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The Delicious Appreciations of Pick Yin

Not exactly predictable.
Has enough brains for codes
(but can be completely clueless on other more important matters).
Likes her Joe (and her man?) black, her chocolate dark and her food spicy.
“Quam bene vivas refert, non quam diu.” — Seneca

Total Posts   191      Last Updated   23 November 2015 12:00 PM (GMT +8)

Wednesday, July 20, 2011


Blackberry, Raspberry and Blueberry Ice Cream





While the rest of the northern hemisphere is currently going through a beautiful hot summer, in Singapore I'm starting to see heaps of cherries and other warm weather berries piling up makeshift counters at the supermarkets. These in-season imports are now fresh, juicy and plump, some of them even going on discounts at selected outlets. Before leaving for my business trip, I managed to lug home punnets of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, plus a few kilos of red cherries. Adding to that, my favorite lychees from China are also at their height, so baskets of these without fail went into my groceries as long as I could handle the weight.



I was in one of those get-it-while-the-going's-good shopping mode, not really knowing what to do with almost half a fridge full of summer berries and stone fruits. After going through the cherries and lychees I was on the verge of coming down with a sore throat, so I studied the punnets of berries briefly, popped my ice cream maker bowl into the freezer and began to imagine having scoops of frozen berry smoothness slide down my protesting thorax.

Who needs an excuse for ice cream, really?



This batch of ice cream brought me several revelations though. Firstly, I now know when exactly a nappe consistency would be achieved. As I sweated myself in my 38 degrees kitchen while my air-conditioning servicing guy did his magic with our ailing units, I remembered a recent pastry class I attended in Hong Kong where the chef told us to look out for that moment when the bubbles start to disappear from the custard. The second - I'm giving up on my KitchenAid ice cream attachment, after giving it another chance to redeem itself from its previous disappointment. It's pretty much useless in my kitchen unless I act on the third matter-of-fact confirmed by my jolly A/C man - yes, people do install air-conditioning in theirs. But, alas, it's not possible for us. Not in our rental HDB with a single compressor restriction, unless we'd be willing to replace all the other three units. That pretty much sealed my final ice cream making fate - I'd always end up with photos of melting ice cream for you.



This was by far the best ice cream I've made, texture wise, scooping out easily straight out of the freezer. Even Vijay - an absolutely non-berry kind of guy, who'd only eat this as long as it had no sign of berry pulp (hence my strained puree) - concurred between spoonfuls of the purplish pink delight. Hopefully there'll still be some left when I get home this weekend. Two weeks of room service Häagen-Dazs and Mövenpick here in Shanghai made me miss my scoops of homemade ice cream more than ever.

Now, onto more serious business, since I'm now in the market for a proper ice cream machine, do let me know if you have recommendations for models available in Singapore and experiences with it in our year long wrath-of-God weather.
Blackberry, Raspberry and Blueberry Ice Cream
Adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop.
Yields about 1 quart.

Note: Depending on the tartness and ratio of your mixed berries (blueberries are really sweet, blackberries the most sour), adjust the sugar accordingly but I wouldn't reduce more than half a cup. You may also experiment with less egg yolks, regular milk and whipping cream if a healthier version rocks your boat and you still want ice cream instead of sorbet.

  • 1 1/2 cups/375 milliliters whole milk

  • 1 1/2 cups/300 grams granulated sugar

  • 1 1/2 cups/375 milliliters heavy cream

  • 5 large egg yolks

  • 2 cups/500 milliliters pureed mixture of blackberries, blueberries and raspberries (about 5–6 ounce punnets)

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

In a saucepan, combine the milk and sugar. Heat the mixture gently over medium low heat to the point of just below boiling. Meanwhile, measure out the heavy cream into a large bowl and set a fine mesh strainer over it. Remove warm milk from heat.

