"The Perfect Scoop" by David Lebovitz on ice cream

[Darienne]

I also made the Vietnamese coffee ice cream. Same thing as the tin roof, really scoop-able after freezing. The Other Half, who doesn't like coffee flavored things, but does like coffee, liked it well enough. I think I'll end up eating it all by myself though.

Thanks for the tip to look at the Vietnamese Coffee ice cream. Not really geared up yet to make ice cream...it's COLD here today in the frozen northland...but I am intrigued by the ingredient list and think I'll try it. Maybe even today.

I'm wondering if my usual additions of pinch of salt and dollop of corn syrup should be added here. Will report back...

[LizD518]

I made a small batch of lime granita the other night when I had four limes sitting around and no plan for them. I used half sugar and half splenda, then added a touch of blueberry vodka as well. It was really, really good. The only issue I had was when I took it out of the freezer to stir and I sloshed sticky, lime-zest laden liquid all over the place. I have a feeling I'll be finding traces of that for a while!

Vietnamese coffee sounds awesome. I may have to look up that recipe tonight and try it out.

[Darienne]

I did have misgivings about making the Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream, as interesting as the ingredients were, because I could not stand a cup of coffee with sugar in it. WOW! The ice cream is terrific. Yummy. Even DH loves it. So good.

Now for the small problems. In Canada at least, condensed milk comes in 300 ml = 1 1/4 cup cans. And the recipe called for 1 1/2 cups. a) I had only one can and b) what on earth would I do with most of an opened second can? Condensed milk is not something I have ever worked into my life.

So I used 1/4 cup extra half & half, and my dollop of corn syrup which now was not problematic at all.

Chalk up another success for DL's Perfect Scoop (with minor variations).

[Emily_R]

Its interesting -- I had the opposite reaction to the Vietnamese coffee ice cream -- I found it sickeningly sweet, with not enough coffee flavor, despite the fact that I double brewed the french roast for it.

[Marmish]

I used instant. Maybe that was the difference?

[merstar]

Its interesting -- I had the opposite reaction to the Vietnamese coffee ice cream -- I found it sickeningly sweet, with not enough coffee flavor, despite the fact that I double brewed the french roast for it.

I also found it much too sweet, even though I used brewed espresso, and a very strong Cuban instant espresso. So, I ended up adding a few extra tsp of the instant espresso, and it was a lot better.

Edited March 24, 2010 by merstar (log)

[Darienne]

I'd be curious to know if you, Emily R, are European or something else non-American. Americans usually, now only usually , like their confections and baked goods sweeter than Europeans or Canadians. I don't know about Aussies. (We are expecting an onslaught of Aussies at the farm in April/May and will inquire.)

I'm Canadian, and invariably cut the sugar content in American recipes. No sense of superiority there...just childhood experiences, especially as DH and I are War Babies...is, NO sugar.

We drink our coffee VERY STRONG from the getgo and find commercial coffee providers with the exception of Starbucks and other local coffee places, make their coffee very weak. As one barista in a Colorado Starbucks outlet told me: "Most American coffee tastes like weak weasel p*ss". I couldn't say, never having tasted the aforementioned beverage.

So, I used very strong brewed coffee and also added a bunch of ancient instant coffee too. Then a huge pinch of espresso grounds. Plus I didn't have enough condensed milk as noted above. Maybe that made the difference.

I would suggest to Emily to make it again, put more coffee into it and replace some of the condensed milk with either heavy or half & half cream. It's hard to taste the mix when it's warm because of course the cold will reduce the sweetness factor. Good luck.

[RWood]

I've made coffee ice cream forever, but decided to use the recipe from this book for the heck of it. I used Peet's decaf French roast, then added in crushed almond brittle. Awesome stuff

[Darienne]

I've made coffee ice cream forever, but decided to use the recipe from this book for the heck of it. I used Peet's decaf French roast, then added in crushed almond brittle. Awesome stuff

Hi Robyn,

Which of DL's coffee ice creams did you make? The 'Coffee Ice Cream' on p.34? I have not tried this one yet. How could you not win with the almond brittle inclusion?

