"The Perfect Scoop" by David Lebovitz on ice cream

[Darienne]

I didn't find any notes anywhere about chocolate cornstarch ice cream, so you might be a pioneer! 

Adding fat as cocoa butter will change the mouthfeel -- might make it better, who knows.  To keep the texture the same, use cocoa solids (powder) only.  "Dutch Process" cocoa powder is less acidic than regular, and brings a milder flavor.

First I'd try thoroughly whisking 4T (1/4c) quality dutch-process cocoa powder into the milk/sugar, then adding the cream/cornstarch as normal.  Then a second batch melting 1/3c bittersweet or semi-sweet chips into the milk/sugar.  A third batch with 3T chips and 2T cocoa powder.  Compare the mouthfeel of the different products then play with the amount, type, and brand of cocoa to see how the product changes.

I usually use less sugar/sweetener than I think I need, and "sneak up" on the final result.  I'll melt, modify, and re-freeze the product until it's dialed in.  My best chocolate desserts tend to be less sweet than commercial versions, letting the cocoa flavour be the star.

-jon-

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Thanks for your help, jon. Trying three different ways sounds like a good idea to get ingredients and proportions into my head.

However, what I finally found on a website for Mark Bittman's cornstarch ice cream is a recipe for chocolate gelato made with cornstarch. Chocolate Gelato and I'll probably go for it first. However I will probably enrich the recipe from 3 cups of whole milk to 2 cups of milk plus one cup heavy cream...or something like that.

It's not a DL recipe and perhaps I'll start a thread on cornstarch ice cream. I thought there was one but when I searched last night, just couldn't find it.

Thanks again.

Edited July 23, 2009 by Darienne (log)

[KMPickard]

I made the Butterscotch Pecan ice cream while on holidays last week. All I can say is WOW!. I had four very happy guests and, thankfully for my waistline, not a lot of leftovers.

I think that it may just become an annual cottage tradition. (and, yes, I did schlep my ice cream maker up to to cottage.)

Kathy

[Darienne]

I made the Butterscotch Pecan ice cream while on holidays last week. All I can say is WOW!. I had four very happy guests and, thankfully for my waistline, not a lot of leftovers.

I think that it may just become an annual cottage tradition. (and, yes, I did schlep my ice cream maker up to to cottage.)

Kathy

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Haven't tried that one yet. We have a horde coming August 20th to 23rd and I have promised ice cream for all. That might be a good one. Of course, I'll have to try it ahead of time to make sure I can make it properly. Yeah. Right.

[pnwradar]

I had 1/4lb of leftover milk chocolate last week, after making pastries and ice cream while visiting family on vacation (having schlepped two big boxes of cooking tools, paella gear, and ice cream maker 800 miles). I poured a hot unflavored batch of DL's "Fleur de Lait" cornstarch ice cream over the chopped chocolate, whisking to melt & combine. I also made a normal unflavored batch as control, to see how the mouthfeel changed.

It wasn't as strongly flavored and rich as DL's standard milk chocolate recipe (4-egg custard + 8oz milk chocolate), but had similar mouthfeel to the unflavored -- perhaps a little smoother, probably due to the cocoa butter. For this crowd, the regular milk chocolate ice cream was the big winner, better than the cornstarch and the other flavors I made.

I would suggest (as does DL) that you use milk chocolate with a high cocoa solids content -- 30% or more -- and avoid milk chocolate sold as candy bars, as they are too sweet and have very low cocoa solids. I'm a big fan of Callebaut Select, sold commercially in 11lb blocks, but I've seen it broken down into smaller 8oz/$5 portions at upscale markets or co-op stores. They also sell chip form ("callets") in 5.5lb and 22lb bags, which I've seen available online repackaged into 1lb portions.

-jon-

[Chris Amirault]

Anyone have any experience with the fresh mint chocolate chip recipe?

[vice]

Anyone have any experience with the fresh mint chocolate chip recipe?

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I'd be interested to here reports on this as well. I've tried fresh mint ice cream every which way I can think to do it, but the flavor always gets lost.

[Darienne]

Anyone have any experience with the fresh mint chocolate chip recipe?

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Haven't tried it yet but am also interested in the 'fresh' mint angle.

I have never liked mint anything until making fresh mint truffles under the teaching eye of Keri's protege, Mari van Pelt. Suddenly a whole new world opened and mint was wonderful.

DL doesn't say anything about bruising, crushing or chopping the mint...one the other hand 2 cupfuls tightly packed is a lot of mint.

