) that you think would be a good substitute (I know we have brandy, kirsch, rum, whisky, pretty much everything but vodka!)?
Thanks!
sarah: Because watermelon has lot of water, and little pulp, the alcohol is there to prevent it from freezing too hard. Another one can be swapped out, to your liking.
Clicky: The lumps should disappear once frozen. Making ice cream without a machine won't yield the same results as with one. You might want to invest in an inexpensive machine, which will help bulk up your ice cream if you're doing it by hand.
great, thanks so much - any alcohol you specifically would or would not recommend?
Hi David - I just wanted to let you know that I ended up using Cachaça (Leblon brand) for the watermelon sorbet, and I think it's actually the perfect complement to the juicy melon and lime. Thanks again for the great recipes!
Hi, David!
Funny enough, I have another question about watermelon sorbet. Instead of blending everything together, I decided to press the pulp in a cheesecloth, so I would be able to get only the pure juice.
Since I'll have only the juice, without pulp, I do believe I'll need some alcohol, and I thought of adding some red wine. What do you think of this combination, and, in this case, how much wine should I add, for about 1 quart juice?
Okay so I go to school at johnson and wales as a baking pastry student, a bunch of my friends are culinary students and they have to take beverage service. Somehow as a part of this class they get to try chocolate covered goat cheese, and every single one of them goes running to a baking pastry student claiming it is the best thing they have ever eaten and that they NEED to make it into an ice cream (especially spring trimester). So how do I go about doing this, I tried my own recipe once and it was an EPIC fail. im not sure if i should make a dark chocolate ice cream and swirl a softened goat cheese in or make goat cheese ice cream and swirl dark chocolate in or maybe marble chocolate and goat cheese ice cream. If you could come up with something to mimic that flavor then I would be eternally grateful. Thanks so much.
Layla: Perhaps the Goat Cheese Ice Cream (pg 62) in The Perfect Scoop might be what you're looking for. A few chocolate ideas, like tartufo or stracciatella, might add the right chocolate touch, too.
Hi, I have looked at a number of ice cream cookbooks and many of them always add lemon juice to fruit ice creams/sherbets/sorbets. Why is that? When I follow these recipes I find that I cannot eat the results, at least not for long, it is so tart. (I mean, lemon on raspberries?) Do your cookbook's recipes also require lemon? I have not been able to make successful fruit-based ice cream, sherbets, or sorbets since I got my machine.
I also have not had any luck with making uncooked custard ice creams (it's been so long that I don't remember exactly what was wrong with it), or really, ice creams with anything but heavy cream. Half and half and light cream always turn out worse than whole milk which is not as good as heavy cream. It's delicious but they are too icy and hard after being in the freezer. Heavy cream, on the other hand, has a good texture, but the mouthfeel is a little like drinking heavy cream. Is there any way to compromise the two effects? I have a basic Cuisinart home electric churner.
Right now my aim is (still!) to make a good basic vanilla ice cream, but with all the recipes out there, I still can't seem to get it right. Once I do that I hope I can move on to my true goal--that of making fruit ice creams (though your Caramelized White Chocolate Ice Cream sounds like something I'd like too.) Thanks for your wonderful website!
Donna: Most fruit and berry ice creams and sorbets use a bit of lemon juice to balance the sweetness (if you reduce the sugar, they'll freeze too hard.) But you really only need less than a teaspoon per quart, or just a few drops. I don't know which recipes you're using, but if it's too strong, you can dial back the lemon juice, to taste.
I don't make uncooked custards since people have concerns about raw eggs, but there are plenty of Philadelphia-style ice creams in my book that don't have any eggs. (None of the fruit ice creams use eggs, and there's lots of frozen yogurts, too.)
Check out my post (linked above) on Making Homemade Ice Cream Softer for tips on how to keep ice cream soft during storage.
I was making your chocolate ice cream for a party tonight but I guess I thickened the custard too much; the ice cream totally congealed into a mousse in the fridge last night. What can I do? Should I still churn it? Please help!
hi j: You can just give it a brisk whisking and it should thin out and be pourable. That's mentioned in the recipe for Chocolate Ice Cream (page 26), as something to do if the mixture becomes too thick, to make it churnable.
I was recently in Belgium where I tasted yogurt ice cream. Since then I've been looking for a recipe. I've tried the basic custard with yogurt added as flavoring just before churning. It works out okay but not the same. Any suggestions?
Hi Lydia: I've not made a Yogurt Ice Cream because I think the egg flavor wouldn't jibe with the yogurt.
So I do just a straight Vanilla Frozen Yogurt. There's a recipe in The Perfect Scoop (pg 49) if you have the book, and if you strain the yogurt first, as indication in the variation, you'll get a much stronger yogurt flavor.
Another tip is to add a few granules of citric acid, to perk it up.
I tried making your absinthe ice cream today and it turned out soooo yummy, but pretty soft. I have added alcohol to ice cream and sorbets in the past, but cooked it down first...is that what I should do here as well?
