"Ice cream" without cream

[pastrygirl]

Anybody have ice cream or gelato recipes that do not require cream?

Due to supply problems, I have to make do without for a couple of weeks and would welcome any recipes. The art of turning nothing into something - such is life in the middle of nowhere.

[Lisa Shock]

edited for sillyness...

Edited November 13, 2008 by Lisa Shock (log)

[emsny]

And of course a custard-based ice cream can be made with egg yolks and milk.

[pastrygirl]

Lisa, thanks but I am looking specifically for ice cream. Warm chocolate cake with caramel sauce and sorbet just isn't the same!

And of course a custard-based ice cream can be made with egg yolks and milk.

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My regular custard ice cream recipe calls for 4 c cream and 3 c milk, and what I have here is 25% cream and 1.5% milk. It seems like there must be some adjustment I should make if I were going to use all milk, or it would be too icy. Less milk? Boil the milk to reduce it? Add milk powder? Add butter? More yolks? Cornstarch? I want it to be as close as possible to the 'real thing'. I'm sure it's do-able, it's just the initial headache of these situations always throws me off. And of course there is probably at least one out of five lodges that is running out of eggs right this second, and sometimes there is only super salty butter. This experience is making me so much stronger and more creative

[alanamoana]

i don't know what the fat percentages are in half-and-half, but we always used it to make our vanilla ice cream base and it was great. you might need to increase your yolks (lecithin, fat) to make it perfect, but with your lower fat cream you might be able to do it just fine.

[gap]

You could try this from David Lebovitz

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2007...asiest_cho.html

[merstar]

This chocolate gelato recipe is outstanding. (I recommend using Dutch Processed cocoa powder):

Chocolate Gelato Hotel Cipriani

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/vie...-Cipriani-14183

Edited November 13, 2008 by merstar (log)

[merstar]

David Lebovitz's Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream is made with sweetened condensed milk and a little half & half. Will PM the recipe to you if you're interested.

[paulraphael]

I'm assuming you can't get half and half. But if you can, just substitute that for the cream and the milk. It will be like using half of each, and put you into the 14 to 16% milkfat range.

If you don't have that, you could try a creamless gelato, either thickened with egg yolks (northern style) or corn starch (southern style). I've never made any of these recipes so I can't comment on how they'd turn out. I expect they would be very low on creaminess.

If you're willing to mess around with some less conventional hydrocolloids, there are tons of recipes for low fat and no fat ice cream like substances. supposedly some of them mimic the texture of cream really well. Again, I have no experience with this approach. Cream abounds where I live!

[pastrygirl]

I'm assuming you can't get half and half. But if you can, just substitute that for the cream and the milk. It will be like using half of each, and put you into the 14 to 16% milkfat range.

If you don't have that, you could try a creamless gelato, either thickened with egg yolks (northern style) or corn starch (southern style). I've never made any of these recipes so I can't comment on how they'd turn out. I expect they would be very low on creaminess.

If you're willing to mess around with some less conventional hydrocolloids, there are tons of recipes for low fat and no fat ice cream like substances. supposedly some of them mimic the texture of cream really well. Again, I have no experience with this approach. Cream abounds where I live!

←

I'd sell a couple of staff for half and half! Seriously, you can have Leki Wangmo in exchange for about 20 liters of half and half and a bag of kumquats (I miss kumquats)...

No, sadly, no half and half, no 'less conventional hydrocolloids' either. Only 1.5% fat milk, milk powder, SC milk, cornstarch, agar, gelatin, usually butter, and usually eggs. I'm really tempted to throw some butter in there and hope it doesn't separate later, or white chocolate. Time to start experimenting. Creaminess will be mine!

The Lebovitz recipe and the Cipriani gelato look like possibilities, but I'm really in need of a basic recipe that can be vanilla, ginger, or whatever. I hate bananas, but the banana as thickener idea could be useful, it would go with a couple of things on the menu.

If you're ever struck by wanderlust and dreams of adventure and decide to take a job in some poor, remote, developing nation, be prepared for quandaries like this.

Andrea

[djyee100]

I admit I'm stumped on this one. Every ice cream or gelato recipe I've made requires cream or half & half.

But here's a start: Paula Wolfert's recipe for Prune and Armagnac Ice Cream on her website:

http://www.paula-wolfert.com/recipes/prune...c_icecream.html

The custard base requires no cream, only milk, and a large number of egg yolks. Much of the richness in this ice cream comes from the egg yolks. Note also that the liquor (Armagnac) and syrup counteract the unpleasant crystallization that occurs in an all-milk frozen dessert. The recipe calls for adding 1/2 cup heavy cream at the end. The cream certainly adds to a satisfying creamy mouth feel. But under your circumstances, you can try this recipe without the cream and test what you've got.

I've never made this recipe, only tasted it in a cooking class, and I thought it was very good, surprisingly good considering how little cream is in it.

