A couple of months ago, my friend Phyllis told me all about the ice cream maker she had recently purchased. She was making ice cream like there was no tomorrow so, naturally, when I decided to break down and give this ice cream making thing a try I had to call her and beg her for help. She assured me it was easy peasy so over to her house I went with ice cream machine, ingredients and camera in hand. She was right, it was really simple. Although you just need a handful of ingredients you do need some patience – the mixture needs to sit in the fridge a few hours before churning and then for the right ice cream texture, needs to be frozen for at least 2 hours before enjoying, otherwise straight out of the machine you have something more like a soft-serve. But the great thing about ice cream is that you can make it in advance since it will keep in an airtight container for five days. And to ensure no freezer burn, take a small piece of plastic wrap and lay it over the very top of the ice cream before putting on your lid.  

Since Phyllis and I each have an ice cream maker {both Cuisinarts} I decided to make two different flavors: blueberry lemon vanilla and chocolate mint marshmallow. The later I picked because it reminds me of the hot cocoa I like to drink in the winter, hot chocolate, a little mint liquor, and a big homemade marshmallow. Goldfarb told me that I couldn’t swirl marshmallow cream through the ice cream – that it would become hard as a rock.  While I toyed with his suggestion and thought nothing would be worse than a ribbon of rocks through the ice cream I bought a jar of marshmallow cream and looked at it. The texture is so airy and quiet frankly, processed, that I decided to give it whirl. It worked out perfectly. Lessons learned? Don’t be afraid of ingredients and play around with flavors.

Chocolate Mint Marshmallow 
makes 1 pint

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups tightly packed mint leaves
6 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
3 tbsp. marshmallow cream

Place cocoa powder and 1 cup of half-and-half in a medium saucepan over medium heat and whisk until incorporated. Add remaining half-and-half and heavy cream.  Bring mixture to a rolling simmer, whisking frequently.  Remove from heat and add mint leaves.  Stir to incorporate; let sit about 3-5 minutes to steep.

In a bowl, whisk egg yolks to combine; about 30 seconds.  Gradually add sugar, whisking as you go. 

Using a strainer, pour chocolate mixture into a bowl to remove mint leaves.  Using a spoon, press all the liquid out of the mint leaves; discard. Return chocolate mixture to the saucepan.  If the mixture is not warm, gently reheat until just steaming.  Slowly add {a slow drizzle} 1 cup of the chocolate mixture to the eggs and sugar.  When incorporated add the egg mixture to the saucepan with the remaining chocolate mixture.  Heat over low heat about 7-14 minutes, whisking frequently until mixture can thickly coat the back of a spoon. Immediately pour into a bowl and let cool for about 20 minutes until it is no longer steaming.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 4 hours.

Remove bowl from the fridge and pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s directions. We let the mixture churn for 15 minutes.  Turn machine off.  Add marshmallow cream, using a knife to push it into the ice cream.  Turn machine back on and churn for 1 minute.  Turn machine off and spoon ice cream into an air tight container and freeze for 2 hours before enjoying.

Blueberry Lemon Vanilla
makes 1 pint

1 vanilla bean
1 ¾ cups heavy cream
1 ¼ cups whole milk
½ cups sugar + 6 tbsp.
1/3 cups corn syrup
¼ tsp. salt
6 egg yolks
3 tbsp. fresh lemon zest
1 cup blueberries
2 tsp. water

Using a paring knife, slice vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out seeds.  Add bean and seeds to a medium saucepan together with cream, milk, ½ cup sugar, corn syrup and salt.  Heat over medium high heat, whisking occasionally until mixture is steaming and registers 175º; about 5-10 minutes.  Remove from heat.

While cream mixture heats, in a bowl whisk yolks and ¼ cup of sugar until smooth; about 1 minute.  Slowly add {a slow drizzle} 1 cup hot cream mixture to the eggs and sugar, whisking as you do so.  After the 1 cup is incorporated into the egg mixture, add the contents of the bowl to the warm cream in the saucepan.  Reheat mixture, stirring constantly, until it thickens, about 7-14 minutes.  The mixture should thickly coat the back of a spoon.  Immediately pour this custard into a bowl and let cool for about 20 minutes until it is no longer steaming.  Stir in lemon zest.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 4 hours.

While the custard is chilling, make the blueberry sauce.  In a small saucepan, combine blueberries, water and 6 tbsp. sugar. Bring to a boil and cook over moderate heat until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Pour into a small bowl and let cool.  Then cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until ready to make the ice cream.  

Remove bowl of custard from fridge and pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s directions. We let the mixture churn for 15 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, add ¾ of the blueberry sauce.  {Reserve the rest of the blueberries and sauce to pour over the finished ice cream.} Churn for 1 minute.  Turn machine off and spoon ice cream into an air tight container and freeze for 2 hours before enjoying.