[RWood]

I don't have the book in front of me, but it was the basic coffee ice cream. Usual milk, cream, yolks, etc.

[Darienne]

Made some incredible malted ganache at Kerry Beal's Chocolate Class on Monday and now am going to make some Malted Milk Ice Cream. Yes I made an absolute pig of myself.

The ice cream will start with DL's book with changes to be made. I didn't really note the inclusion of the malted milk balls on the first read...arrghhh...and they won't be present. I did make DL's Buttercrunch Toffee inclusions in my last vanilla batch. DH and the neighbor kids loved it! This no-sugar war baby did not like the sweetness level.

So after reading all the 'malt' entries in this topic, particularly those of Kerry, I'll cut the sugar also. And there's no way I am using 6 large egg yolks in 1 1/2 quarts of ice cream. Too rich. For me. DL is naturally thin. I am not. Not naturally thin. Nor thin. No fair.

Then I am going to shoot for a savory ice cream. A simple, non-threatening flavor.

[ElsieD]

Then I am going to shoot for a savory ice cream. A simple, non-threatening flavor.

Like this?

http://www.cheftalk.com/forum/thread/4205/savory-ice-creams-and-sorbets

Scroll down a couple and there are four recipes for savoury ice cream.

[Darienne]

Like this?

http://www.cheftalk.com/forum/thread/4205/savory-ice-creams-and-sorbets

Scroll down a couple and there are four recipes for savoury ice cream.

Thanks, ElsieD. Am I missing something or is there an actual recipe somewhere with the list of ingredients?

[LizD518]

I've been cutting back on sugars lately so I made DL's Agave-sweetened chocolate ice cream from his website. I didn't have super-dark chocolate, only 72%, so I cut back on the agave to a half cup, and added a dash of vanilla extract, both for extra depth of flavor, and for the alcohol to help balance the texture. It came out beautifully! I don't notice a difference in flavor with the agave, and the texture is lovely. I am going to have to try it in other flavors as well to see if it works will all flavors.

[ElsieD]

here is the ingredient list. You had to scroll down a bit to find it.

Savory Avocado Ice Cream

2 ripe avocados

2 tbsps lemon juice

2/3 cup sour cream

½ teaspoon French mustard

1 tbsp snipped chives

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Smoked Salmon Ice Cream

¼ pound cold-smoked salmon

2/3 cup sour cream

4 fl. oz. cream, whipped

Juice & minced zest of 1 large lemon

1 tbsp finely cut fresh chives

Melon, for garnish

Iced Tomato Cream

1 pound tomatoes, skinned & seeded

2/3 cup thick fresh mayonnaise

2/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup cream, whipped

2 tsps onion juice

2 tsps finely chopped basil

2 tbsps lemon juice

Salt & milled black pepper

Iced Red-Pepper Mousse

1/3 cup red-wine vinegar

2 tbsps raspberry vinegar

1¼ cups skinned & diced red-bell peppers

1 red pimento

salt & ground white pepper

1 tsp powdered gelatin

4 fl. oz. heavy cream

Fresh basil sprigs & strips of yellow pepper, to decorate

The French Laundry Cookbook does indeed offer a recipe for Tomato Sorbet (served w/ a salad of vine-ripened tomatoes – pp. 56f.). Also, Keller includes a recipe (p. 303) for red-beet ice cream, to accompany chocolate cake & toasted-walnut sauce.

Mitchell's in San Francisco have made ice cream from ube (purple yams).

[Darienne]

here is the ingredient list. You had to scroll down a bit to find it.

