This is my new way to make ice-cream. For bulk I make up the mixture for 2 batches and store in the fridge until it’s cool, usually overnight, and just churn each, one at a time on the same day, in succession.
During September and October we get 2 goose eggs each day so I make ice-cream. Sometimes it’s a large ice cream cake, it could be a bunch of paddle pops or just a 1 litre tub of ice-cream. I usually make an assortment of ice cream flavours for Christmas desert and have enough to last for the coming year.
I have now completely changed the way I make ice cream. I was never happy with the taste and texture of my ice cream. It had the best quality ingredients but there was sometimes an oily mouth feel and it was rock hard. It was not as amazing as it should have been considering the cost of the ingredients, time and effort that was involved.
I bought a new ice cream machine which has the refrigeration built in and I worked on getting air into what was my normally rock hard ice cream.
I now process the egg yolks and sugar together in a blender until the sugar had dissolved and the mix is a pale, almost fluffy, yellow. Half of the milk/cream mixture is put in the freezer to get it really cold and the other half is heated to 83°C in a saucepan with a digital temperature probe. The hot milk is added to the whisked egg and sugar in the mixer to be tempered then it is blended a bit more (about 4 minutes) with a digital thermometer in the top until the temperature reaches 83°C.
The beaten, tempered mix is then added to the super cold cream/milk mixture, refrigerated overnight, and then churned.
DOUBLE BATCH FRENCH STYLE ICE-CREAM in the high speed processor
This is a great, quick way to make a few batches of ice-cream without a lot of effort. This gives two approximately x 1.2 litre batches of ice cream in my machine. The cooking and mixing is done in one go and then churned one batch at a time, in succession.
Although the proportion of milk, cream and egg yolks doesn’t seem to need to be super accurate I have decided to use a weight for the yolks so it doesn’t matter what type of eggs I use. In my house it could be chicken, duck or goose. These are home grown eggs, not graded so the sizes can vary depending on the age, the time of year and breed of poultry.
This recipe uses whole container quantities of cream and milk, I hate waste and I hate having things hanging around in the fridge.
It is such a fuss-free way of making the ice-cream mixture that it barely takes half an hour and the only washing up is a jug, a spatula, a saucepan, the mixer and at the end, the churn tub.
Things to get together
- a bowl or large jug (not necessary if a high-speed mixer is involved)
- a medium saucepan
- a high speed food processor/blender
- 1 empty 2 litre milk carton or a 2 litre jug for the cream/milk mix
- containers to store the ice-cream in when finished. I use 1 litre containers.
- an instant read thermometer
- rubber spatula
Ingredients
- 600 ml cream (1 x 600ml)
- 1000 ml milk (1 x litre)
- 250g white sugar (can use brown for a taste difference)
- 300g egg yolks
- 2 tsps vanilla extract or vanilla paste or a combination of both
- Pinch salt
- 1 shot of alcohol of choice per churned batch, choose your flavour depending on the flavour of the ice-cream – I don’t use it for paddle-pops as they need to be fairly hard and don’t need to be scooped out of a container.
- optional add-ins
- optional flavours
Method
- This requires a huge jug – around 2 litres or use a 2 litre milk container. Measure out the milk and cream and shake and stir to mix them well. It is a good idea to have an additional milk container for after the mix is turned into custard.
- Put just under half the jug of milk and cream mixture into a saucepan. Place the container with the remaining mix in the freezer or fridge. It needs to be cold enough to cool the custard to stop it turning to scrambled eggs.
- Put the yolks, salt, vanilla and sugar in the bowl in a high speed food processor.
- Heat the cream mix in the saucepan with a digital thermometer resting on the handle. Heat the mixture, stirring occasionally, until small bubbles are forming on the edges and it is just simmering and the temperature has reached 83°C. I have overheated many times, just wait for it to cool to 83°C before adding to the eggs.
- If you are infusing flavour into the mix it is good to add the flavour to the milk/cream mix and heat on low for at least half an hour. For something like mint or lemon myrtle remove the herbs after this time then start whipping the eggs and sugar. Remove the leaves or infusion ingredients before adding to the egg yolks.
- Meanwhile process until the egg and sugar mix until the sugar is dissolved and the mix has changed to a creamy pale yellow.
- When the egg mixture is light and creamy coloured pour the warmed milk slowly into the egg mixture, with the machine running slowly. This tempers the egg mix and stops you getting scrambled eggs.
- Now turn the mixer up to high speed and insert a digital thermometer in the top and wait until the temperature reaches 83ºC and we have cooked custard.
- Next get out the super cold milk and cream mix and pour as much as you can into the custard mix in the food processor while it is running slowly.
- Now it is a bit of a juggle to get the custard mix and the cold milk mix stirred up between the jugs.
- Put the mix into the fridge to chill over-night before churning.
CHURNING
- Briefly shake or stir each batch before adding to the churn. Add the custard and a shot of alcohol (if using) to the churn. Choose something that complements the flavour. The alcohol helps to stop the ice cream setting too hard. The mix should be just above the paddle. It will expand as it chills.
- Add any flavours and add-ins that need to be fully incorporated. Leave the things that should be in chunks, like cookie dough or chocolate chunks, until the churn is nearly complete
- Churn until set.
- Put the churn tub into the freezer for an hour to continue setting or put the custard straight into the container it will be stored in.
- Don’t forget to label the containers with the flavour.
Biscoff biscuits make amazing ice-cream sandwiches.
