The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (368 page)

MAKES ABOUT 1 QUART

Though the frozen ice cream will keep in the freezer for up to 2 days, its flavor and texture are best when it is eaten the day it is made. An instant-read thermometer is critical for the best results.

1.
Combine strawberries, ¹⁄
₂
cup sugar, and salt in bowl. Mash berries gently with potato masher until slightly broken down. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until berries have released their juice and sugar has dissolved, 40 to 45 minutes.

2.
Place fine-mesh strainer over medium bowl and set over larger bowl of ice water. Combine cream, milk, and ¹⁄
₂
cup sugar in medium saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is steaming steadily and registers 175 degrees, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat.

3.
While cream mixture heats, whisk egg yolks and remaining ¹⁄
₄
cup sugar in bowl until smooth, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk half of heated cream mixture into egg yolk mixture, ¹⁄
₂
cup at a time. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and registers 180 degrees, 7 to 14 minutes. Immediately strain custard through fine-mesh strainer and let cool over bowl of ice water to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

4.
While custard is cooling, transfer berries to medium saucepan and bring to simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until berries are softened and broken down, about 3 minutes. Strain berries, reserving juice. Transfer berries to small bowl; stir in vodka and lemon juice, then let cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate until cold. Stir vanilla and reserved juice into cooled custard, cover, and refrigerate until custard registers 40 degrees, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

5.
Transfer custard to ice-cream machine and churn until mixture resembles thick soft-serve ice cream, 25 to 30 minutes. Add berries; continue to churn until fully incorporated and berries are slightly broken down, about 1 minute. Transfer ice cream to airtight container, press firmly to remove any air pockets, and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Recipes for homemade frozen yogurt often result in an icy slab with a grainy texture from the sugar and an overly tangy flavor from the namesake ingredient. We wanted frozen yogurt with a smooth texture and a mildly tangy yet complex flavor profile featuring main ingredients such as vanilla, chocolate, coffee, or fresh fruit. For our recipe, we solved the problem of overly tart yogurt flavor and grainy sugar by adding some milk. Not only did it tame the yogurt flavor but, when simmered briefly, the milk made it possible to dissolve the sugar. To cut down on iciness, we found that draining the yogurt of excess liquid was helpful, as was using a small amount of gelatin. In premium ice creams, egg yolks are responsible for the rich, silky texture; gelatin serves the same purpose in our frozen yogurt, resulting in a creamy, velvety frozen dessert.

MAKES 1 GENEROUS QUART

The frozen yogurt will be soft at the end of churning, but it can be served this way, or it can be chilled until firm. If using a canister-style ice-cream machine, be sure to freeze the empty canister at least 24 hours and preferably 48 hours before churning. For self-refrigerating ice-cream machines, prechill the canister by running the machine for 5 to 10 minutes before pouring in the yogurt. Though the frozen yogurt will keep in the freezer for up to 2 days, its flavor and texture are best when it is eaten the day it is made.

1.
Place yogurt in fine-mesh strainer set over liquid measuring cup and refrigerate; let drain until yogurt releases ¹⁄
₂
cup liquid, 1 to 2 hours.

2.
Sprinkle gelatin over ¹⁄
₄
cup milk in small bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes.

3.
Meanwhile, cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Using tip of paring knife, scrape out seeds. Combine vanilla bean and seeds, remaining 1¹⁄
₂
cups milk, and sugar in small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is steaming and sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat.

4.
Add softened gelatin to hot milk mixture, stirring until completely dissolved. Remove and discard vanilla bean. Let mixture cool to room temperature over bowl of ice water, then combine with drained yogurt. Cover and refrigerate until mixture registers 40 degrees, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

5.
Transfer yogurt to ice-cream machine and churn until frozen. Transfer frozen yogurt to airtight container, press firmly to remove any air pockets, and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.

We prefer Dutch-processed cocoa in this recipe; it has a mellower flavor and is not as harsh as natural cocoa.

Omit vanilla bean. Increase sugar to 1 cup and add 6 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa to milk along with sugar. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract after milk mixture cools to room temperature in step 4.

If you prefer to use fresh coffee, steep 3 tablespoons coarsely ground coffee in the hot milk-sugar mixture until strongly flavored, about 20 minutes. Strain and discard the ground coffee and reheat the mixture before adding the gelatin.

