Featuring this post, which is about adding egg yolks to xanthan gum ice cream mixture.

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE

How to add egg yolks to ice cream
using xanthan gum

Get ready to elevate your homemade ice cream! This comprehensive guide will walk you through the easy process of incorporating egg yolks with xanthan gum. After reading it, you’ll be able to add egg yolks to any of my xanthan gum ice cream recipes. The process is straightforward, and you can choose how many egg yolks you’d like to use.

And please do ask us your questions. We ❤️ questions.

more to explore:

Why add egg yolks to xanthan gum ice cream?

There are two reasons:

  • Flavour: Egg yolks add a custard flavour to ice cream, which many people, myself included, prefer. This adds an extra layer of flavour, giving the ice cream a delightful richness. Consider pastry cream; it wouldn’t be the same without the egg yolks. And worry not about your ice cream tasting eggy, as I will explain how to eliminate any trace of egginess.
  • Texture: Besides enhancing flavour, egg yolks act as thickeners in ice cream, much like starches and gums. When combined with xanthan gum, they create a unique mouthfeel. Xanthan gum adds stretchiness, while egg yolks provide a velvety quality. Together, they result in a fantastic texture richer than if either were used alone.  

How many egg yolks can I add?

You can add from one to six; it is up to you to decide how many. I use six, the maximum, before the eggy flavour becomes overpowering. You can use egg yolks from whole eggs or cartons. In any case, do not worry about the eggs being pasteurised because by cooking the egg yolks with the milk, we cook the custard to a safe temperature.

Watch us making it
The method
Application:

You can apply this method of adding egg yolks to any of our xanthan gum ice cream recipes you like.

In the video, we use as an example our simple Ice Cream made with xanthan gum, which uses only four ingredients, and this is what we will use here too:

• 415 g heavy cream, 35% fat

• 590 g milk, whole

• 200 g sugar

• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum (1.5 g)

If you have questions on how to apply it in other recipes, let us know in the comments.

Step 1: Weigh the egg yolks.

Determine how many egg yolks you will use and weigh them. Consider a maximum of 10% in ice cream mixture weight. All my ice cream recipes produce a 1200 g ice cream mixture, which is up to 120 g of egg yolks (this is approx. 6 egg yolks from large eggs).

Example: I used a maximum of 6 eggs, which weighed 100 g. 

Step 2: Replace heavy cream with egg yolks.

Replace the equivalent amount of heavy cream with the egg yolks (in weight) to determine the quantities of the ingredients you will use. Only the heavy cream changes, all the other ingredients remain the same.

For example, the egg yolks weigh 100 g, and the recipe’s heavy cream is 410 g. So, we replace 100 g of the heavy cream with the egg yolks. The final quantities are 310 g heavy cream and 100 g egg yolks. All the other ingredients remain the same.

Step 3: Thicken ½ milk with the xanthan gum and ½ with the egg yolks

Heat all the milk with the sugar, until the milk is hot and very steamy (this is 75°C / 167°F if you have a thermometer, but no need to be precise).

Thicken ½ of the warm milk with the heavy cream: Pour half of the milk into the blender jug, then with the blender on, sprinkle the xanthan gum over the surface, avoiding the sides of the cap.

For example, the 590 g of milk and the 200 g of sugar give a total of 790 g. Half of the heated milk & sugar mixture (395 g; no need to be precise) will be thickened with the xanthan gum and the remaining with the egg yolks

Thicken remaining warm milk with the egg yolks:Pour the rest of the milk into the egg yolks, whisking them constantly, then return to the heat and warm, stirring constantly with the rubber spatula and scraping the bottom of the saucepan, so it doesn’t catch, until it thickens to coat the back of a spoon / 82°C / 180°F.

Note: thickening works well with an approximate ratio of 1 part egg yolks and 4 parts milk-sugar mixture. This means that for 100 g egg yolks, a good quantity of milk mixture to thicken is 400 g. If the quantities vary significantly, e.g. you use 1-2 egg yolks, you should not expect the milk to thicken when making the custard; instead, monitor the temperature with a thermometer.

Troubleshooting: if the recipe has much less milk than this, try to maintain the ratio of 1 part egg yolks to 4 parts milk-sugar mixture, and blend the xanthan gum with another warm ingredient.

Step 4: Combine the thickened milks with the heavy cream

Pour thickened milk into the heavy cream: When the custard is ready, immediately pour it through a fine-mesh sieve into the heavy cream. Scrape in all the xanthan gum mixture from the blender and stir thoroughly to combine.

In our example, the heavy cream used is 310 g. Have it ready into a heatproof, with a fine-mesh strained set on the top. 

Step 5: Cool down over an ice bath
The ice cream mixture is warm. Since the mixture is still warm, it’s essential to cool it down using an ice bath before placing it in the fridge.
Rapidly cooling an egg-based ice cream mixture is crucial for food safety, as egg yolks are sensitive to contamination.
To create the ice bath, place the bowl with the ice cream mixture inside a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water. Leave it to cool for 30 minutes, replacing the ice cubes as they melt.
Step 6: Add the vanilla extract

A tablespoon of good quality vanilla extract is recommended in any ice cream flavour, to add one extra layer of flavour and counter any egginess. Add it to the ice cream mixture and stir to combine.

Step 7: Refrigerate overnight
The next step is to refrigerate the ice cream mixture overnight. This is the first step that helps reduce the eggy flavour. At this stage, the mixture has a strong egg taste. The egg smell diminishes by letting it rest in the fridge overnight, and the flavours mature and improve. This overnight chilling is especially important when using egg yolks.
You can leave it in the fridge for up to 3 days. The longer it sits, the more the flavours improve, so feel free to procrastinate churning here.
Step 8: Churn

After refrigerating overnight, the ice cream mixture is ready for churning. Stir the chilled mixture thoroughly, then proceed with churning as usual. If you taste the ice cream right after churning, you might be able to spot some egg flavour. Do not worry, though . It will disappear during the next step.

Step 9: Put the ice cream in the freezer to set
The next step is to place the ice cream in the freezer, which helps transform it from a soft consistency to a scoopable texture.
For our egg yolk ice cream, this step has an additional purpose: it helps eliminate any lingering egg flavour. If you taste the ice cream immediately after churning, you might notice a subtle egg taste. However, this flavour will disappear during the freezing process, and the overall flavour will mature as the ice cream sits.

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:

  • anywhere from 4 to 10 hours for removable freezer bowls (these are the ones which need pre-freezing before churning)
  • 1-2 hours for aluminium bowls (these are the bowls from compressor ice cream makers)

(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 and serving

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.

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