Savory Avocado Ice Cream

2 ripe avocados

2 tbsps lemon juice

2/3 cup sour cream

½ teaspoon French mustard

1 tbsp snipped chives

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Smoked Salmon Ice Cream

¼ pound cold-smoked salmon

2/3 cup sour cream

4 fl. oz. cream, whipped

Juice & minced zest of 1 large lemon

1 tbsp finely cut fresh chives

Melon, for garnish

Iced Tomato Cream

1 pound tomatoes, skinned & seeded

2/3 cup thick fresh mayonnaise

2/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup cream, whipped

2 tsps onion juice

2 tsps finely chopped basil

2 tbsps lemon juice

Salt & milled black pepper

Iced Red-Pepper Mousse

1/3 cup red-wine vinegar

2 tbsps raspberry vinegar

1¼ cups skinned & diced red-bell peppers

1 red pimento

salt & ground white pepper

1 tsp powdered gelatin

4 fl. oz. heavy cream

Fresh basil sprigs & strips of yellow pepper, to decorate

The French Laundry Cookbook does indeed offer a recipe for Tomato Sorbet (served w/ a salad of vine-ripened tomatoes – pp. 56f.). Also, Keller includes a recipe (p. 303) for red-beet ice cream, to accompany chocolate cake & toasted-walnut sauce.

Mitchell's in San Francisco have made ice cream from ube (purple yams).

No, no...I did not make myself clear. Yes, the ingredient list is there, and I did find it, but where are the instructions? Especially for the one with gelatin.

[Darienne]

Made some incredible malted ganache at Kerry Beal's Chocolate Class on Monday and now am going to make some Malted Milk Ice Cream. Yes I made an absolute pig of myself.

The ice cream will start with DL's book with changes to be made. I didn't really note the inclusion of the malted milk balls on the first read...arrghhh...and they won't be present.

So after reading all the 'malt' entries in this topic, particularly those of Kerry, I'll cut the sugar also. And there's no way I am using 6 large egg yolks in 1 1/2 quarts of ice cream. Too rich. For me. DL is naturally thin. I am not. Not naturally thin. Nor thin. No fair.

So made the Malted Ice Cream using Horlick's Original. I was not impressed with my results. DH and friend for supper loved it. Also made DL's Classic Hot Fudge sauce because DH wanted 'Chocolate Malted' and toasted pecans to go on top. I would have picked walnuts as a foil to the sweetness, but DH and I have different sweet quotients in life.

The ice cream was to be for guests who are coming tonight, but it is long gone. I'm going to make this evolution of my own today which has nougat inclusions.

ps. In all fairness and usefulness, I should add that what I didn't find exciting was the flavor and sweetness. I used my own evolved cornstarch ice cream base with DL's flavoring. DH and friend found the ice cream texture and mouthfeel just fine. Maybe if I had simply followed the entire recipe as written I might have said differently...but I don't think so.

Edited June 10, 2010 by Darienne (log)

[abooja]

I finally made the toasted coconut ice cream, which I've avoided this entire time because DH claims not to like coconut. Well, he ate it, and enjoyed it, primarily, I suppose, because he thought it tasted like vanilla. I added stracciatella to it, however, which also disguised the flavor of the coconut. Next time, I think I'll omit that.

Incidentally, I used a Tahitian vanilla bean (grade B) this time, as opposed to the Madagascar Bourbon vanilla I always use, and it made for an interesting combination with the coconut. Very nice, as a matter of fact, but subtle enough to easily be overwhelmed by mix-ins. Perhaps, next time, I'll infuse the coconut into the mixture overnight rather than just for one hour. Or maybe working in some coconut milk will help enhance the coconut flavor. I used the dried, tiny, unsweetened flakes from the bulk bin in the organic aisle. Probably not the most flavorful coconut in the world.

[DudeImHungry]

i just picked up an ice cream machine and I have been currently abusing it, my first one that i made was the peanut butter ice cream recipe from perfect scoop. I added in some concord jelly before i froze it.

this weekend I am doing the mango strawberry sorbet from ready for dessert, it says to use rum but i think I am going to use some limocello and see how that works out!