Omit vanilla bean. Increase sugar to 1 cup and whisk 6 to 7 teaspoons instant espresso powder into hot milk mixture. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract after milk mixture cools to room temperature in step 4.

MAKES 1 GENEROUS QUART

Really ripe, sweet fruit will make a tremendous difference in this recipe. The liquid in the strawberries makes this frozen yogurt icy fairly quickly, so rather than storing it, you are better off eating it the day it is made.

1.
Place yogurt in fine-mesh strainer set over liquid measuring cup and refrigerate; let drain until yogurt releases ¹⁄
₂
cup liquid, 1 to 2 hours.

2.
Meanwhile, combine berries, ¹⁄
₄
cup sugar, and vanilla in bowl. Crush fruit lightly with potato masher. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until berries have released their juice and sugar has dissolved, 40 to 45 minutes.

3.
Sprinkle gelatin over ¹⁄
₄
cup milk in small bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes.

4.
Meanwhile, combine remaining ³⁄
₄
cup milk and remaining ¹⁄
₂
cup sugar in small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is steaming and sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat.

5.
Add softened gelatin to hot milk mixture, stirring until completely dissolved. Let mixture cool to room temperature over bowl of ice water, then combine with drained yogurt and berries. Cover and refrigerate until mixture registers 40 degrees, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

6.
Transfer yogurt to ice-cream machine and churn until frozen. Transfer frozen yogurt to airtight container, press firmly to remove any air pockets, and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.

Substitute 20 ounces fresh or thawed frozen raspberries for the strawberries; after macerating for 40 to 45 minutes in step 2, strain berries through fine-mesh strainer to remove seeds. Proceed as directed.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Most store-bought ice-cream sandwiches are disappointing, made of subpar ice cream and sticky chocolate cookies that somehow manage to taste nothing like chocolate. But homemade ice-cream sandwiches can be a chore. We hoped to find a quick and easy process for homemade ice cream sandwiches. For the cookie component, we turned to a chocolate batter made with flour, cocoa powder, eggs, sugar, and chocolate syrup—which both heightened the chocolate flavor and made for soft and chewy cookies. Rather than rolling balls of cookie dough one at a time, we were able to simply pour the batter onto a rimmed baking sheet—just like brownies. Once the batter had baked and cooled, we cut out perfect circles of cookies with a biscuit cutter. For the ice cream, we placed the pint container on its side and sliced it into rounds, then we stamped out evenly matched rounds of ice cream with the same biscuit cutter. Without a lot of fuss, we had great ice cream sandwiches with fresh-baked flavor.

See “CUTTING ICE-CREAM ROUNDS” illustrations that follow recipe.

MAKES 8 ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

The batter will be very thick; greasing the baking sheet before lining it with parchment paper will make it easier to spread the batter in an even layer. For a dressed-up dessert, roll the sides in chopped nuts, sprinkles, or chocolate chips.

1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 18 by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet and line with parchment paper.

2.
Sift flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl. Beat eggs, sugar, and chocolate syrup in large bowl until mixture is combined and light brown. Add melted butter and whisk until fully incorporated.

3.
Add dry ingredients to egg mixture. With rubber spatula, gradually incorporate dry ingredients; stir until batter is evenly moistened and no dry streaks remain. Pour batter into prepared sheet; using offset spatula, spread batter evenly in pan. Bake until cookie springs back when touched, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes, then run paring knife around edges of sheet to loosen. Invert cookie onto large cutting board; carefully peel off parchment. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

4.
Using 2³⁄
₄
- to 3-inch round biscuit cutter, cut 16 rounds from baked cookie. Using serrated knife, slice away bottoms of ice-cream containers. Dip knife in warm water, wipe clean, and slice four ³⁄
₄
-inch-thick rounds from each container, cutting through cardboard. Peel away and discard cardboard. Using same biscuit cutter, cut out rounds from each ice-cream slice. Assemble ice-cream sandwiches, placing ice-cream round on cookie bottom, then topping with another cookie, shiny side up. Serve immediately or freeze on aluminum foil–lined baking sheet, covered with foil, for up to 3 hours. (Sandwiches can be frozen, wrapped individually in waxed paper, then foil, for up to 1 week; let sandwiches sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.)