Understanding the base is the key to a great ice cream. . .
The truth about ice cream is that is easy to make and there are no secrets. The main advantage to making your own ice cream is that you can put whatever you want into it and make it just the way you like it.
The Sweet Cream Base:
Ice cream is basically a sweetened, flavoured, frozen dairy product made with cream and milk. The butterfat content of the dairy products makes the ice cream rich and creamy. Butterfat is found in differing amounts in double cream, single cream and milk. Ice cream also contains a proportion of non-fat solids (which are found in whole, skimmed and condensed milk) to give it body. Eggs may be added for even more richness. Sugar or honey sweetens it.
You can make ice cream with only these ingredients and it will taste fine. This is what is usually referred to as the “basic mix” or the “sweet cream mix”, meaning that it has no added flavouring. It is simply the taste of fresh sweet cream after freezing. Most of the time this sweet cream mix is used as a base to which one can add different flavourings and taste sensations.
Sweet Cream Base Recipes:
Number 1:
This base has a creamy texture, medium body and subtle, understated taste. It’s especially good as a background for fruit, cookies and candy.
2 large eggs
150g cup white sugar
480ml double cream
240ml whole milk
Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream and milk and whisk to blend.
If, for any reason, you’re not into the idea of raw egg, here is an alternate sweet cream version:
Number 2:
This recipe makes a less creamy, less rich ice cream. It takes on a slightly “cooked” flavour thanks to the sweetened condensed milk.
480ml single cream
240ml sweetened condensed milk, cold
Whisk the light cream and the sweetened condensed milk together in a mixing bowl until blended.
Decide which base sounds best to you and get ready for homemade ice cream. Remember, that you’ll need a basic ice cream machine to churn the mixture or be prepared to do it by hand.
If you decide to do it by hand you will have to churn your ice cream base while freezing it as you’ll need to incorporate a sufficient amount of air bubbles into your mixture to ensure you don’t end up with an icy, hard rock in the end. We’ll talk more about this with our first recipe in the coming days.