Strawberry Goat Cheese Ice Cream

» 2 pounds strawberries
» 3/4 cup sugar (separated 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup)
» 1 cup whole milk
» 1 cup heavy cream
» 6 egg yolks
» 2-3 oz. mild goat cheese

In a medium saucepan, cook strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it reaches a jam-like consistency (about 30 minutes). Set aside.

In a separate saucepan, combine milk, heavy cream, and the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar over medium heat.

Whip egg yolks in a separate bowl. Just before the milk begins to simmer, add about half the mixture to the bowl of egg yolks half a cup at a time, stirring constantly. Slowly pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan. Continue to stir until liquid thickens into a custard and coats the back of a spoon.

Crumble goat cheese at the bottom of a large bowl. Pour hot custard over the goat cheese and stir until it melts. Add strawberries. Puree together in a blender or with an electric hand mixer.

Chill the custard using an ice bath or refrigeration. When the custard is cold, pour custard into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

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Blueberry Ice Cream

This is a fabulous, fast, and foolproof iced cream that is easily made without the ice cream maker. It is refreshing and perfect…anytime fresh berries are in season. The recipe calls for a juicer, which is a handy kitchen electric to have. If you don't have one, puree the blueberries in a blender or food processor and then put the juice through a sieve to extract the juice from the skins. I use and recommend the sweet plump berries from Driscoll's Organic brand. Their flavor is sweet and true.

Ingredients

2 pint Driscoll's Organic brand blueberries (about a generous 2 cups, juiced to yield about 3/4- to 1-cup fresh juice), plus additional fresh berries to garnish Zest from 1/2 fresh lemon 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice Scant 1 cup confectioners' sugar 2 cups heavy whipping cream, plus more if needed Fresh mint sprigs, to garnish.

Preparation

Place the blueberry juice into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the lemon zest and juice, and then the confectioners' sugar. Whisk at low speed to dissolve the confectioners' sugar into the juice. Turn the mixer to medium-high and add the heavy cream. Whisk the mixture on medium high speed until it holds soft peaks. (You may want to place a kitchen towel over the mixer to prevent splattering.)

Pour the mixture into an airtight container (or into silicone molds for individual servings). Cover and freeze until firm. This will take about 3 to 5 hours. Remove from the freezer and place in the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh blueberries and mint sprig.

Variation For a more intense blueberry flavor, mix fresh clean blueberries into the iced cream mixture after about one-half hour in the refrigerator. If you put the blueberries in when you first put the cream into the freezer the blueberries will sink to the bottom or your container!

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Nigel Slater's classic vanilla ice cream recipe

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 600ml milk
• 1 fat vanilla pod
• 6 egg yolks
• 150g caster sugar

Method:

Pour 600ml milk into a saucepan. Slice a fat vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape the sticky black vanilla seeds into the pan with the point of a knife. Drop the scraped pod in, too, then bring the mixture almost to the boil. Turn off the heat just before it boils. Leave for 30 minutes or so, for the vanilla to flavour the milk.

Beat 6 egg yolks and 150g caster sugar till light and fluffy. Fish out the vanilla pod but not the seeds from the milk, then pour it through a sieve into the egg yolks and sugar, stirring till you get a thin custard. Pour it into a clean saucepan.

Put the custard over a moderate heat and, stirring almost continuously with a wooden spoon, bring it slowly towards the boil. Once the custard is thick enough to thinly coat the back of a wooden spoon, remove it from the heat, pour it into a cold basin and leave it to cool. Once it is cool, refrigerate it for a good half-hour before pouring into an ice cream machine and churning until almost frozen.

The trick

The custard must not reach boiling point, but should start to thicken before it gets there. If you overheat the custard it will curdle (I guarantee), so make certain that the spoon gets right into the corners of the pan. Your most helpful utensil will be a sink of cold water. If there is even the remotest sign of curdling, quickly dunk the pan into a sink of cold water to cool the sauce down and whisk like you mean it.

The twist

Made with half milk and half cream, the result will taste more like the ices of your childhood. When you transfer the ice cream to a freezer box, swirl in a few spoonfuls of blackcurrant or raspberry purée for a contemporary version of old-fashioned raspberry ripple.

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Recipe - Honey and peach ice cream

Ingredients:

4 large ripe peaches

1/4 cup honey

1 cup whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

3 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

Procedure:

1. To roast the peaches: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Pit and halve the peaches, and toss them in a bowl with honey. Place them on a baking sheet, cut side down. Roast for about thirty to forty minutes, until they are very soft and the skins are slightly charred. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. After the peaches have cooled, remove the skins and chop them roughly. Scrape the peaches and all of the pan juices into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Set aside.

2. To make the ice cream: bring the milk and cream to a boil in a saucepan. Meanwhile, whisk the yolks and sugar together until blended in a heatproof bowl. Drizzle in a bit of the hot milk mixture to temper the eggs (making sure they don’t curdle). Slowly add the rest of the milk mixture. Pour the milk/egg mixture back into the saucepan and heat while stirring until it thickens. Remove from the heat, pour into a heatproof bowl, and stir in the vanilla and peach puree.

3. Refrigerate the custard until chilled. Scrape into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. when finished churning, pack into a container and freeze for at least 2 hours until it is firm enough to scoop.

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