Please report on your results and tell what, if anything, you did to the mint, how much you used, whether it tasted minty or not. Thanks.

[Chris Amirault]

Will do.

In re crushing the mint, the cocktail crowd has pretty well established that only slight muddling is required, as the minty compounds you want are near the surface of each leaf. The vegetal, rooty compounts are deeper, and are released if you muddle too hard. So I'll probably do a very light muddle prior to steeping.

[Darienne]

Will do.

In re crushing the mint, the cocktail crowd has pretty well established that only slight muddling is required, as the minty compounds you want are near the surface of each leaf. The vegetal, rooty compounts are deeper, and are released if you muddle too hard. So I'll probably do a very light muddle prior to steeping.

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Would you please explain exactly what 'muddling' consists of? Thanks And thanks for the minty information.

[vice]

I'll probably do a very light muddle prior to steeping.

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Hot or cold? It's been my experience that heat doesn't do good things for mint long-term (like when making mint-flavored simple). A light muddle and a long cold infusion was next on my list of things to try. Based on how hard I've found it to get concentrated flavor once frozen, two tightly-packed cupfuls per quart of dairy would not necessarily overkill. I think this is also an instance where eggs are particularly problematic, but I've yet to play with starches/gums as thickeners.

[Darienne]

but I've yet to play with starches/gums as thickeners.

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Now, I am pretty much a novice at all this, but have to say that I was totally blown away by the cornstarch ice creams/gelati . Whole milk and cornstarch only? Amazing!

[pnwradar]

I've tried using several different fresh mints from my herb garden, and a package of fresh (ish) mint from the grocery. All of them were steeped at 100F for an hour, then leaves strained out. This gave a subtle, more "earthy" mint flavor than commercial green or pink mint ice cream -- I liked the earthiness, but was overruled by the critics, who preferred the batch made with bottled peppermint extract added to a cooling 4-egg custard. They also liked straciatella better than choc chips in the mint.

Bartenders use a "muddler", or a wooden pestle, to lightly mash mint in a julep cup. "Bruising" the mint with a wooden spoon would be the same thing, the idea is to break the oil-rich cells on the leaf surface, without tearing or chopping the leaves and releasing the deeper, more "herbal" flavors.

I agree that the best results will come from a light muddle and a long cold steep -- and not subsequently heating the infused dairy. You could also muddle & steep the mint in alcohol to get a more efficient oil extraction, then add that alcohol to the custard like a commercial extract.

-jon-

[Chris Amirault]

Would you please explain exactly what 'muddling' consists of? 

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Jon's got it right. Muddling is just a term for bruising or crushing an ingredient to use in a cocktail. Some items you want to muddle pretty firmly, but mint you want to muddle gently. You can read about it here; note Katie's post after mine. Like Jon said, slightly bruised mint is going to bring out the flavors you want; crush it hard and you're going to get sticks and vegetables.

Hot or cold?

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Hot. Like Jon, I followed the Leibovitz recipe and did a hot steep for an hour. Before that, however, I took the leaves and lightly bruised small handfuls as I dropped them into the milk/cream mixture.

The ice cream turned out great, btw. I added a T of Benedictine for both flavor and texture, and frankly I couldn't be happier.

[Darienne]

Would you please explain exactly what 'muddling' consists of? 

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Jon's got it right. Muddling is just a term for bruising or crushing an ingredient to use in a cocktail. Some items you want to muddle pretty firmly, but mint you want to muddle gently. You can read about it here; note Katie's post after mine. Like Jon said, slightly bruised mint is going to bring out the flavors you want; crush it hard and you're going to get sticks and vegetables.

Hot or cold?

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Hot. Like Jon, I followed the Leibovitz recipe and did a hot steep for an hour. Before that, however, I took the leaves and lightly bruised small handfuls as I dropped them into the milk/cream mixture.

The ice cream turned out great, btw. I added a T of Benedictine for both flavor and texture, and frankly I couldn't be happier.

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It's great to have so many mentors in each list!!! Thanks for the information.

A couple of years ago friends and I were making white chocolate mint ganache and the mint person minced the mint very very finely before anyone caught her. The truffles tasted good, but the color was hard to describe in polite terms!!

Mint ice cream should be next on my list...

[Chris Amirault]

I thought that the color was really perfect: a slightly creamy green tint that didn't scream "I'M MINT" but gave a hint of the flavor to come.

[Darienne]

It's been a busy day. The highlight I just had to share...and who else can you tell?

I just finished making DL's Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies, but instead of rolling and cutting into rounds, I made them into rectangles.