I once made an ice cream recipe with added butter (a butter pecan ice cream), and I was dissatisfied with it. The butter never properly amalgamated with the custard, and when I ate the ice cream, I was eating little bits of frozen butter. Unpleasant. Maybe you'll have better luck with your experiments.

If you have a chance, pls let us know how it goes.

[prasantrin]

It's not the same as ice cream, but ice milk might be a reasonable substitute. I usually prefer it with rich desserts because it balances the richness nicely. Is it a bit too sorbet-y?

Sample recipes here and here. All of the recipes call for whole milk, but it's worth a try to experiment.

You might also want to consider stocking some whole milk powder to help boost milkfat content in your 1.5% milk. It still won't taste like whole milk, but it might help with baking recipes.

[nicolekaplan]

if you have any of the following, adding them in to replace the cream will make a deliciously creamy ic.

mascarpone

cream cheese

creme fraiche

sour cream

i would use 1qt to 1 qt ratio with the milk and then you don't need any eggs

[alanamoana]

I thought you said you had 25% cream? If you do, that should be fine...maybe I misread your post?

[dougal]

...

The Lebovitz recipe and the Cipriani gelato look like possibilities, but I'm really in need of a basic recipe that can be vanilla, ginger, or whatever.  I hate bananas, but the banana as thickener idea could be useful, it would go with a couple of things on the menu.

...

←

OK. Gelato. You make a 'custard' base and then add your flavour.

Here's an example: make the custard, add the Gianduja, churn & freeze.

He is using half-and-half, but the idea is to make a rich custard, and if its creamy, that's a bonus.

http://www.chocolategourmand.com/recipes/i...duja_gelato.cfm

And Mr Liebovitz shows how to do it with a cornflour/cornstarch base, in this case adding Pistachio paste ...

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2007...chio_gelat.html

Hopefully that should get you going!

[pastrygirl]

I thought you said you had 25% cream?  If you do, that should be fine...maybe I misread your post?

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Usually, but that is the product currently 'out of market'. You're right, that wasn't clear, sorry. I have an emergency shipment of some other cream coming up from Bangkok, so hopefully this won't be a problem after all. It is so disheartening when these shortages happen, but on the other hand it is exciting to be able to actually solve the problems. (Liters of 38% cream from Ireland via BKK, $8.50 plus $5 shipping plus customs duty, yeah that'll be about $15 a liter Accounting may have a problem with that, oh well!)

I came up with 5 recipes that I think will work, here they are in case anyone is ever stranded on a deserted island or in the Himalayas without cream, all make about a liter of base:

Ginger

3-1/2 c milk

25 g milk powder

150 g butter

7 egg yolks

120 g sugar

1 TB ginger powder

1/4 tsp salt

Combine milk, milk powder, and butter, scald. Make anglaise in the usual way. Add 2 TB chopped candied ginger after spinning.

white chocolate

3-1/2 c milk

25 g milk powder

7 egg yolks

70 g sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

125 g white chocolate

Make anglaise, pour over white chocolate and stir to melt.

Caramelized banana

110 g sugar

100 g butter

2-1/2 c milk

400 g ripe banana

Caramelize sugar, add butter and milk and heat until sugar is dissolved. Add banana and puree. I might try this with brown sugar instead for banana butterscotch.

vanilla cream cheese

130 g sugar

30 g cornflour (cornstarch)

pinch salt

3-1/2 c milk

1/2 vanilla bean

300 g cream cheese

Combine sugar, cornflour, and salt. Stir in milk and vanilla bean. Bring to a boil, whisking. Boil 1 minute. Pour over cubed cream cheese and stir until melted.

chocolate rum

120 g sugar

25 g cornflour (cornstarch)

20 g cocoa powder

pinch salt

3-1/2 c millk

125 g dark chocolate

2 TB rum

Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk. Bring to a boil, whisking. Boil 1 minute. Pour over dark chocolate to melt. Stir in rum.

Thanks everyone for ideas & encouragement! If you want my job, it's available next July

Edited November 15, 2008 by pastrygirl (log)

[djyee100]

I came up with 5 recipes that I think will work, here they are in case anyone is ever stranded on a deserted island or in the Himalayas without cream, all make about a liter of base:

Thanks, pastrygirl. Those recipes look very creative. I might even try one or two out of curiosity.

[sugarseattle]

Buttermilk

[Serj]

The French Pastry School guidelines for making icecream are:

<11% butyric fat

<10% nonfat solids

18% sugars

0.5% stabilizers

3% egg yolks (mainly because of the emulsifying power of lecithin, although because it adds fat, not all recipes have yolks)

37-42% solids

16-23% sweetening power

As long as you stay within the guidelines, it doesnt matter what kind of dairy fat you use, i.e. half&half, cream or milk & butter. The only thing with using butter is it tastes like butter.

