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These are simple ways to make vanilla bean, cinnamon sugar, chocolate, and coffee bean, ice creams and a thick custard base recipe that works well with examples of pureed poached fruit. 12 flavors of sous vide ice cream ideas also includes coulee making and the different ways the ice cream preparations can be used.
Poached fruit ice cream is an excellent way to use sous-vide technology because it allows you to cook the egg custard base at a temperature hot enough and long enough to remove unwanted pathogens without overcooking the egg and cooks the fruit without losing much of the fruits natural character.
To make different types of fruit puree scale 250 grams of fresh fruit of your choice and 50 grams of a good quality local honey together in a bag that can be sealed airtight. Use separate bags for each flavor and cook as many flavors as you want; banana, blackberries, mango, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, mixed berries, and Bing cherries make great flavors.
Do not take the air out of the bag using the vacuum instead get as much air out as possible and seal the bag airtight. On my machine the heat sealing unit is at the bottom of the machine and used to seal the roll style bags. Double sealing the top ensures the bag will be air tight.
For our purpose sous vide basically means cooking in a water bath with heat circulated water to maintain an exact temperature for long periods of time. After the honey is added to the fruit and the bag is sealed the fruit begins to macerate creating the poaching liquid. Another advantage to using sous-vide methods is that you can cook lots of different flavors at once.
To poach small amounts of fruit cook for 30 minutes at 85 degrees Celsius or 185 degrees Fahrenheit. After the bags of fruit have cooked for 30 minutes transfer them to an ice bath to cool before placing the bags in the refrigerator. Adding anything hot to the refrigerator can cause the refrigerator temperature to rise and add moisture to the rest of the contents of the fridge and create unnecessary wear and tear on the refrigerator's compressor.
This poaching process cooks the fruit all the way through and the fruit keeps its shape but quickly turns to mush when the contents are moved around. Poaching the fruit with a little honey in sealed bags traps the flavor and the bags are easy to store until ready to use. When we poach and chill the fruit a day before we use it the flavors are allowed to develop into stronger fruit flavors.
Adding a little sugar macerates the fruit and cooking the fruit into a compote that is pureed and strained before adding to the custard will create a more stable ice cream that can be frozen hard without the ice cream losing its soft texture. The bags of poached fruit can be used in several different ways and will stay fresh for a few days in the refrigerator after they've been pureed and strained but will stay fresher longer if they're left sealed in the bag.
A compote made from fruit or vegetables that has been pureed and strained can also be used as a thin sauce known as a coulis. The coulis can be used to compliment or contrast flavors and colors to create an elegantly plated dessert presentation, a chocolate tart for example is often paired with a drizzle of raspberry coulis.
Purees can be thinned down with water or other liquids to create the desired consistency however when liquids are added the original fruits intensity will be weakened. When we add pureed fruit to an ice cream we must make the ice cream base a bit thicker to compensate for the added liquid. Instead of equal parts high fat cream and whole milk use only cream and add egg yolks to make the custard more like a crème Brule base.
Scale 8 large size egg yolks, 60 grams of demerara sugar, and 400 grams of high fat cream. Demerara sugar adds earthy caramelized flavors that regular sugar lacks. Mix them together to combine and transfer the mixture to a large freezer bag, drape the bag inside a wide mouth mason jar and use a jar of filling funnel to make it easier to fill the bag. Make sure the seal on the bag is closed and cook the custard in a heated water bath for one hour at 85 degrees Celsius or 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Chill the custard and strain before using. The custard can be thinned with a tablespoon or two of milk or cream to make it easier to pour but the custard can be adjusted with more pureed fruit too.
When it is time to churn the final ice cream add equal amounts of the custard base with equal amounts of pureed fruit and mix well to combine. Taste the ice cream before freezing and make adjustments as needed. Chill down the bowl of an ice cream machine, when the bowl is frosty turn on the paddles and add the custard. The ice cream is ready when it is coming away from the sides of the bowl and is collecting on the paddles. Pack the ice cream into a freezer safe container and place the ice cream in the freezer to harden.
