For the 4th of July, I wanted to make vanilla custard and root beer ice sundaes based on Rita’s Frozen Yogurt Gelatis. Rita’s Gelati is a frozen yogurt and Italian ice. They have a variety of flavors that changes every day. I have already been experimenting with the root beer ice part of the sundae.
All of the ice cream that I have made in the past has actually been frozen custard. Custard uses egg yolks and is quite creamy. Lynn told me that we have way too many egg whites already. She has quite a number in the freezer, so she asked me to make ice cream instead. Since I was going to make a different style of ice cream, I had to look up a recipe; my typical trusty recipe wouldn’t work this time.
I ended up learning a little bit about ice cream in this recipe search. Apparently, the style I was making before is French-style ice cream. I found a new recipe for something called Philadelphia-style ice cream. It uses less ingredients, and requires less work. The custard requires cooking, and if done incorrectly can have egg chunks in the custard. The Philadelphia style doesn’t need cooking; all it requires is mixing.
This is a very easy recipe to make. I am going to use this one through out the summer and add different flavors to it. There was so much less mess and work compared to the custard I usually make.
Recipe is courtesy of Williams Sonoma.
I think the recipe included unnecessary steps, so I omitted those. For instance it says to chill the ice cream mixture in a bowl of ice. I didn’t do this because it is a cold mixture that is being put into the refrigerator. Why waste the time and the ice? The ice cream turned out well without doing that part.
Vanilla Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a bowl, stir together the cream and milk. Add the sugar and whisk until the sugar is dissolved, 3 to 4 minutes. Test for graininess by tasting a small amount of the liquid; it should feel smooth on the tongue and there should be no sugar visible on the bottom of the bowl when it is stirred or spooned out. Continue whisking, if necessary, to ensure that the texture of the finished ice cream will be smooth. Stir in the vanilla.
Chill the Ice Cream Mixture:
- Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface and on top of the bowl. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
Churn the ice cream:
- Prepare an ice cream maker with at least a 1-quart capacity according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Remove the plastic wrap from the cream mixture and bowl. Pour the well-chilled cream mixture into the mixing container of the ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The timing will depend on the type of machine and the temperature of the cream mixture.
This is a really good vanilla ice cream. It isn’t near so heavy as the custard, so it is much less filling. I think it is better for hot summer days when you don’t want to be over full.
I made another batch of the root beer ice to try with the vanilla ice cream. I don’t want to bring something to a party that I have never tried myself.
This is a really good combination, and I highly recommend it. I know I made it, but it is really good. Today, I am going to make the root beer ice with the natural root beer extract we bought. I will probably make a post about it since it is a little different.
-Joshua