Roasted Rhubarb Ice Cream, Great Scoops: Recipes from a Neighborhood Ice Cream Shop by Marlene Haley and Amelai Ryan. Photography by Christian Lalonde.
Ice cream really does make everything better. Compiled with love by the team at The Merry Dairy, Great Scoops features a cheerful collection of 80 easy, custard-style and vegan ice creams and delectable desserts.
From hibiscus & passion fruit and bourbon black cherry to triple chocolate and caramel popcorn, this exciting new cookbook also includes recipes for signature sauces, toppings, and baked goods (say hello to chocolate chip cookies and meringue kisses). Best of all, the ice creams are nut-free, sesame-free, (and some even gluten-free). What can we say? This is good mood food at its best.
And for those who are new to ice cream making, have no fear: the book includes a chapter covering everything there is to know about making both dairy and vegan ice creams and frozen desserts at home. Great Scoops is a captivating cookbook about artisanal ice cream, the people who craft it and the community that loves them for it.
The delightful selection of classic and whimsical flavours reminds us that delicious homemade ice creams can be made year-round. More importantly, you’re never too old to enjoy a heartfelt scoop.
Great Scoops: Recipes from a Neighborhood Ice Cream Shop is available at Amazon.com and Indigo.ca.
Roasted Rhubarb Ice Cream
Makes about 1 quart
When pink and green shoots appear in winter-weary gardens, we know spring has arrived. And so has our annual Rhubarb Exchange: neighbours drop off rhubarb from their gardens; we give them a pint of this pleasure once it’s churned. A delicious win-win!
Here, rhubarb roasted in honey and balsamic vinegar is added to the custard base. Beet juice pinks it up. For a sophisticated dessert, finish with extra rhubarb purée and mint leaves—and maybe a drizzle of chocolate sauce.
BalsamIc-roasted Rhubarb
2 cups (200 g) chopped rhubarb, about 3 trimmed stocks
3 Tbsp (63 g) pure local honey
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Roasted Rhubarb Ice cream
2 cups (473 ml) heavy cream
1 cup (236 ml) whole milk
1 qty Balsamic-Roasted Rhubarb (see here)
½ cup (100 g) sugar
¼ tsp fine sea salt
5 large egg yolks (90 g)
1 Tbsp beet juice, for colour (optional) (see Tip, p. 77)
Fresh mint leaves, for garnish (optional)
BalsamIc-roasted Rhubarb
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Scatter rhubarb over the baking sheet and then drizzle with honey and balsamic vinegar. Roast for 15 minutes, or until rhubarb is softened and browned. You can use the warm rhubarb in the ice cream base immediately.
If you’re preparing the rhubarb for later use, cool completely and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Makes about 6 Tbsp.
Roasted Rhubarb Ice cream
Prepare an ice bath.
In a medium-sized saucepan, combine cream, milk and roasted rhubarb. Blend with an immersion blender until very smooth. (Or you can blend ingredients in a regular blender, then transfer to a saucepan.) Add sugar and salt. Stir the mixture over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or until steam begins to rise from the surface. Remove from heat.
While the dairy is warming, whisk the egg yolks in a medium-sized bowl. To temper the yolks, slowly pour 1 cup of the heated cream mixture into the yolks while whisking vigorously. Continue adding heated cream and whisking until about half of the hot cream has been added. Transfer the yolk mixture to the pan.
Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring continuously with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula or a digital thermometer reads 180°F (about 5–6 minutes). Immediately remove from heat and strain the custard through
a fine-mesh sieve into the inner bowl of the prepared ice bath, pressing down on any rhubarb bits with a stiff rubber spatula to extract as much flavour as possible.
Add a few teaspoons of beet juice (if using) for a light pink hue. Cool the custard in the ice bath until room temperature, stirring occasionally. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Place storage container in the freezer to chill. Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions until ice cream is thick and creamy and has increased in volume by about a third.
Garnish with mint (if using) and enjoy immediately, or freeze 2 hours in chilled storage container for a firmer scoop.
BalsamIc-roasted Rhubarb sauce or swIrl
If making balsamic-roasted rhubarb as a sauce or swirl, scrape the warm rhubarb and any caramelized bits into a bowl. Using an immersion blender, purée until mostly smooth. (Or blend it in a regular blender.) Set aside to cool.
Rhubarb can be stored in a sealed glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Makes about 6 tablespoons.
Recipe reprinted with permission from Figure 1 publishing.