Vanilla Latte Frozen Custard
July 3, 2017 | By Jeremy Scheck | 1 Comment
This is ice cream, but I like to make the distinction between the “real deal” custard based ice cream and the flavorless “Philadelphia style” ice cream made without egg yolks. The former is a rich, velvety treat, while the latter sparks the disappointment of the fake “frozen dessert” served at McDonalds or from a sketchy soft-serve truck.
This is a two–day recipe. And while it’s not that difficult, it is quite technical. If following recipes isn’t your thing, this is not a recipe for you. On Day 1, you’ll make the custard base and prep the bowl. The coffee crème anglaise ice cream base refrigerates overnight, then the ice cream is churned on Day 2. Most ice cream makers need the bowl to be frozen the day before, but you don’t need to worry about the bowl before Day 1. The active work time lasts fewer than 20 minutes, and the churning process the following day usually takes 20-30 minutes. When you taste this rich, velvety ice cream, the wait will be well worth it. And since you did all the real work the day before, it’s an even better treat.
Adapted from The New York Times.
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Vanilla Latte Frozen Custard
Ingredients
- 2 cups (480ml) heavy cream (30–35% butterfat content, best quality)
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- 6 egg yolks, beaten lightly, in large (4 cup) measuring cup or mixing bowl (at least 4 cup capacity)
- 2/3 cup (133g) sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsp instant espresso powder, to taste
- Very strong coffee (I use Trader Joes cold brew concentrate), to taste, up to 1/3 cup
Instructions
- According to the instructions of your ice cream maker, prepare the bowl for the following day. This usually involves freezing the bowl of the ice cream machine overnight.
- In a medium saucepan, stir the heavy cream, whole milk, sugar, salt, and espresso powder. Turn on the flame to medium heat; warm until the sugar and expresso power are dissolved.
- Slowly pour half of the warm cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. This step is called tempering, raising the temperature of the egg yolks so they don't scramble later on.
- Pour the egg yolk–cream, mixture back into the saucepan set on medium heat. Set a fine sieve over the now empty 4 cup measuring cup. Stir the mixture constantly with a wooden spoon until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, about five minutes. The custard mixture should end up between 170° F and 180° F. Using a candy or instant–read thermometer will not only assure that the custard is cooked to the right viscosity, it will also throw away any possible risk of salmonella (which is avoided past the temperature of 165° F).
- Turn off the flame. Pour the mixture back into the 4 cup measuring cup, through the sieve. You may need to scrape the bottom of the saucepan with a silicone spatula if there are bits stuck.
- Whisk the vanilla extract into the mixture. Whisk in the very strong coffee, to taste.
- Cover with plastic wrap pressed up to the surface of the mixture. Chill overnight.
- Pour the cold custard base into the prepared ice cream maker according to the instructions of the machine.
- When the ice cream machine is finished, the custard will be the the texture of soft-serve. Enjoy as is, or transfer to a container (a standard loaf pan works perfectly) and freeze, covered, several hours until it reaches the texture of regular hard ice cream.
Jeremy Scheck spent high school perfecting his signature cupcakes, making quiches and coffee cake by the dozen at a local bakery, and teaching cooking demonstrations at Williams-Sonoma. As a 10th grader in 2016, he began documenting his favorite recipes on a blog called The After School Bakery. In college, Jeremy learned to make 50 gallons of ice cream in the food science lab, how to prune grape vines in the teaching vineyard, the best way to milk a cow in Northern Italy, and why film photography is an art worth saving. As a sophomore in 2020, he traded blog photos for video and became a TikTok culinary sensation. Jeremy has been featured on the Today show, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, BBC Radio, People, and Access Hollywood, among others. Jeremy is a graduate of Cornell University with a double major in Spanish and Italian, and significant coursework in food science. He lives in Brooklyn, NY. Learn more about Jeremy.
Who would’ve thought that combining custard with coffee-based flavors can turn out to be really scrumptious, huh? Anyway, I want to share this article with my sister so she can serve the best dishes pretty soon. Her best friend is going to pay her a visit this weekend and she plans to indulge her with great food.