I recently picked up the book "The Perfect Scoop" by David Lebovitz after hearing all the good reviews it has been getting through the blogosphere. As soon as I took the book out of the packaging and flipped thought the pages I fell in love with the recipes on sight. I loved the color scheme, the writing style, and imagery in the book, the photographs just added to it. I picked out a number of recipes to try at once, the first being coffee, then dulce de leche, and finally white chocolate. I was really excited to be making ice cream using the creme anglaise method since I have only used the philly style egg less method thus far. I wanted to note the different textures between the two methods so I got started on this new frozen journey. I did do the coffee first but for this entry I will focus on the dulce de leche. Lebovitz doesn't have an actual recipe but I decided to add dulce de leche to the vanilla ice cream recipe. The vanilla recipe called for a mix of whole mix and cream but I always use half and half AND more cream! I had dulce de leche that I bought in Sahadi's earlier on in the month so there was no need to make any for the ice cream. I followed Lebovitz instructions but as noted earlier I did switch whole milk for half and half, I also added a little more dulce de leche than called for so that I could finish out the bottle. When I put the dulce de leche ice cream base in the ice cream maker I could already note the silkier texture of the cream anglaise based treat. When it was time to scoop a taste test I was delighted by the caramel-y taste of the ice cream and the texture was better than store bought, and best of all...I KNOW ALL WHAT WAS PUT INTO IT! That is truly the best part of making things yourself. I decided to finish the treat by making my own dulce de leche sauce in the oven. Making dulce de leche is very easy to make and is essentially one step. As soon as the dulce de leche cooled I took out the ice cream, scooped it into a bowl, and topped it with the dulce de leche. I gave the bowl of ice cream to my mom before I went out. About an hour after I went out my mom calls me and tells me listen to my voicemail...I did, and it was a VM of her raving about the ice cream and how it was so good! That made my day really because I love when people love my food, their satisfaction is the best payment even more so than money. I also gave my friends a tasting while we hung out that evening and they couldn't believe that I made that ice cream. I definitely want to thank Mr. Lebovitz for putting this book out, it has taken my ice cream making to the next level.
Dulce de Leche Ice Cream
Makes 1quart
For a richer custard, you can add up to 3 more egg yolks. For a less-rich custard, substitute half-and-half for the heavy cream, realizing that the final texture won’t be as rich or as smooth as if using cream.
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
A pinch of salt
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 cups (500ml) heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour.
2. To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream into the bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.
4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.
5. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.
6. Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Note: Used vanilla beans can be rinsed and dried, then stored in a bin of sugar. That sugar can be used for baking and, of course, for future ice cream making.
* This is the vanilla recipe from David Lebovitz Blog but to make it dulce de leche just add in 1cup Dulce de leche during step 5 after strain the custard into the heavy cream.
Dulce de Leche Sauce
Take one 14oz can of condense milk and put it into a 9in glass or nonreactive pan, sprinkle with salt, and bake in a 425 degree oven for an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half.
* The book says to stir the sauce at regular intervals while its in the oven but I did not stir it and it was fine.
When you take the sauce out of the oven stir with a whip until cooled and top your dessert. Lebovitz says the sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two months.