Sebastien Canonne told us that he doesnt believe in keeping recipes secret, so here are a couple of his recipes that do not have cream or half and half:

Honey:

4g ic stabilizer

20 g sucrose

612.5 g whole milk

38.3 g nonfat milk powder

40 g glucose powder

150 g honey

65.3 g butter

70 g yolks

Peanut butter:

1284 g whole milk

71 g nonfat milk powder

240 g sugar

100 g trimoline

114 g butter

180 g 100% peanut butter

10 g ic stabilizer

Ginger:

638g whole milk

30 g nonfat milk powder

140 g sucrose

50g glucose powder

68g butter

70 g egg yolks

80 g candied ginger

1/2 ea vanilla bean

3 g ic stabilizer

So it can be done.... Just as a point of reference, FPS exclusively uses Plugra butter, which is 82% fat, whereas the grocery store brand butter i buy is 78% fat. If that makes a big difference- you have to ask the pastry gods.

Good luck.

[Chufi]

I´ve used coconut milk instead of cream sometimes. (added coconut milk to the custard base which was made with eggs and whole milk).

[dougal]

I´ve used coconut milk instead of cream sometimes. (added coconut milk to the custard base which was made with eggs and whole milk).

←

Thank you for that interesting idea!

[naes]

Along the lines of what serj had to say, check out this site http://www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca/dairyedu/icecream.html

As for reproducing your existing recipe with the product you have on hand, just calculate the contents of the recipe using heavy cream & whole milk to find your percentages of milk fat and milk solids non-fat. Then you can use that as a basis to figure out how to adjust the recipe using available products. Here, I've done some math for you based on your recipe. I used the milk composition percentages found at http://www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca/dairyedu/chem.html

4 c heavy cream (952 grams)

* 348 g milk fat

* 53 g milk solids non-fat

* 551 g water

3 c whole milk (732 grams)

* 26 g milk fat

* 63 g milk solids non-fat

* 643 g water

Totals for Recipe

* 374 g milk fat

* 116 g milk solids non-fat

* 1194 g water

If you used 7 cups of your 15% cream (1684g) , then you'd get

* 252 g milk fat

* 126 g milk solids non-fat

* 1306 g water

So as you can see, you need to find a way to increase your milk fat and decrease the water. The extra milk solids non-fat probably won't make an appreciable difference in the final result, so don't worry about that. One thing you could do is, as you suggested, reduce the cream. By simmering the cream you are removing water and leaving behind the fat and solids. Unfortunately though, you'd need to start with more cream to get the total desired amount (1684g), which would drive up your milk solids non-fat percentage as well as the milk fat percentage. I'd say add some clarified butter, which is pure milk fat to get up the percentage. You mentioned that the butter is very salty. I always put a little salt in my ICB, so hopefully it would be just the right amount anyway. So let's use the water amount as our fixed number and go from there.

1540 g cream (15%)

* 231 g milk fat

* 116 g milk solids non-fat

* 1194 g water

Now all you need to do is add 143 g of clarified butter and you're there!

Math is fun : ) Hope that helps. Good luck!

* Edit - I wrote all of this below under the assumption that you said you have 15% cream available to you. Not sure where I got that number?? When I looked back through after posting, I saw that it was actually 25% cream but it's out of stock. Anyway, the same math can be applied to the 25% cream once you get it. Otherwise, you could just use your 1.5% milk, butter (if it's not too salty), and some non-fat milk powder.

Edited November 17, 2008 by naes (log)

[pastrygirl]

Math is fun, indeed! I'll take a look at those links. So far it seems like just about any source of fat works: butter, cream cheese, nut butters or pastes, coconut milk, and it really is amazing what cornstarch can accomplish.

I usually have local unsalted butter that seems a bit watery (you can see tiny droplets on the surface) so I'd guess it's maybe 75% butterfat?. The salted butter is salty enough to be shelf stable in India for a good 6 months, so that is pretty salty; I use it when I have to for cookies but it is plain nasty in buttercream.

[RuthWells]

Alice Medrich's bittersweet chocolate gelato from "Bittersweet" is milk and a smidge of cornstarch, no cream, and it's fabulous. Keeps its texture really well, too. I'm not at home but found this through Google -- hope it's accurate.

Chocolate Gelato

(adapted from Bittersweet)

3 cups milk

2/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1-1/2 tbsp cornstarch

In medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of the milk just to a simmer, which is when you start to see steam rising from the pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk the remaining cup of (cold/room temperature) milk with the sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch. Once the milk in the saucepan has come to a simmer, add in the cocoa mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Cook for one more minute, then remove from heat.

Strain mixture into a large bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap, and chill until cold. Overnight chilling is best.

Pour into your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturers directions. Freeze until firm, at least 30 minutes, before serving.

Makes about 1 quart.

Note: You can use any type of milk for this recipe, from skim to whole. I recommed going with low fat (1 or 2%), since it produces a creamy product and one that is lower in fat than one made with whole milk.