Covered my cookie sheet with a silicone and used another to roll the batter into the entire 11x17 pan. Precut the cookies 2.2"x4.25" to make 20 equal rectangles or ten sandwiches when they are finished. When I make Fleur de Lait again tomorrow to fill them. Easy to wrap and store.

Anyhow, it was a big thrill for me and thanks for reading.

Edited August 15, 2009 by Darienne (log)

[Darienne]

Hmmmm....

For those of you who have made ice cream sandwiches:

DL says simply:

"Once cool, sandwich ice cream between 2 cookies"

At what point in the making of said ice cream would experience tell to be the most useful point for sandwiching.

[Tri2Cook]

Straight out of the machine before going into the freezer if you're going to spread it between the cookies (unless your machine leaves it really soft and it would melt faster than you can work with it, then you may want to let it firm up a bit in the freezer first). Or you could freeze it in the same pan you baked the cookies on (I'd line it with plastic wrap or parchment first) and cut it into rectangles the same size as the cookies, in which case you would freeze it until solid first. The second method would be cleaner, the first method faster... both will work equally well.

[Darienne]

Or you could freeze it in the same pan you baked the cookies on (I'd line it with plastic wrap or parchment first) and cut it into rectangles the same size as the cookies, in which case you would freeze it until solid first. The second method would be cleaner, the first method faster... both will work equally well.

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That is one of those...'Rats, why didn't I think of that?'

Brilliant. Thanks very much

[Darienne]

I promise that I will never become a professional chef.

I filled the cookies and in the process got ice cream all over myself, the counter, clean dishes...you name it. Nope, not on the floor, but the dogs loved licking off the leftover cookie sheets and such. If I'd had a friend over, we would have been laughing hysterically as I struggled to fill the cookies before the ice cream melted beyond use.

OK. All my own fault. Two people would have worked faster. I am not renown for my manual dexterity. The humidity is high and so is the temperature. A few warm days until we return to the summer which isn't. The kitchen is a hotbox, but I could hardly work in the cellar. Not our cellar.

Even with the laughable results, I count it as a sort of success. I'll wrap the bars after they get cold again. And next time, I'll be better prepared for the rhythm of the filling process.

Tri2Cook's clever idea DID work except: that I would not use plastic wrap again...too flimsy and wiggly for me, I would work faster, the kitchen would be cooler, I'd have my confectionery partner Barbara to help me, etc, etc.

I'll get back about the change in the cookies. They were hard before filling, like commercial wafers are before use.

Great fun!!! DL, you are the hero of my summer.

Edited August 16, 2009 by Darienne (log)

[Tri2Cook]

Tri2Cook's clever idea DID work except: that I would not use plastic wrap again...too flimsy and wiggly for me, I would work faster, the kitchen would be cooler, I'd have my confectionery partner Barbara to help me, etc, etc.

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The plastic wrap I use is pretty hefty, not the "user friendly" stuff that's so flimsy and lacking in cling that it's almost completely useless. The idea was that you could dump it over onto a board or the back of another pan, peel off the plastic or parchment, cut and toss the whole thing back in the freezer to firm up again. Then you can just take them from the freezer a couple at a time, assemble and pop them back in the freezer before moving on to the next couple. That way they never spend more than a couple minutes out of the freezer. But I didn't actually say all of that... which I should have done. Sorry about that.

[Darienne]

The plastic wrap I use is pretty hefty, not the "user friendly" stuff that's so flimsy and lacking in cling that it's almost completely useless. The idea was that you could dump it over onto a board or the back of another pan, peel off the plastic or parchment, cut and toss the whole thing back in the freezer to firm up again. Then you can just take them from the freezer a couple at a time, assemble and pop them back in the freezer before moving on to the next couple. That way they never spend more than a couple minutes out of the freezer. But I didn't actually say all of that... which I should have done. Sorry about that.

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Now she tells me!!! Never assume I know anything.

I shall make them again and this time, they will be a snap! Thanks.

[Tri2Cook]

  Now she tells me!!!   Never assume I know anything.

I shall make them again and this time, they will be a snap!  Thanks. 

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You're welcome... but I'm not a she.

[Darienne]

   Now she tells me!!!    Never assume I know anything.

I shall make them again and this time, they will be a snap!  Thanks. 

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You're welcome... but I'm not a she.

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Ooops. Sorry.

[RWood]

I finally got this book. I haven't made ice cream in months, and now that's all I want to do . I do have some family birthdays coming up, and should probably have ice cream for the birthday cake. That should give me a reason now.