3.06.2012

Ice Cream 101


So my youngest grandchild was here last week. He likes ice cream as much as his grandmother does. I told him I'd make him his favorite ice creams and he could do some tasting while it was being frozen. That brought a big smile. 

I'd do just about anything for a smile, wouldn't you?

We began with basic strawberry. I've never seen a child eat as many fresh strawberries as this one does. Now, there's no point dressing up a recipe with this kid, so forget liqueurs, nuts, spices and all those other things we food bloggers love to add for fun. These are basic, plain ice cream recipes. And are they ever good. My 5 year old grandson says so.

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream
Gourmet  | June 2001



Ingredients:

1  3/4 cups heavy cream
3 (3- by 1-inch) strips fresh lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 lb strawberries (3 cups), trimmed and quartered
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Method:

Combine cream, zest, and salt in a heavy saucepan and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and discard zest. 
Whisk eggs with 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking. Pour back into saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and an instant-read thermometer registers 170°F (do not let boil). 
Immediately pour custard through a fine sieve into a metal bowl, then cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Chill, overed, at least until cold, about 2 hours, and up to 1 day. 
While custard is chilling, purée strawberries with remaining 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice in a blender until smooth, then force through fine sieve (to remove seeds) into chilled custard. Stir purée into custard. 
Freeze in ice-cream maker, then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

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And his absolute, hands down favorite: Chocolate. (Not
 his grandmother's favorite however. LOL) Now I wanted to make it darker and use bittersweet chocolate, but dared not. So I used some semi-sweet morsels I had left over.

Chocolate Ice Cream

From The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolk. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over the medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (170°F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. 
(If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.)And it was....almost like pudding as I left it in the fridge over night. I whisked it and it froze perfectly.

Does he love ice cream or what?

(He got a little sunburn on his shoulder...ouch! Wore a diving skin from then on.)

34 comments:

  1. That picture of your grandson is priceless! ;-) Lovely ice creams. I totally understand why he loves them so much.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Homemade ice cream is the best. I just adore that picture of him digging into his bowl!

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  3. What a great way to entertain a grandchild Barbara. He's adorable by the say. And yes, anything for a smile from a 5 year old.
    Sam

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  4. I love ice cream. It doesn't like me.

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  5. He is adorable dear Barbara and I love Ice cream too! yours look awesome!

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  6. oh this post is adorable what a great grandma you are

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  7. Cute photo of your grand, and it's clear both of you thoroughly enjoyed the ice cream sessions!

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  8. He's adorable, Barbara, great shot of him digging right in! And smart because ice cream doesn't need all that stuff, it's just plain good :) Fun post!

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  9. You cannot beat home-made ice cream. I love it. I love that you add a bit of lemon to the custard for the strawberry ice cream. Must try that next time.

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  10. Oh man...ice cream... you have discovered my weakness! I'm obsessed with the stuff! :) Both recipes look delicious, thanks for sharing!

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  11. Your are a wonderful grandmother to make ice cream for him and he looks adorable eating it ;0

    I'm with you on the dark chocolate in ice cream but they both look creamy and wonderful.

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  12. Who's having more fun? Him or you? Both probably! I'm just back from Argentina, where icecream is particularly good..Simple flavors like yours are still my favorite!
    Thanks!

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  13. He is really enjoying himself:) I love to see a child actually eat food. So many of them just sit and pick.

    My 5 year old loves ice cream more than anything too. I know he would devour both the strawberry and the chocolate.

    Sounds like you all had a great time!

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  14. Your grandson is so adorable eating your ice cream! I wasn't quite sure whether or not he assisted you in the cooking?

    I'm not too excited by chocolate but the strawberry looks amazing. And you're quite right, less is more. No seed to dress something up that is already perfect.

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  15. Barbara, your grandson is so cute...and this picture of him eating chocolate ice cream is just precious.
    I will save these recipes, because I still have to make ice cream with my machine...
    Hope you are having a wonderful week :)

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  16. So cute! And what a sweet grandma for making all his favorite flavors!

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  17. Yum! I have never made strawberry. Sunburn, eh? I would love to have a little sunburn!

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  18. Cute grandson! And he's enjoying his ice cream.
    Those both look so good; I'd have to have a scoop of both!

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  19. I do hope he'll visit more often. I love your ice cream recipes. We eat it all year round but the recipes you are sharing with us today are really special. Give that little guy my thanks for being your inspiration/excuse :-). Have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

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  20. You're the best grandma ever! So cute!

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  21. Oh wow.....I am drooling here! :D Love both your ice creams. You are just an awesome grandma! But of course, I would do anything for a smile in your place, too :D

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  22. He looks like a lifelong ice-cream lover, like my dad who at 80-something still has to have ice-cream everynight, rain or shine, summer or winter.
    that photo of him is the best! I would have it enlarged and framed and placed in the kitchen with me every day.

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  23. There is nothing that can make a grandmother smile more than a smile from her grandchildren...Let them eat ice cream!

    Your grandson is adorable. No doubt his favorite place is grandma's.

    Velva

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  24. Yummy ice creams! I'm getting ready for warmer weather and planning to make a mint ice cream next week :)

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  25. I think you just earned best grandma EVER status!

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  26. Joy at your table! Little boys and chocolate go together like--well, like little boys and chocolate. I'm with you that I prefer other flavors of ice cream and most especially strawberry. I need to find a new freezer since I dropped and cracked my old one. Any suggestions?

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  27. I love the photo of your grandson, and I think your strawberry ice cream looks amazing. Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best!

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  28. What a wonderful (and popular) grandmother you are to host a homemade ice cream tasting session. Who could resist? Both sound and look great. And what a cutie he is!

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  29. What a cutie! He's a lucky kid with homemade ice cream! Chocolate and strawberry are mine and my hubby's favorite flavors respectively so I'm glad you shared. :)

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  30. best grandma ever! :)
    strawberry for me, please, and i certainly don't need any of that fancy stuff either!

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  31. How fun to make your grandson so happy. He will remember these days of ice cream with you and maybe one day, he'll want the fussier ones, but I'm a purist myself and a kid at heart.

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  32. Yey! I always love to make ice cream especially if its for my kids :)
    i enjoyed watching them while digging my home made chocolate ice cream hiih.
    great post :) thumbs up .

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  33. I think the only thing I can do is hope I'll be a grandmother as cool as you when the time comes :) Great, simple recipes!

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