I Scream, You Scream

Ben Yusko, Pastry Chef at The Barn, is a master at taking classic dessert foundations and elevating them to unexpected heights. From hanging out at home to enjoying a multi-course dinner at The Barn, ice cream is always on the menu. Ben is sharing a great at-home ice cream recipe to use as your base and offering his tips for infusions, flavors, toppings and sauces that will take your favorite Summer treat to the next level.

To make ice cream:
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
⅔ cup sugar
⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
6 large egg yolks

To make:
Step 1
In a small pot, simmer heavy cream, milk, sugar and salt until the sugar completely dissolves – about 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk yolks. Whisking constantly, slowly whisk about one third of the hot cream into the yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream. Return the pot to medium-low heat, and gently cook until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer).

Step 2
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cool the mixture to room temperature in an ice bath. Cover and chill at least four hours or overnight. Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturers’ instructions. Serve directly from the machine for soft serve, or store in t freezer until needed.

Now let’s add flavor!

Infusions:
This recipe is a great blank canvas for you to experiment with infusing flavors. Coffee, teas and spices allow for unique flavor combinations that you won’t find in the grocery store. If making vanilla ice cream, slice two vanilla beans in half lengthwise and scrape down the sides. Add seeds and pods. For coffee ice cream, add ½ cup whole coffee beans ground coarsely in a coffee grinder or food processor. Want to try infusing it with green tea? Add ¼ cup green tea leaves to the cold milk and cream mixture. Let custard steep off the heat for 30 minutes before straining. Chill.

Herbs:
This method can be done with almost any herb. It’s a great way to add an herbaceous punch to your ice cream. In a food processor, pulse together 1 cup clean and dry mint or basil leaves with 2/3 cup granulated sugar until pulverized and bright green. Use herb sugar instead of plain sugar to make the base. Let the custard steep off the heat for 30 minutes before straining. Chill. Some fun non-traditional herbs I recommend are lemon verbena and sage.

Lemon or lime:
In a food processor, pulse together the zest of 3 lemons or limes with 2/3 cup granulated sugar until smooth and brightly colored. Use citrus sugar instead of plain sugar to make the base. Let the custard steep off the heat for 30 minutes before straining. Stir in the juice and zest of 1 lemon or lime. Chill.

Want to add some toppings? When thinking about toppings, it’s important to think about textures, whether that be crunchy and crisp or soft and chewy. There are no wrong answers. Some classics are cookie and brownie pieces. You can also cube up some cake and dehydrate it to give it a good crisp texture. Some unexpected inclusions could be some of your favorite cereal, ritz crackers or graham crackers. Graham crackers would be good with a lime ice cream, reminiscent of a key lime pie!

Another great ice cream topping is stewed seasonal fruit. Take whatever fruit is in season and cook it down with some sugar. You shouldn’t need to use a lot of sugar, do it to your desired taste according to your fruit. This small amount of sugar is going to help create a luscious fruit sauce that pairs so beautifully with ice cream as the acidity and brightness of the fruit helps cut the richness of the ice cream. During the cooking process you can infuse herbs into the mixture. You can also pair some wine or liqueur with the fruit to enhance the fruits’ flavor when cooking it down.

Another classic option is a great caramel sauce. You can make your own with this recipe!

Caramel sauce:
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup water
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt

Add the sugar and water to a 3-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir a little so it sits in a flat, even layer.

Warm the pot over medium heat, and cook until the sugar dissolves, turns clear and starts to bubble. (It will be cloudy at first, but it will turn into a clear, bubbling liquid.) This takes about 3-4 minutes.

At this point, do not stir again. Simply allow to bubble, swirl the saucepan occasionally and brush down the sides of the pan as needed to prevent crystallization.

Sugar will form clumps, but continue swirling and cooking until the mixture thickens and turns a deep amber color like honey (this can take anywhere from 8-12 minutes), keeping a watchful eye so the mixture doesn’t burn.

Carefully add the butter and whisk until completely melted. The caramel will bubble up rapidly, so be careful and continue to whisk.

Remove the saucepan from the heat, and slowly pour in the cream, whisking continuously until all of the cream has been incorporated.

Whisk in the vanilla and salt. Set aside to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

This base caramel sauce recipe can be doctored up. Add about a Tablespoon of desired alcohol, bourbon makes for a classic combination. The cream can also be infused with spices and herbs.