Welcome to the second Stonesoup Virtual Cookery School Class for 2011!
For those of you who are new, the transcript below is pretty much exactly the same as the video. Some people like to learn by watching, others by reading so this way everyone is happy!
ice cream love
Of all the classes in the Stonesoup Virtual Cookery School Calendar, this is the only one that is 100% pure self indulgence on my behalf. You see I have a massive weakness for ice cream. While I could imagine surviving in a world without chocolate or cakes or puddings or pies, the thought of living in an ice cream-free world just doesn’t compute inside my tiny brain.
So when I was pulling together a list of the classes for this year, this was the only class that was just for me. No one has ever asked for a class on making ice cream, but I’m hoping you enjoy it just the same.
I should also mention that I’ve finally got rid of my very un-minimalist expensive ice cream machine. I’ve been on the quest to find a method for making ice cream without it for at least the last three years and I’m happy to say I’ve finally cracked it. I’m now able to make ice cream as good, if not better than back in my old ice cream machine addiction days.
Yep I’m now free of the machine but more importantly, when I come across a recipe that finishes with the words ‘freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions’, I get excited about the possibility of adapting this new flavour sensation to my machine-free ways.
And soon so will you!
how ice cream is made traditionally
First you make a custard using egg yolks, sugar and cream. Sometimes milk is used as well. This is tricky in itself because you need to heat it enough to get the eggs to thicken, but no so much that they curdle. And it’s a fine line!
The custard is then cooled for a few hours or ideally overnight. Then it is ‘churned’ in an ice cream machine. Which means it is frozen with constant stirring. This works to break up any ice crystals as they form so you get lots of teeny-tiny crystals which give you the lovely smooth creamy mouth feel.
In commercial ice cream factories, they also whip air into the mixture as it is being frozen because air also helps to give a lovely smooth texture. And it also has the bonus of being free. You’ll notice that ice cream is mostly sold by volume not weight. So it’s in the manufacturer’s interest to fill the container with as much air and as little cream as possible.
Air in ice cream isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It makes the texture lighter and creamy and it also mean for the same sized scoop, a more airy ice cream will have less calories.
our machine-free methods and how they work
There are actually a few different methods you can use to make ice cream at home without a machine (apart from your freezer!)
1. classic ice cream – high sugar + air
This is the method we’ll use for most of the ice creams in the class. And it’s the same as the method I blogged about last month.
Basically, the real secret to creamy ice cream is to make conditions difficult for the ice crystals to form. The simplest way to do that is add lots of sugar. This decreases the freezing point of the overall mixture so that even when it gets to the temperature inside your freezer, big ice crystals just aren’t able to form. Instead the mixture remains creamy and smooth and pretty much everything you’d want in an iced dessert.
The second secret is to add air. Which is why we whip the cream. I have made ice cream without the whipping step but the results were very dense and the mouth feel was a little fatty and not as nice as the whipped cream version.
2. customising commercial ice creams – outsourcing the churning
If you’re short on time, this option is a brilliant life-saver. Here we’re outsourcing the churning by using ice cream that’s already churned and frozen with tiny ice crystals. Just be careful you don’t soften it too much or your ice cream will have icky large ice crystals when it refreezes.
Just pop your favourite commercial ice cream in the fridge for 1/2 hour to soften, then transfer to a bowl and stir in your favourite ingredients whether it’s some choc chips, raw cookie dough, pecan praline, or your favourite cheese cake or brownies chopped up into chunks. Then pop it back in the freezer for an hour or so and your guests will be admiring your creativity!
You can also use this approach to make something like our raspberry ripple. Soften 2 different commercial ice creams and then scoop them into a separate container in chunks, following the raspberry ripple instruction. Freeze for an hour or so and then serve in scoops.
3. starting with a frozen mass
In this method we freeze something in the normal way, like a banana or other fruit. Then just before serving we whizz it in the food processor which breaks up the ice crystals and give a lovely smooth sorbet-like texture.
4. liquid nitrogen
One day I’d love to try making ice cream using liquid nitrogen, but until I get my hands on some I’ll stick to our methods number 1 and 2. But if you’re interested, liquid nitrogen is super cold so if you add it to an ice cream mixture it freezes it almost instantly. The faster something freezes the smaller the ice crystals are (just think they don’t have time to grow) so the end result is lovely creamy ice cream that Heston Blumenthal would be proud of.