Thanks!
david - frequent reader, first time poster (although i've had a far-away love affair with elise bauer's 'simply recipes').
there was a nice article in the local paper this weekend about a woman who chose to change careers from nursing to gourmet chocolate, and i couldn't help noticing who one of her inspirations was (read to end of article).
take a bow. ;^)
http://blog.nj.com/iamnj/2009/09/diane_pinder.html
Hi david, i adore ur vanilla icecream recipe ( philadelphia style) ! im wondering if i can somehow use the same recipe to do a chocolate ice cream? i tried the chocolate recipe in Perfect scoop, but the icecream came out with many tiny bits of chocolate. Im pretty sure i melted the chocolate thoroughly. Using chocolate powder came out disastrous , with a coarse sandy texture . Sigh. Please help, i can't wait to make a successful chocolate icecream! thanks!
Hi E: It's very important to blend the mixture for 30 seconds before chilling and churning it. That step is indicated in the method and breaks up any tiny bits of chocolate and makes the mixture smooth.
I'm getting ready to make your luscious-sounding Roasted Plum Ice Cream, and am wondering how much of the liquid to puree with the fruit, or, more to the point, how much puree should there ultimately be to mix with the cream, and about how thick? I'm trying to get the right consistency for freezing with the smidge of alcohol, want the ice cream to set up properly and not be too melty. Thank you!
Hi Beth: Am not sure which recipe you're referring to for Roasted Plum Ice Cream. There's a recipe in The Perfect Scoop (page 77) where the plums are simmered on the stovetop. If that's the recipe, then you puree the plums and any liquid and the sugar.
We usually drink 2% milk. When making your ice cream, I would like to know how much heavy cream to add to 2% milk so I don't have to also buy whole milk. Many of the recipes in The Perfect Scoop call for 3 cups of cream in a double recipe (why make one?) The fourth cup of cream from a quart could be used to add to the 2% milk making the recipe cheaper and use the unused portion of the quart.
Jerry: I don't know the exact conversion, but I would say that roughly equal parts cream and 2% milk would approximate whole milk.
If you're good at math and want to be extra-precise, heavy cream is approximately 35% fat and whole milk is 8%.
Greetings from Dallas!
As an ice cream fanatique, I've very much enjoyed The Perfect Scoop! Everything has been GREAT except my recent attempt at Chocolate-Tangerine Sorbet. It had excellent flavor but was quite grainy. Obviously, I did something wrong with the chocolate, but I THOUGHT it was all melted and it never got too hot. I used Scharffen Berger Semisweet (62 cacao). I would love to perfect this and I'd appreciate any tips making it, preferred chocolates, etc.
Thanks!
Deb.
P.S. I hope you're coming back to Dallas before too long...!
Hi Deborah: I've not had that happen before, but with many of the new chocolates, sometimes the higher percentages can be a bit grainy, even when melted. You can melt the sorbet down, warm it enough to melt those bits of chocolate, then whiz it in a blender for about 15 seconds, which should do the trick.
Would love to come back to Dallas...but for vacation...or for the ribs!
; )
Wow--what a transformation!
Now, next time I make this recipe should I use a different chocolate and/or melt the chocolate more completely in the sugar/water syrup before adding the tangerine juice? I was a little nervous about letting the mixture boil....
You're the best!
Thanks,
Deborah
Hi David,
You are my go-to for all things frozen and delicious, so who else would I turn to with this question?
I want to make ice cream flavored like an Old Pal cocktail (like a Negroni, but subbing rye for gin), but I'm kind of stumped at how best to attack this problem.
Do you have any advice?
Thank you so much,
Karyna
Karyna: I'm not familiar with that cocktail but in general, I don't advise adding more that 1 tablespoon of 40% liquor to 1 cup (250 ml) ice cream base because it may not freeze properly. Good luck!
Like everyone else here, The Perfect Scoop is my go-to ice cream cookbook. Thank you for making such wonderful ice cream accessible to home cooks.
I'm considering upgrading to the cuisinart supreme ice cream maker ice-50bc, which I know you recommend. My question is, do you use extra removable bowls? And if so, is the ice cream produced in them the same as ice cream made in the built in bowl? I'm trying to decide if I should invest in some of those, too, so I can make different flavours one after the other, since I assume you can't clean out the built-in bowl directly after making ice cream (it would need to warm to room temperature).
Many thanks.
I do use a Cuisinart ICE-50 for my ice creams and shorbets but have never felt a need to own an extra reusable bowl. Because the insert (bowl) slips out and you can clean it very easily, and can pretty much freeze one flavor right after the other.
I haven't done a side-by-side comparison with ice cream made in various machines (who has room?) but am happy with the ice cream that my machine produces. As I mentioned in my post about buying an ice cream maker, most of it depends on your budget, and how often you plan to make ice cream.
David,
I have had great success with so many recipes in the The Perfect Scoop! This week I tried to make the Green Tea Ice Cream recipe and I'm not sure what happened. The recipe calls for 4 teaspoons of matcha, which I was able to find at my Asian market. However, I didn't get the beautiful green colored ice cream and the flavor was very subtle. I have actually never had Green Tea ice cream and am wondering how strong the flavor and color should be? Thanks! -Naomi