Russell Brown ran the
acclaimed Sienna in
Dorchester for 12 years
VANILLA
ICE CREAM
There’s nothing plain about this vanilla. Russell Brown
gives you a customisable ice cream recipe that means you
never need reach for the shop-bought stuff again
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Freshly churned ice cream has such a different texture than something that has been
languishing in the freezer for months. Apart from anything else, household freezers run at
around -18℃ which makes the ice cream really hard! Most of us don’t have the luxury of
a special ice cream freezer, though, so moving your ice cream to the fridge for 30 to 40
minutes before serving is a good plan.
But I am jumping ahead; the first thing we need to think about is making the ice cream.
A classic vanilla is a great place to start and is at the top of my list, if for no other reason
than versatility. Perfect in a cone or on top of a warm apple tart, delicious with some marinated strawberries or with a shot of
espresso poured over it – and that’s before we start with embellishing the recipe!
Dorset is a fantastic county for the key ingredients of good eggs and good dairy produce; combine these with the best quality
vanilla and you are off. The vanilla you use is a vital part of the process and fresh vanilla pods, for me, are the best bet. The two
main types are Planifolia and Tahitensis, the Planifolia being the most common with a biscuity, caramel flavour. The Tahitensis is a
shorter and plumper pod with a much more floral, fruity taste. In both cases look for pods that are tender, oily and moist.
An ice cream machine is a real boon, but with some effort the results are good by hand. The custard goes in the freezer and is
taken out every 45 minutes and beaten well until the ice cream has set. A final whizz in a food processor helps add a silkier finish
before returning to the freezer to firm up ready for serving.
The recipe below is for a straight vanilla ice cream but you can add many flavours and textures to this to vary the end result.
Infuse coarsely ground coffee beans in the cream, add fudge or honeycomb pieces when the ice cream is nearly set or swirl in
a reduced fruit purée to create a ripple ice cream. The secret is to make the consistency of the purée and the ice cream similar
when you fold them together. Use a metal spoon and a ‘cut and fold’ technique, making sure you don’t over-mix.
Ingredients
Ser ves 6- 8
160g Blackacre Farm free range egg yolks
450ml double cream
375ml semi skimmed milk
150g caster sugar
20g glycerine
2 vanilla pods
DoMAINE L’ANCIENNE CuRE
MoNBAzILLAC
2013 - £9.95
A slightly lighter alternative to
Sauternes, drizzle the Monbazillac
over the ice cream and lose yourself in
utter unbridled indulgence.
Selected by Daniel Grigg,
www.no8wine.co
Method
Combine the cream and milk in a heavy based pan. Split the vanilla pods
and scrape out the seeds, adding the pods and the seeds to the cream mix.
Bring to a simmer, whisk well and turn off the heat. Cover the pan and leave
to infuse for 30 mins. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with the sugar, reheat the
cream mix and pour onto the yolks, whisking constantly. Return to the pan
and place over a moderate heat. Bring the custard to 80°C, stirring constantly
in a figure of eight motion as well as circles around the outside edge of the
pan. It is a good idea to have a large bowl of very cold water to dip the base
of the pan into should the custard start to scramble.
Once the custard is cooked, pass through a fine mesh sieve into a clean
plastic container. Chill over ice, add the glycerine (this will help to prevent
the ice cream freezing too hard) and refrigerate overnight. The following day,
churn in an ice cream machine then transfer to the freezer. Alternatively, use
the method above to make by hand.
www.menu-dorset.co.uk
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