Ice Cream (Glacé Crème)

About the dish

The basic ice cream recipe in Erken's ice cream chapter. The chapter opens by noting that ices fall into two classes – cream ices and water or fruit ices – and that cream ices usually consist of egg custard sweetened with sugar and various flavors such as coffee, caramel, chocolate or liqueur. If you want the ice soft, use more sugar and more eggs relative to the milk or cream; if you want it harder, use less sugar and eggs.

How to make it

1. 1

   Whisk the egg-sugar mixture

   Whisk the egg yolks and sugar pale and thick, about 15 minutes.

2. 2

   Thin with boiling cream

   Bring the cream (or milk) to a boil and pour it little by little into the egg mixture while whisking constantly.

3. 3

   Heat the custard

   Put the mixture over low heat and warm it with constant whisking until it just approaches the boiling point and thickens (about 80–85 °C (185 °F)). It must not boil.

4. 4

   Cool

   Take the custard off the heat, pour it into a cold bowl and stir it with a silver spoon (or wooden spoon) until it is completely cold.

5. 5

   Freeze

   Freeze the custard in an ice cream maker, or in a mold set in ice and salt, until firm.