5. harnessing the special properties of cocoa powder
My first success with machine-free ice cream was a rich dark chocolate number from my pre-5 ingredients days. I’m not 100% sure how it works but something about the physical particles of cocoa powder inhibit ice crystal formation. This gives lovely rich creamy chocolate ice cream where you wouldn’t excpect it.
general tips for making ice cream
cream
The best cream to use is fresh whipping cream. Cream terminology can be really confusing all over the world. Basically it it will whip, you should be fine. But for those of you who prefer more details, I’ve found pure cream with 35% milk fat (the pack should tell you the % milk fat, or check the nutrition information – you want it to be around 35g fat per 100g cream) to be the best.
Initially I was using thickened cream because that’s what my Mum used to use to whip. But after doing a taste test I’ve decided that pure cream tastes cleaner and better so I now use just pure cream without any gelatine or vegetable gum thickeners.
sugar
We’re using icing sugar, aka confectioner’s sugar or powdered sugar because it has the finest sugar crystals which means it will dissolve really easily into the water part of the cream.
whipping equipment
You could use a wire whisk to whip your cream or a hand held ‘egg beater’. I’ve made ice cream with a whisk many times and it gives a nice little work out. For the videos I was using my electric stand mixer because it would have taken me forever to whip each by hand.
It’s critical that you don’t over-whip the cream. If cream gets too whipped it loses its smoothness and goes a bit rough. As soon as the mixture stops looking smooth and glossy stop whipping. If you’re unsure, it’s better to under-whip and have a bit less air than to go too far.
freezing containers
Metal containers are best because they conduct heat (and cold) more quickly and efficiently than other materials. I tend to use glass because that’s what I have and it’s fine.
You don’t necessarily need something with a lid if it’s only going to be in the freezer for 24hours or so. Cling wrap is fine. But for longer periods of time it’s preferable to have a proper lid to prevent freezer burn on your ice cream. It also stops freezer odours contaminating your treasure.
The size and shape of your container can make a difference to the freezing time. A larger surface area will freeze more quickly because there’s less distance for the cold to travel into the middle of the container. So flatter larger containers are better than round or square ones.
additives
For crunchy treasures in your ice cream, you need to think about whether there’s any risk that the moisture in the cream could interact with your additive and make it go soggy. In commercial ice creameries, crunchy additives like honeycomb, cookie pieces, nuts, or praline are all coated either with chocolate or a very fine film of fat before being added to the ice cream mixture. This fat forms a barrier around the crunchy piece, protecting it from the water.
For home cooks, it’s best to either stick to chocolate coated additives. Alternatively you can stir in the additives or sprinkle over just before serving to avoid sogginess. Although sometimes the sogginess, like chocolate brownie ice cream can be a good thing.
other flavourings
It’s really common in traditional ice cream making to infuse different flavours into the cream or custard by heating say a cinnamon stick or a vanilla bean with the cream and letting them stand for a while. Unfortunately once cream is heated it no longer whips. I did try a batch of infused cream that wouldn’t whip hoping it would still be OK when it was frozen but unfortunately it was heavy and dense and not the greatest.
If you do want to use an infusion, best to infuse your flavour into 1/4 cup of the cream and then whip the remaining cream and stir through the flavoured cream at the end.
The alternative is to look at other methods to add different flavours. You could use ground cinnamon instead of the stick or scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and use them to flavour, saving the pod for another use.
how to adapt regular ice cream recipes to machine-free
Now rather than just teaching you 10 different ice creams, I want to give you some ice cream super powers. So next time you’re flicking through your favourite food magazine or blog and you come along a dreamy-looking recipe that you’re itching to try you’ll have the confidence to try it out using our method.
1. Ask yourself how they are adding the flavour. Is it just stirred through at the end like my pistachio nougat ice cream? Or is it an infusion like my rosemary scented ice cream? Then you know how you’re going to add the flavour.
2. Then look through the ice creams in the class and figure out which one would be the best match in terms of the base? Classic vanilla? Caramel? Chocolate? Or could you use the frozen fruit sorbet method?
3. Then finally compare quantities to work out how much flavour to add, or how much ice cream base to make. For example the rosemary scented ice cream uses 600mL (2 1/2 cups) cream and 300mL (1 1/4 cups) milk so the total volume is 900mL (or 3 3/4 cups) and 4 sprigs rosemary. Or classic vanilla uses 300mL (1 1/4 cups) cream so I’d probably use 1 1/2sprigs rosemary for this amount – infuse the rosemary in 1/4 cups cream and cool. Then whip the remaining cream and sugar as per our standard classic vanilla recipe, skip the vanilla. Add the infused rosemary cream to the classic base and freeze as per normal. Too easy.
4. If you’re still a bit unsure just email. All good.
a note about alcohol
Alcohol will also decrease the freezing point of an ice cream. So it can help in our quest for making luscious creamy ice cream. But as in all of life, too much booze is a bad thing and your ice cream may not freeze at all. So use sparingly.
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