There’s a whole aisle of ice cream ready to buy in the supermarket, but if you want to go beyond the ubiquitous vanilla, strawberry and chocolate, you need to take matters into your own hands. Thankfully, making ice cream is easy – and the flavour combinations are endless
RECIPES AND FOOD STYLING EMILY GUSSIN AND POLLYANNA COUPLAND FEATURE WORDS TOM SHINGLER PHOTOGRAPHS INDIA WHILEY-MORTON
There’s a lot of bad homemade ice cream out there. Rock hard, studded with ice crystals, devoid of flavour – we’ve all tasted some, be it churned by our own hand or someone else’s. Truth is, there’s a lot of misunderstanding around how ice cream is made and it can be quite scientific. Get the wrong ratio of dairy to sugar or put too much salt or alcohol in the mix and it won’t freeze properly. Try to bypass the all-important churning and you’re left with a brick of frozen cream. Serve it straight from the freezer and you’ll be bending spoons just to serve scoops that taste of nothing much at all.
When you get it right, however, it’s one of the most impressive and enjoyable desserts you can rustle up. It’s entirely made in advance, easily spruced up with a few garnishes – and it allows your creativity to run wild. Ice cream can be grown-up and sophisticated or playful and nostalgic.
We’re here to make sure you get ice cream right. Our ratios are honed to precision and our flavour combos are like nothing you’ll find in the shops. We’ve even included super-easy ways to serve your homemade creations. So empty your freezer, dust off your ice cream scoop and prepare for a summer of refreshment – we’re bringing the parlour to you!
PARLOUR TRICKS
Tips to remember when delving into the world of frozen cream... Temperature is key. Commercial ice creams contain stabilisers that make them easier to scoop straight from the freezer. You don’t have that luxury with homemade ice cream, but you wouldn’t want to do that anyway – the colder the ice cream is, the more muted its flavour. Ideally, ice cream should be served at about -13°C. Most freezers run at a minimum of -18°C, so it’ll take 5-10 minutes for ice cream from your freezer to reach serving temperature. Worried about it melting before you’ve served it? Freezing (or chilling) your bowls is a good idea.
Get creative – but understand the science. As well as adding sweetness, sugar also helps to prevent ice cream from freezing into a block of ice. The same goes for salt, fats and alcohol. Used in the right amounts they create silkiness, but too much or too little can affect the consi
