I don’t think of ice cream as a seasonal thing. Let me clarify: I do think of ice cream flavors as seasonal things, but ice cream, as a general and cardinal food group, is very much a year-round treat for me.
To give you an example, I have just returned from Deauville in Normandy, wherein I attended the Omnivore Food Festival, a two-day event during which new-generation chefs demonstrate their craft onstage, and artisan vintners present their wines.
And in between demos and discussions that added a good dozen names to my restaurant dream list*, I felt compelled to sneak out and visit Martine Lambert‘s ice cream parlor: the Paris location is included in my book, but this is the original shop, and a bit of a pilgrimage destination for ice cream devotees.
It being February, overcast and misty, let us say there wasn’t much of a line, yet I shed my mittens and dug into my cup of vanille paillettes de chocolat — vanilla with flecks of chocolate — and caramel au chaudron — caldron-cooked caramel — as I scampered back to the conference center. As the modern French expression goes, c’était une tuerie (~ it was killer). The caramel in particular, which had been pushed almost to the tipping point of bitterness: caramel should not be timid, and Martine Lambert certainly gets that.
This wintry ice cream fix suddenly reminded me of a truly rapturous ice cream I made some weeks ago and, inexplicably, failed to post about: it is a recipe for maple pecan ice cream, a French-style, custard-based ice cream flavored with maple syrup and studded with pecans. I hope you won’t be scared off by the word “custard”: I’ve included detailed instructions in the recipe below, and you will be fine, I promise. (I myself learned the technique for this type of ice cream in David Lebovitz’s ice cream book; surely you’ve noticed I refer to it again and again, so I trust you’ve acquired your own copy by now?)
It is a typical winter ice cream, cuddly and smooth, that I prescribe you make at least once before spring. I definitely will, seeing as I’ve received a box of all-natural maple goods from Brien in Quebec, and can’t wait to put them to good use.
* Especially Laurent Chareau’s Le Chat in Villechaud, Emmanuel Renaut’s Flocons de Sel in Megève, Mads Reflund’s MR in Copenhagen, Stefano Baiocco’s Villa Feltrinelli on the shores of the Lake Garda, and the Marcons’ green restaurant in Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid.
Maple Pecan Ice Cream
– 240 ml (1 cup) milk (I used reduced fat, or lait demi-écrémé in French, because that’s what I have on hand to make yogurt)
– 1 tablespoon raw cane sugar
– 100 grams (1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon) crème fraîche or heavy cream
– 3 egg yolks
– 80 ml (1/3 cup) maple syrup, the darker the better
– 1 good pinch sea salt
– 75 grams (3/4 cup) pecans, coarsely chopped
Makes about 1/2 liter (1/2 quart).
Heat the milk and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
While the milk heats up, put the cream in a medium mixing bowl with a pouring lip, and set a fine-mesh sieve over it.
Beat the egg yolks lightly in a second, heatproof medium bowl.
When the milk mixture is warm enough that you see steam rising from the surface, pour it very slowly into the yolks, whisking it in to prevent the yolks from cooking. Pour the whole thing back into the saucepan and cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and scraping the sides and bottom well, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon (i.e. if you draw your finger across the back of the spoon, it should leave a neat path).
Pour this mixture through the prepared sieve — this will remove any lumpy bit of egg from the custard — and whisk it into the cream. Add the maple syrup and salt, and whisk them in.
Put a half-dozen ice cubes in a larger bowl, nest the mixing bowl containing the custard in it, and pour cold water carefully into the larger bowl. (This is called an ice bath, and it helps cool liquids down more quickly, which is recommended for such egg-based mixtures.) Whisk the custard in the ice bath until cool, cover, and refrigerate until chilled. This can be prepared up to 12 hours ahead.
Churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions, adding the pecans when the ice cream is almost set.
FAQs
I had an old recipe for homemade strawberry ice cream in my files that I dug out and I simply replaced the 1¼ cups of white granulated sugar it called for with ¾ cup of pure maple syrup.
How to make ice cream more delicious? ›
To make a different ice cream flavor, fold 2 to 2 1/2 cups of finely diced mix-ins into the ice cream immediately after churning. Adding fresh strawberries makes a wonderful strawberry ice cream, but another fresh fruit, mini chocolate chips, or cookie or brownie crumbles would be great too.
Does maple syrup taste good on vanilla ice cream? ›
MAPLE SYRUP FROM VERMONT ON VANILLA ICE REAM IS GREAT! Works on apple desserts as well as pear desserts, coffee ice cream, rum raisin but not on anything with chocolate.
