September 2022: Ice Cream

Ice cream was my fourth cheat. I really love ice cream but did not possess an ice cream maker. And some desserts really, really need ice cream. Blueberry pie, I’m talking to you. So here’s my cheat: invite someone to your house and when they ask what they can bring, you scream “Ice Cream!” So that worked sort of, but I don’t entertain that often. Ice cream was rare at home until KitchenAid had a sale and I noticed they had an ice cream attachment. What? It’s pretty ingenious. It’s a bowl with some kind of liquid contained in its walls, and the bowl goes in the freezer for 15 hours to become an ice cream maker. And ice cream is not hard to make, or at least vanilla isn’t. I used the recipe from the KitchenAid manual, which is not online, but this one is: https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Naturally-Sweetened-Vanilla-Bean-Ice-Cream-2098911.

Mint chocolate chip is a bit of a different matter. It’s not hard per se, but it is a little fussy. I modified the vanilla recipe with a bit of help from this blog and ended up with the following recipe.

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Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream using KitchenAid Standing Mixer

Yield: 8, Makes roughly a quart

Author: Jennifer McKay

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 HourInactive time: 17 HourTotal time: 18 H & 15 M

Ingredients

• 3 cups mint leaves
• 1 1/4 cups half-and-half
• 1 1/4 cups whipping cream, plus a little extra to top off in step 10
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 4 oz chocolate bar chopped fine and placed in the freezer to keep cold

Instructions

1. Put the KitchenAid Ice Cream bowl in the freezer at least 15 hours before making ice cream.
2. Heat half-and-half, whipping cream, and mint in a medium sauce pan over medium heat, stirring often, until bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Do not boil. Remove from heat.
3. Let pan sit for 30 minutes.
4. Repeat step 1.
5. Let sit for 20 minutes.
6. Strain mint-infused half-and-half/cream through a fine mesh sieve into bowl and discard mint. If desired, strain a second time.
7. Attach the flat beater to your KitchenAid stand mixer. Place the egg yolks and sugar in the stand mixer bowl and beat on low for about 1 minute, or until well blended and slightly thickened.
8. Measure 1 1/4 cup of your strained liquid and very gradually add to the stand mixer on low. Mix until blended.
9. Return mixture to the same saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until small bubbles form around the edge and the mixture is steamy. Do not boil. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.
10. Measure remaining unused cream and add whipping cream to bring it to 1 1/4 cups. Gently stir in the cream and salt to the heated mixture in the large bowl.
11. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or until cold.
12. Attach the frozen KitchenAid Ice Cream bowl and dasher to the stand mixer. Turn mixer to stir, and pour cold mixture into bowl with the mixer running. Allow mixer to stir the ice cream mixture for 15-20 minutes, or until it reaches the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. Add the chocolate pieces to the bowl in the last 2 minutes.
13. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container; freeze several hours or until firm.

This ice cream cannot be beat.

I also learned that you can keep mint for a long time by pulling off the leaves and freezing them on a plate or baking dish lined with parchment paper. You can put them in an airtight container once they’re frozen and then use them directly in the cream once you’re ready to make your ice cream.

Now I’m ready to try more ice cream flavors. Thank goodness I can only fit so much in my freezer…