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THE LIKE-A-PRO ICE CREAM
With milk powder, milk, cream, sugar, and xanthan gum.
This is how we make this extraordinary Dulce de leche Ice Cream: we make Dulce de Leche from scratch, add milk and heavy cream, and then bake it in the oven to enrich the Dulce de Leche flavour. It has a beautiful, rich caramel colour, unlike any other I have seen in ice cream, a full Dulce de Leche flavour and a fantastic texture and mouthfeel, which are the natural result of the caramelisation of the sugar and lactose.
This recipe includes xanthan gum, which allows us to reduce the amount of heavy cream without sacrificing a full mouthfeel and without the need for egg yolks.
More to explore:
Do not reduce or replace anything; everything is there for a reason.
• Milk powder comes in two common varieties: skim milk powder (which contains no fat) and whole milk powder (which contains 26% fat). Both types can be used for the recipe, but I, personally, recommend using skim milk powder. It helps create a naturally full texture in the ice cream, while whole milk powder can give it a slightly buttery flavour. However, you can use whichever type you have on hand.
• Xanthan gum can be found in specialty shops, health food stores, and online. You can read more about it here.
• Milk: use whole milk, with around 3,5% fat. Do not substitute with skimmed milk (lower fat) or non-dairy milk. You need the fat, milk proteins and lactose that whole milk contains for this ice cream recipe.
• Heavy cream: For this recipe, you can use heavy cream with 35% and up to 36% fat content. It is also OK to use heavy cream suitable for whipping or ultra-pasteurised cream, if it has the right fat content (35-36% fat). Do not use low-fat or non-dairy cream, the ice cream will be icy.
For this ice cream, we need a kitchen scale, and I recommend weighing all the ingredients, even the liquid ones, directly into the bowl/pan as you proceed with the recipe instead of transferring them from one bowl to another because this transfer causes a small -but unwanted – loss of quantity
This recipe makes a 1.2 litre/quart ice cream mixture (before churning), perfect for ice cream makers with a capacity of 1.5 and up to 2 litres/quarts (like Cuisinart ice cream makers).
If you need to scale the ice cream mixture up or down, use this ratio of the ingredients (in weight only):
milk powder 5.8% | whole milk 46.2% | sugar 18.5 % | heavy cream 29.6% | xanthan gum 0.12% in desired total weight of ice cream mixture
to adjust the water in the recipe (which will evaporate during the process), you will need:
A flexible rubber spatula is good for:
-wiping the bottom of the saucepan when you cook dairy on the stovetop.
-scraping residues from bowls, saucepans etc.
If you do not have one, we strongly encourage you to buy one, preferably a flexible one.
The ice cream mixture needs to cool completely and hydrate before churning, so prepare it in advance (approx. 8 hours before) to give it time to chill in the refrigerator.
If your ice cream maker has a removable freezer bowl, put it in the freezer for the whole time indicated by the manufacturer before churning, usually 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 185°C / 365° F.
Dissolve the milk powder: In a small saucepan, add the milk powder (75 g; 2.6 oz) and 40 g of the sugar (1.4 oz). Stir with a rubber spatula until no milk powder streaks are visible. Pour in 1/3 of the whole milk (200 g; 7.1 oz). Whisk briefly, then scrape the bottom and corners of the pan with a rubber spatula. Keep the whisk and the spatula in the saucepan. Milk powder requires agitation and time to dissolve. So leave it to hydrate and return 3-4 times to whisk and scrape milk solids off the bottom and corners of the pan.
Prepare the syrup for the caramel: Pour the water (200 g; 7.1 oz) into a medium to large saucepan (4-litre) and place over high heat. Weigh the remaining sugar (200 g; 7.1 oz) in a bowl and have it next to the stovetop. When the water comes to a full boil, remove it from the heat and add the sugar. Set the timer and stir for 1 minute and 20 seconds. This time is crucial for the sugar to fully dissolve before returning the pan to the heat, so do not estimate it; time it.
Add the lemon juice drops (4 drops) and stir briefly.