What can I use maple sugar for? ›
Granular Maple Sugar can be used in recipes in the same way as cane sugar is used. It can be used to sweeten drinks, top oatmeal or incorporated into a flavorful rub for meats. When using Granulated Maple Sugar in baking, it acts just like regular granulated sugar and can be creamed with butter for cookies and cakes.
How much maple syrup to replace sugar? ›
Maple syrup can be used in the place of sugar for just about any recipe, for it is just a matter of learning the substitution ratio. To replace white sugar with maple syrup in general cooking, it is ideal to use ¾ cup of maple syrup for every one cup of sugar.
Why is maple syrup better for you than sugar? ›
It's less processed than regular table sugars and therefore contains more nutrients like vitamins, minerals & antioxidants which help improve your health. Maple Syrup also scores lower on the glycemic index so it's an excellent choice if you want to maintain stable blood glucose levels while enjoying delicious treats!
What is the secret to making ice cream very creamy? ›
When it comes to great ice cream, cold temperatures and speed are your friends: the faster you bring your base from liquid to solid, the creamier it'll be. In a 2-quart unit, a typical batch of ice cream will take between 18 and 25 minutes to churn.
What is the secret ingredient to ice cream? ›
The cream cheese helps create an ice cream with a denser, smoother texture. As explained by TASTE, cream cheese acts as a stabilizer in ice cream, preventing water from seeping out of the milk and cream as well as preventing the formation of ice crystals that detract from ice cream's creaminess.
What is the best stabilizer for ice cream? ›
The most common ones used in ice creams are guar gum, cellulose gum and carob bean gum. They are used to reduce ice crystal growth, deliver flavour cleanly, increase smoothness, body and creaminess and slow down melting. They also help hold the air bubble structure together and give the ice cream a better texture.
What flavors compliment maple? ›
Although maple is lovely all year round, it's definitely best in comforting fall dishes. It plays well with other seasonal flavors — apple-maple and maple-cinnamon being classic combinations — but it also complements foods more commonly associated with savory dishes, like bacon or rosemary.
Simply put, maple cream is natural maple syrup boiled, cooled, and then stirred with no added ingredients. Maple butter is also a product that is created from maple syrup, but it has other ingredients (mainly butter) added into the mix. Generally, maple butter is created using two parts butter and one part maple syrup.
Does vanilla go with maple? ›
But what if there was a simple way to take maple syrup up a notch and add some seriously sweet and sophisticated flavor? The good news is that simply adding a vanilla bean to your bottle can do just that. That's right; infusing your maple syrup with a vanilla bean can take a bottle from average to extraordinary.
What's the difference between maple syrup and maple sugar? ›
It is commonly used as a natural sweetener for pancakes, waffles, and other foods. Maple sugar, on the other hand, is made by further boiling maple syrup until it crystallizes and forms granules. It has a texture similar to regular sugar and can be used in place of sugar in baking and cooking.
Is it better to sweeten with maple syrup or sugar? ›
As a natural sweetener, pure maple syrup contains more nutrients than table sugar and is therefore considered a healthier alternative to table sugar. However, it's still high in sugar, and like any sweetener should be enjoyed in moderation. That said, if you are to pick one, pure maple syrup is the natural choice.
Is maple sugar healthier than honey? ›
Another advantage of honey over maple syrup is that honey offers more vitamins — B-6 and C — while maple syrup lacks this vitamin profile. But what maple syrup lacks in vitamins, it makes up for in minerals. Maple syrup offers more iron, calcium, zinc, and potassium than honey does.
What can you replace sugar with when making ice cream? ›
Again, a range of options are available: “Aspartame used to be the most commonly used high-intensity sweetener but now there's sucralose and plant-based options like stevia glycosides.
Is maple syrup good in ice cream? ›
Maple ice cream carries all the dark, moody complexities of maple syrup, but in a more versatile form. It's a quick dessert on its own, an impressive pie topper, and—a hint—it's awesome on French toast.
Do people put maple syrup on ice cream? ›
Homemade ice cream is best within the first week of being made, but will keep for a month or two in the freezer. To serve, let it soften for a few minutes at room temperature, and drizzle with a bit of maple syrup if you like.
Which sugar substitute is best for ice cream? ›
I have made ice cream with Xylitol, and it is the only sugar substitute that I currently recommend for making ice cream. There are a couple of things to consider, however. Xylitol granules are much larger than sugar granules, so you will need to heat your milk and stir it into the Xylitol until it is fully dissolved.