If the banana puree turns out to be a bit thick like this one add a little whole milk but not so much that the banana flavor will be lost. Mix equal parts custard to the puree and mix to combine. Taste and adjust as needed and freeze in an ice cream machine.
To create an ice cream swirl add two flavors to the same jar and use a small spoon to gently bring the two flavors together without over mixing. Banana strawberry and banana chocolate are classic flavor combinations that most people can identify with as comfort food because they taste so good together.
Fruit that is cooked into a custard using the sous-vide method does not produce a better result, some recipes suggest blending all of the ingredients in a blender including the fruit before cooking but the flavor and color get absorbed into the milk fat and can turn a very bright blueberry flavor into jam and the color of the blueberry lightens up several shades so cooking the fruit separately is a better way to go. Sometimes very acidic fruits like too much lemon juice will cause the curd to separate from the whey when it comes to a custard like when making mascarpone cheese.
The sous vide method gently poaches the fruit 15 degrees below the boiling temperature of water for 30 minutes to preserve more of the natural floral flavors. Natural unprocessed ice creams have well developed subtle flavors that will become hidden if too much sugar is added. Instead of making the ice cream extra sweet to compensate for the numbing effect the cold temperatures have on your tongue, add extra syrup or sauce on top as needed when you serve it.
Bumbleberry is a name given to mixed berries cinnamon ice cream swirled in helps to let some of the more subtle berry flavors come to life. A lot of fruit flavors all together can be confusing to the taste buds so the cinnamon ice cream makes the individual berry flavors easier to identify.
There are lots of different formulas to make chocolate ice cream, this recipe is like a cooked chocolate pudding. Add four large egg yolks to a mixing bowl and mix in 60 grams of demerara style brown sugar, 200 grams whole milk, and 200 grams of high fat cream until combined. When making chocolate ice cream with solid chocolate melt the chocolate into the custard after the eggs are cooked.
Make sure the seal on the bag is closed air tight and cook the custard in a heated water bath for one hour at 85 degrees Celsius or 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Strain the custard while it is still hot and work quickly because the custard's temperature needs to be above the temperature of the melting point of chocolate. Chop up 100 grams of a good quality semi-sweet chocolate bar and add it to a mixing bowl, pour the hot custard over top of the chocolate to melt it, gently mix the chocolate into the custard until completely combined.
If the custard is not hot enough and the chocolate seizes up on you place the mixing bowl on top of a pot of hot water to finish combining the ingredients. If the chocolate is not melted into the custard before it is frozen the chocolate ice cream will turn out granular and have a strange color. Transfer the mixture to a container and allow the custard to cool completely in the refrigerator. The chocolate bar thickens the custard as it cools and when frozen creates a chewy fudge texture.
To make coffee bean ice cream freshly roasted coffee beans create the best flavor. I am using 60 grams of freshly roasted arabica beans from Colombia, for a 500 milliliter batch of ice cream which is at least the equivalent caffeine dose of two shots of espresso. When I use coffee beans as an ingredient in ice cream I choose a lighter roast. You want to extract the flavor of the bean not make filtered coffee so choose a coarser grind to make it easier to filter the grinds out but still grind the beans fine enough to extract the beans flavor and set the grinds aside.
Scale 4 large egg yolks into a mixing bowl and mix in 60 grams of demerara style brown sugar, 200 grams of whole milk, and 200 grams of high fat cream. Sous vide is an ice cream maker's companion because being able to control the exact temperature of the egg avoids overcooking them. Mix in the coffee grinds just before you cook the custard, the time the grind spend in liquid changes the coffee flavor, essentially the coffee is brewed in the freezer bag so if you want the more intense very powerful bitter earthy flavors to come forward leave the grinds in the bag longer.
