Pistachio Ice Cream
No need to buy an ice cream maker; your food processor can do all the work with this food lab tested method for making homemade ice cream.
Ice cream is one of those desserts I eat only on rare occasions. It's delicious and I love it, but one binge on ice cream and I can pretty much consume an entire day's worth of calories in a single setting. When I was a kid, though, I was a regular at Baskin-Robbins and probably went through their whole menu of thirty-one flavors. I routinely settled, however, on a three-scoop bowl of Cookies ‘n Cream, Butter Pecan and Chocolate Chip. I don’t necessarily miss my youth. I miss that kind of metabolism.
Ice cream, therefore, is a special treat for special occasions. And this recipe was discovered for a Christmas dinner dessert to be served along side the Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Pears Poached in Port Wine. The two flavors together were sublime.
This was on a website I no longer have the original notes for, so I cannot give credit. However, the author was a food science editor and their food lab actually tested every known method for making ice cream at home without an ice cream maker. They found this method using a food processor to do the same thing an ice cream maker does was the best method by far. While it was not a direct competitor to a bona fide ice cream maker, it gets you pretty close to the genuine flavor and texture of a premium homemade ice cream. I specifically chose a pistachio flavor for the green color of the nut, juxtaposed to the red color of the poached pears, in honor of the seasonal dinner. You can, however, substitute any flavor in this recipe which is a good base for any ice cream; just omit the pistachios and substitute a half-cup of your own flavor ingredient. If you want to make a pure vanilla ice cream, double the vanilla extract in the recipe and add a tablespoon of vanilla seeds or vanilla powder.
Pistachio Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1- 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1- 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 whole eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1- 1/2 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- 2 tbsp light corn syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup ground pistachios, plus a few whole for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add the salt and room-temperature cream cheese and whip all the bumps out with a whisk or cake mixer.
- In a large bowl, make an ice bath (heavy on the ice) and set aside.
- Pour the milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup into a medium saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. As soon as the liquid begins to boil, set a timer for precisely 4 minutes and allow the liquid to simmer, whisking frequently to keep the milk and cream from scalding.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Temper the eggs and egg yolk in a small bowl by ladling in the hot milk and cream mixture, a tablespoon at a time. Do this 4-5 times, then and gradually whisk the eggs into the milk and cream.
- Return the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook, stirring until the mixture is slightly thickened for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Do this a little bit at a time so that you can whip out any lumps of cream cheese.
- Add the vanilla and almond extracts and whisk to blend.
- Pour the mixture into a large Ziploc freezer bag, seal, and submerge the bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until very cold, about 30 minutes.
- Pour the custard into a Ziploc bag and press every last bit of the air out. Seal it tightly and place it flat in the freezer. Allow to freeze completely for at least six hours, but overnight is best.
- Put a standard loaf pan (8-1/2" x 4-1/2" x 2-1/2") in the freezer.
- When the custard has thoroughly frozen, crumble it into your food processor and pulse frequently until the custard is completely smooth.
- Add the pistachios and pulse a couple of times to mix them in thoroughly.
- Scrape the ice cream into the loaf pan, cover with cling wrap and place it back in the freezer for at least 2 hours before serving.
Notes
- This dish was originally created specifically to be served with the Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Pears Poached in Port Wine, but is certainly good enough to stand on its own.
- You can make any other flavor by following this recipe, but substitute the 1/2 cup of ground pistachio for any other flavor ingredient.
- If you prefer to retain this recipe as Vanilla Ice cream, add an additional tablespoon of vanilla extract, and a tablespoon of vanilla seeds or vanilla powder.
