Ice Cream Experiments

For years I've toyed with the idea of purchasing my very own ice cream maker and attempting all sorts of weird and wonderful flavours. But part of me was always worried that it wouldn't work properly or would cost too much to purchase.

That all changed when I made 'teh tarik' ice cream with my cousin, Kav, 2 weeks ago. Teh tarik, a Malaysian beverage, literally translates to mean 'pulled tea' in English. It gets its name from the motion of pouring one cup of tea (black tea with condensed milk) into another and increasing the vertical distance between the cups as the tea is poured, thus making the tea look like it is being 'pulled'. This is done mainly to cool the tea down to a drinkable temperature, and also to produce a layer of froth on the tea. I have dreamed of making teh tarik ice cream for more than 2 years now - since the first time I had a taste of it in a little ice cream shop (I think it might have been Island Creamery) in Singapore. So we looked up a recipe, and started the ice cream-making. (We found the recipe from almostbourdain.blogspot.com)

Teh Tarik Ice Cream

150 ml thickened cream
250 ml milk - we used 100% fat free milk, so that our ice cream wouldn't be too rich
3 tbsp black tea leaves - we used Mlesna loose leaf black tea from Sri Lanka
5 egg yolks
3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk

Method

1. Add cream, milk and tea leaves in a saucepan and gently heat until just below boiling point.
2. Remove from heat and let tea leaves infused for 30 minutes. Filter through a fine sieve or muslin cloth.
3. Beat egg for about 2 minutes, then add sweetened condensed milk and beat again until the mixture turns pale.
4. Add the milk mixture and whisk until combined.
5. Pour the mixture into a double boiler (I just used a heavy saucepan on a low flame) and simmer until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
6. Cool the custard mixture and churn in the ice cream maker (this recipe makes about 0.5L of ice cream).

Easy peasy lemon squeezy :)

Mlesna tea - yumm :)

The tea, cream and milk

Infusing...

Beating the egg yolks

The ice cream custard before churning

The end product - ice cream!

And just yesterday, I had a go at making Salted Caramel and Choc Chip Ice Cream. Had S and E over to make it a girlie day of ice cream indulgence. Followed the recipe by David Lebowitz for Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream, and added in chopped bits of dark Lindt chocolate as well. The salty, buttery, sweet caramel and the slightly bitter dark chocolate were a match made in heaven.

Again, making ice cream is so simple! I love it. More flavours on the cards :) I will probably get fat from all this ice cream making and eating (but I won't care, because I will be too happy :p)

Salted Caramel and Chocolate Ice Cream

My ice cream :)

2 cups (500 ml) whole milk, divided
1½ cups (300 gr) sugar
4 tablespoons (60 gr) salted butter
scant ½ teaspoon sea salt - I used Murray River salt
1 cups (250 ml) heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

1. To make the ice cream, make an ice bath by filling a large bowl about a third full with ice cubes and adding a cup or so of water so they’re floating. Nest a smaller metal bowl (at least 2 quarts/liters) over the ice, pour 1 cup (250 ml) of the milk into the inner bowl, and rest a mesh strainer on top of it.
   
2. Spread 1½ cups (300 gr) sugar in the saucepan in an even layer. Heat the sugar over moderate heat until the edges begin to melt. Use a heatproof utensil to gently stir the liquefied sugar from the bottom and edges towards the center, stirring, until all the sugar is dissolved. Continue to cook stirring infrequently until the caramel starts smoking and begins to smell like it’s just about to burn.
   
3. Once caramelized, remove from heat and stir in the butter and salt, until butter is melted, then gradually whisk in the cream, stirring as you go. The caramel may harden and seize, but return it to the heat and continue to stir over low heat until any hard caramel is melted. Stir in 1 cup (250 ml) of the milk.
   
4. Whisk the yolks in a small bowl and gradually pour some of the warm caramel mixture over the yolks, stirring constantly. Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook the custard using a heatproof utensil, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture thickens. (It's ready when it coats the back of a wooden spoon).
   
5. Pour the custard through the strainer into the milk set over the ice bath, add the vanilla, then stir frequently until the mixture is cooled down. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or until thoroughly chilled (I only refrigerated my mixture for about 2 hours).
   
6. Churn custard in ice cream maker for about 20 minutes, then add in chopped chocolate. Churn until the desired texture is obtained, then freeze for about 2 hours before serving.