Cooking the custards on the stove the old fashioned way of stirring the eggs in a pot on a burner is more labor intensive but faster if you're in a hurry. After the lengthy cooking and cooling times the smaller remaining grinds dissolve into the cream to create a cookies and cream-like texture with a very bright roasted coffee bean flavor. Freezing the ice cream in small batches works better because the faster you freeze the custard the less chance ice crystals will form for an excellent mocha flavor swirl equal amounts of coffee bean ice cream into chocolate ice cream being careful not to over mix them.
125 milliliter mason jars or three to four ounces of ice cream is about the right portion size for a rich and caffeine laced ice cream like this one. Chocolate coffee bean swirl ice cream served with black and white brownie and two different hot fudge sauces chocolate and butterscotch are all traditional recipes that taste really good together but the other flavors of ice creams are fun to use too. The fruit coolies can be used instead of or with the hot fudge sauces to create unique flavors.
To make cinnamon ice cream scale four large egg yolks into a mixing bowl, add 60 grams of cinnamon sugar, 200 grams of whole milk, and 200 grams of high fat cream. Cinnamon ice cream is a great alternative to vanilla and the cinnamon flavor can be intensified by adding more cinnamon or dust cinnamon sugar over top when serving. There are two different types of cinnamon you can try when making cinnamon sugar ice cream. The cinnamon used in this recipe is cassia because it was the type of cinnamon stick available at the supermarket but true aficionados of the cinnamon bun say the cinnamon has to be Ceylon so it might be fun to experiment with the two different types.
To make powdered cinnamon sugar pulverize 200 grams cane sugar with 10 grams of cinnamon stick. Sift and store in a dry airtight container away from the heat.
Vanilla ice cream has been enjoyed for centuries Thomas Jefferson wrote a recipe for vanilla ice cream during the 1780's and the flavor of ice cream is still popular today. Classic ice cream sauce recipes like Escoffier's cherries jubilee and Brennan's banana fosters would not be the same without a rich vanilla ice cream custard to melt into it.
To make classic vanilla custard ice cream scale four large egg yolks into a mixing bowl, split a vanilla bean down it's center and scrape the seeds and add the vanilla bean to the bowl. Add 60 grams of cane sugar, 200 grams of whole milk, 200 grams of high fat cream and mix them together. Transfer the mixture to a ziploc freezer bag, make sure the bag is sealed and cook the custard in a heated water bath for one hour at 85 degrees Celsius or 185 degrees Fahrenheit. The custard should be noticeably thicker the next day and have a slightly more intense flavor.
Not chilling down the bowl of the ice cream maker and not allowing the custard to chill completely before adding it to the machine will create an icy texture because it'll take three times as long to freeze the batch of ice cream. The faster the custard freezes limits the chance for larger ice crystals to form.
Ice pop molds are another way to serve ice cream instead of churning the custard in an ice cream machine it is poured into a mold to harden. Measure 50 milliliters of fruit coulis using a large measured shot glass and pour into the bottom of an ice pop mold, use a funnel to direct the sauce to the bottom of the mold, and place the molds in the freezer to harden for 30 minutes. This is not enough time for the pop to freeze hard so the center will still be soft enough to insert the ice pop stick when you add the next layer.
Cherry, strawberry, and bumbleberry topped with vanilla ice cream create poached fruit dipped vanilla ice pops, add the lid and gently press the ice pop stick into the center of the bottom layer so you can freeze the stick standing straight. Place the molds on the bottom of the freezer to harden overnight.
When it is time to release the molds we need to work quickly before the pops start to melt. You can hold the mold under hot tap water for a few seconds but using a 500 ml mason jar filled with hot tap water and dipping the mold into it for a few seconds works the best. The ice pops need to be served before they melt or place them back into the freezer. A chilled down small sheet pan with parchment paper will help stop them from melting too quickly.
Poached fruit coulis is very flavorful but it is also very high in sugar if the fruit is ripe so the frozen texture as the ice pop melts is soft. The vanilla ice cream is also soft but more chewy and will melt a little slower and more uniformly because of the eggs.