[Darienne]

Welcome to eGullet and to one of my favorite thread. Just the season for endless ice cream.

I think my next effort might combine raspberry and pepper.

[ElsieD]

I have just read through all 12 pages and could not really find definitive answers to two questions:

a) How scalable are the recipes? There are only two of us and I find a full recipe to be way too much. Can I make as little as 1/4 recipe? It's a sin, I know, but I invariably end up throwing ice cream out.

b) If I were to use all cream in a recipe instead of a combination of milk and cream, how would that affect mouth feel, taste and the consistency of the frozen product?

Thanks!

Elsie

[MollyB]

In response to ElsieD's questions:

>a) How scalable are the recipes? There are only two of us and I find a full recipe to be way too much. Can I make as little as 1/4 recipe? It's a sin, I know, but I invariably end up throwing ice cream out.

I'd say the scalability of the recipes depend on what your ice cream maker can handle. I tried cutting one of the sorbet recipes in half, and there just wasn't enough in my ice cream maker for the churning to work right, and I never got the right consistency. I made the same recipe later in full and it worked perfectly. (I have a Cuisinart ice cream maker, model ICE-20.)

>b) If I were to use all cream in a recipe instead of a combination of milk and cream, how would that affect mouth feel, taste and the consistency of the frozen product?

Not sure about this. I have successfully adapted the other way, upping the milk amount and reducing the cream, and still had great results. I just made the chocolate ice cream that way this part weekend, along with the marshmallows to mix in for rocky road ice cream, and it was fabulous.

[Darienne]

I have just read through all 12 pages and could not really find definitive answers to two questions:

a) How scalable are the recipes? There are only two of us and I find a full recipe to be way too much. Can I make as little as 1/4 recipe? It's a sin, I know, but I invariably end up throwing ice cream out.

I guess that MollyB answered this question. Not something I have ever tried.

b) If I were to use all cream in a recipe instead of a combination of milk and cream, how would that affect mouth feel, taste and the consistency of the frozen product?

No problem here at all as far as mouth feel and taste are concerned. I've made ice cream from one end to the other with milk, half&half, and heavy cream. One way is less rich...the other more rich. As for the consistency...I have no answer there. Not sure exactly what you mean.

Thanks!

Elsie

[ElsieD]

MollyB and Darienne, thanks for responding. My ice cream maker is a Cuisinart ICE50 and I guess the only way to find out how little it will process is to try it. I have a batch of strawberry custard in the fridge and will freeze it tomorrow. The recipe is based on the Raspberry Ice Cream recipe in The Perfect Scoop, but subbing strawberry juice for the raspberry. Also added a bit of kirsch. I'll try 1/4 of the recipe and see how that works. I'll report back in case anyone else is interested.

Darienne, what I meant by consistency is whether ice cream made with all whipping cream versus cream plus milk or half & half freezes differently. That is, is one easier to scoop in it's frozen state than the other?

As to mouth feel - if you make it with all whipping cream (Canada) or heavy cream (US) does it make your mouth feel like you've just eaten a spoon of butter that has coated your tongue in a not-so-nice way?

[Darienne]

Also added a bit of kirsch. I'll try 1/4 of the recipe and see how that works. I'll report back in case anyone else is interested.

***I am interested.

Darienne, what I meant by consistency is whether ice cream made with all whipping cream versus cream plus milk or half & half freezes differently. That is, is one easier to scoop in it's frozen state than the other?

**** don't know really. We should set up some tests...or find someone who does .

As to mouth feel - if you make it with all whipping cream (Canada) or heavy cream (US) does it make your mouth feel like you've just eaten a spoon of butter that has coated your tongue in a not-so-nice way?

*** good point. I made some ice cream not too long ago which was totally heavy cream for the DH, and I found it a bit...coating of the tongue. But then he likes stuff richer than I do. He has noted that a few of my ice creams were not 'rich' enough for him (very different childhoods...interesting)