Caramelise the sugar: Return the saucepan over high heat. Do not stir from now on. The caramelisation process begins when all the water evaporates; this time varies depending on your saucepan and stove; in mine, it takes about 10 minutes. You’ll know it begins when the caramel appears to have a yellow hue; after this, it will quickly change from yellow to light brown and finally to a golden light brown colour. Remember, do not stir during this process. However, if you notice darker spots forming, you can tilt the pan slightly to redistribute the heat. Do not tilt more than 3-4 times, as it stops the cooking process.
As the caramel boils, bring the milk powder mixture to a boil: Immediately after getting the water and sugar to heat, add approx. 1/2 of the heavy cream (200 g; 7.1 oz) to the saucepan with the milk powder mixture. If you have whisked and scraped as instructed, most of the milk powder should have dissolved by now. Any remaining powder will dissolve as you heat the mixture. Place it over medium-high heat, stirring continuously until the mixture is hot and steamy.
Combine the hot milk mixture with the caramel: When the caramel reaches a golden brown colour (185°C / 365°F if you have a thermometer), remove it from the heat and immediately add a generous splash of the hot milk mixture and whisk vigorously. Important: Step back and keep your hands off the saucepan as you do so, as the steam is very hot and can cause severe burns. Once the steam subsides, stir with a rubber spatula to combine and smooth the mixture, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the saucepan to remove any caramel residues. Then, add the remaining milk mixture from the saucepan and stir until smooth.
Add the remaining heavy cream and bring to a boil: Any solidified caramel residues on the whisk, the spatula, and the bottom saucepan are part of the recipe. We want them all in the mixture. To collect them, we have to melt them into the mixture, so add the remaining heavy cream (185 g; 6.5 oz) into the saucepan with the caramel residues and return it over medium heat. During this final heating phase, whisk and scrape the sides of the pan. The remaining caramel residues will finally dissolve into the mixture if you aim to incorporate them. When the whisk and spatula come out clean, remove them from the saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the remaining 2/3 milk and water: Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the remaining 2/3 milk (400 g; 14.1 oz) and water (600 g; 21.2 oz). Before blending, do a final check to ensure the bottom and sides are free of any residues. Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture while keeping the blender head submerged at all times to prevent splashing.
Write down the weight of the Dutch oven: Before pouring the ice cream mixture in, weigh the Dutch oven without the lid and write down its weight. You can also use any other baking dish with a heavy lid.
Pour the ice cream mixture into the Dutch oven / baking dish. The ice cream mixture is now a light beige, as the Dulce de Leche flavour has been muted into the milk. We will bake it in the oven to achieve a rich Dulce de Leche brown colour and enhance the flavour.
Cover and bake for two hours: Cover with the lid and bake in the preheated oven (185°C; 365°F). After two hours, the mixture will develop a deep caramel colour. Allow it to cool briefly with the lid on, then uncover it. Scrape all the caramelised bits from the insides of the Dutch oven and push them down into the mixture.
Blend the mixture with the immersion blender until it is completely smooth, scraping residues from the sides and bottom as you blend. If the mixture is too hot, allow it to cool slightly before blending to prevent hot splatters.
Weigh the Dutch oven (uncovered) with the ice cream mixture in it. Our goal weight is the weight of the Dutch oven plus 1300 grams (45.9 oz), which is the sum of the recipe’s ingredients: milk powder + whole milk + sugar + heavy cream. Add enough milk (or water) to reach this weight if it weighs less than that. Troubleshooting: If it weighs more than the goal weight, return it briefly to the oven and bake uncovered to reduce the weight further, then add milk or water as needed.
Add the xanthan gum: (1/2 teaspoon; 1.5 g) Sprinkle the xanthan gum over the surface, then blend with an immersion blender, constantly keeping the blender head submerged to prevent splattering. Blend until no streaks of xanthan gum are visible, then continue blending for 1-2 minutes to dissolve the xanthan gum.
Strain the mixture into a bowl: Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, scraping along any residues.
The ice cream mixture should be lukewarm by now; in this case, Chill until completely cold: cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days.
If it is warm, cool it down before putting it in the fridge; How to cool it down (if needed): prepare an ice bath by placing the bowl with the ice cream mixture into a larger bowl and filling the empty sides with ice cubes and cold water. How many ice cubes? A tray of ice cubes (200 g; 7 oz of ice) is enough to bring the ice cream mixture to room temperature. Let the ice cream mixture cool down for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Alternatively, if you have many ice cubes, you can have the mixture ready for churning in 40 minutes. Click on the bulb box right below to see how.
