Philiadelphia Style "cream" Ice Cream

By lisala on 6/1/09 12:10am
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I've written about making custard-style ice cream here. Custard bases make a very rich ice cream, and the eggs can help control the texture of the ice cream so that you can use things like lemon or pineapple that are sometimes a bit tricky. That said, I'm personally very fond of the non-custard based ice creams. These use only cream and sugar and flavorings. The resulting ice cream is a bit lighter, and the absence of the eggs can sometimes mean a more delicate base flavor, allowing the fruit or other ingredients natural flavor to shine through. Sometimes this non-custard ice cream is called "Philadelphia style." I'm going to assume that you'll be using an electric ice cream maker with a removable liner that can be placed in your freezer.

Basic Vanilla Ice Cream (Makes 1 quart)

Ingredients

  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 2 cups half-and-half
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 Vanilla bean

Procedure

  1. Split the vanilla bean down the middle vertically with a sharp paring knife. Scrape out the contents, and then cut the bean into several pieces. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the half and half and the cream.
  3. Gradually whisk in the sugar until it's throughly blended.
  4. Whisk in the vanilla extract and the vanilla bean.
  5. Refrigerate the mixture in a covered container until very cold, at least 3 hours or as long as 3 days. Leaving it in the freezer overnight will improve the texture and flavor.
  6. Remove the mixture from the freezer and whisk it briefly incase the cream has separated. You might need to let it thaw a bit before you can whisk it.
  7. Pour the mixture into the chilled canister of your ice cream maker.
  8. Freeze the mixture according to the manufacturer's directions.
  9. If you want to add other flavorings, add them after step 5.

This is a very basic recipe and one that you can easily add other flavorings to; strawberries, peaches, blueberries, chocolate, nuts . . . the possibilities are endless. You can experiment with the proportions of half-and-half and cream, and with the sugar. You do need some sugar, because of the chemical reactions with the cream, but you can substitute honey for the sugar, or maple syrup (don't use more than a cup of either) but you'll need to adjust for taste. In the winter, soak dried cherries, raisins, or cranberries in water (or rum, or brandy), pour off the liquid, and use the fruit. Crushed toffee and chocolate, are fabulous.

I suspect that you probably have more ice cream recipes in a booklet that came with your ice cream maker, but here's a recipe for ice cream you can make with fresh or frozen raspberries (or peaches, or strawberries, or blueberries). Elise, one of my very favorite cooking bloggers has an amazingly simple and incredibly good recipe for Coffee Ice Cream. I recommend adding really high quality dark chocolate bits.