Check if the ice cream mixture is cold before churning it: below 12ºC / 54ºF / it feels fridge-cold when you place your (clean) finger into it.
Prepare the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Blitz: the ice cream mixture is thick; give it a quick blitz with the immersion blender; this will allow it to churn for longer, resulting in a better texture. Pause once during blending to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Churn: with the machine running, pour the ice cream mixture through the canister and into the ice cream maker. Leave to churn until fluffed up and creamy; this can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes, depending on your ice cream maker. If you are new to ice cream making, read the bulb below to find out how you will know that the ice cream is ready.
This ice cream is ready when it looks creamy and wavy, with the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. The total churning time depends on your ice cream maker and could be anywhere from 30-70 minutes.
To evaluate if it is ready, lift a spoonful; it should be thick enough to stand on the spoon, but it will still be soft like soft-serve ice cream. If it looks watery or starts to melt the moment you spoon it, leave it to churn for longer.
In any case, if you have doubts about the consistency, leave it to churn for ten minutes more. But beware: at this stage, do not expect it to be like store-bought carton ice cream; for now, it should be more like soft-serve ice cream. It will firm up and become like store-bought ice cream only after it sets in the freezer.
So, stop the ice cream maker when thick and creamy, as described above. If you leave to churn it for much longer, it will start turning grainy.
Warning: some ice cream makers are programmed to stop after a specific time, which doesn’t make sense because the ice cream may need to churn for more to reach its fullest potential. So, if you notice that your ice cream maker stops on its own and upon checking the ice cream, you find that it is sloppy instead of fluffy, try to turn the machine on again and leave it to churn until it reaches the desired texture.
Put in the freezer to set: before serving the ice cream or moving it to a container for storing, you have to put it in the freezer to set. To do so, turn off the ice cream maker and:
· remove the removable freezer bowl (still filled with the ice cream) from the ice cream machine
· remove the paddle, scraping any ice cream attached to it back into the ice cream bowl
· place it in the freezer, uncovered
Setting time depends on many factors; see notes below for indicative times.
Serve or store: when it sets, you can serve it directly from the removable freezer bowl or transfer it to an airtight container for longer storage.
The time it takes for ice cream to set depends on the type of ice cream maker you are using. Here are the approximate setting times:
– 3-5 hours for removable freezer bowls (these are the bowls that need to be pre-frozen before churning)
– 1-2 hours for aluminum bowls (these are the bowls from compressor ice cream makers)
Please note that these times are approximate and can vary based on different factors. You should check the ice cream occasionally, approximately every 1-2 hours or as needed, while it is in the freezer. The ice cream is ready when it reaches an internal temperature of -11°C / 12°F. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can check if the ice cream has set by inserting a round tip knife into it all the way to the bottom:
– When the ice cream is ready, it should feel firm as you go down, but also soft enough to insert the knife.
– If it’s not ready, it may feel hard on the top and softer as you go down.
– If it’s been in the freezer for too long, it will be too hard to insert the knife and likely too hard to scoop out of the ice cream bowl. In this case, you can find out how to make it scoopable again by clicking on the next section.
If the ice cream stays in the removable freezer bowl for too long, it will become too hard to remove or serve.
To make it scoopable again, leave it in the refrigerator to soften. That can take:
(Note: the time given is indicative, time may vary depending on many factors, so do check it occasionally as it sits in the refrigerator.)
When the ice cream is soft enough to scoop (or it has an internal temperature of approx. -11°C /12°F if you have a thermometer), you can transfer it to another container and store it in the freezer or serve it directly from the freezer bowl.
Straight after churning, the ice cream has a soft-serve ice cream consistency and melts immediately upon contact with anything. So it is too messy to serve or transfer to another container.
Putting it in the freezer after churning sets it and brings it to the right consistency: scoopable and easy to serve or transfer to another container to store it.
Storing: In the freezer for one month, cover it well to protect it from absorbing the freezer’s smells.
Scooping: Like all artisanal ice cream, this ice cream freezes hard in the long term. You can make it perfectly scoopable again by putting it in the refrigerator for 45-60 minutes until soft or until its internal temperature reads -11°C / 12°F.