In another medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and vanilla. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Return the mixture back into the saucepan. Over medium low heat, continue stirring the custard constantly with a wooden spoon, scraping the sides and bottom of the pan. The custard is done when it reaches nappe consistency, coating the back of the spoon. Immediately pour through the strainer over the heavy cream. Stir until combined.

Add in the mixed berry puree and the lemon juice. Stir until completely cooled over an ice bath. Cover and thoroughly chill in the refrigerator - for at least 6 hours, preferably over night. Churn in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions or use the instructions here to churn without a machine. Freeze completely before serving.


Related Posts:


French Vanilla Ice Cream with Cherries

Dark Chocolate Soufflé

Dark Chocolate Ice Cream

posted by PickYin @ 7/20/2011 08:33:00 PM

23 Comments on Blackberry, Raspberry and Blueberry Ice Cream

Love love the last photo ! Check out Tott at Dunearn Road - I think they a couple there.

Posted by Anonymous shirley@kokken69, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:12:00 AM  

Shirley: Thanks, I will. That'll be on my priority list of things to do before the next trip.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:12:00 AM  

i have a kitchen aid attachment ice cream maker that i love. tho i think you're on a break with your aid mixer...

we don't have an AC unit in our kitchen, the only unit is in the bedroom and the last time we made frozen yogurt, we set up shop in the bedroom, with the AC cranked. it was weird sitting on the bed while the machine churned but it was also really amusing.

Posted by Anonymous Lan, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:12:00 AM  

also, my boyfriend has this ice cream maker: http://www.cuisinart.com/products/ice_cream/ice-30bc.html

yes. we are a two ice cream makers AND two kitchen aid mixers household...

Posted by Anonymous Lan, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:13:00 AM  

Lan: My KA bowl thaws in about 20 minutes in out of the freezer, the ice cream could never reach that soft serve consistency, more like just a lighter and fluffier custard. I had to churn it manually at least 2-3 times after that.

Our bedrooms are A/Ced but in Asian weather, even on full blast I don't know if the temperature really reaches 16 degrees. Churning ice cream in the bedroom huh? I must try that. Will see if the model you have is available here. By hook or by crook I'm getting a proper machine! **waves fist**

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:13:00 AM  

This looks delicious. I love berry ice creams. I have no idea if it would be available in Singapore but mum's just bought a Delonghi Il Gelataio that I'm impressed with.

Posted by Anonymous Emma @ Poires au Chocolat, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:14:00 AM  

If only I had an ice cream maker. This is looking just too pretty .. picture perfect!
www.sunshineandsmile.com

Posted by Anonymous Anonymous, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:14:00 AM  

that is one luscious shade of pink! i want a bowl of that too! a pity ive been making tons of popsicles lately, so i've not been making any cream icecreams cos im too stuffed with chilly treats. (:

Posted by Anonymous Chelle, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:14:00 AM  



Emma: I will note that, can't wait to get my hands on a proper machine!

sunshineandsmile: You don't need an ice cream maker, just freeze and beat every couple of hours if you don't have a machine.

Chelle: I just got myself a popsicle mold recently. Haven't gotten around to that yet but I suspect it will be soon. Let me know if you have tips on a good ice cream machine.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:15:00 AM  

I'm a berry person! Must bookmark this!! I love the colour!

Posted by Anonymous Mrs Ergül, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:15:00 AM  

Mrs Ergül: I must say I was pretty pleased how the color turned out, the secret is the lemon juice! It became bright pink after I added it, prior to that is was more purplish.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:15:00 AM  

I have cuisinart ice-cream maker... love it, have yet to slave it to the max :D ...

How do you make such a perfect 'ball' of ice-cream...? melting or not... I love the photos :)

Posted by Anonymous Lisa H., at Feb 2, 2012, 10:15:00 AM  

Lisa: I'm looking at Cuisinart too, might just splurge on the self-fridging model. The ball was made using a large scoop, like the one in the last photo. I also have a 'scraping' scoop which is even bigger. This ice cream really scoops well!

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:16:00 AM  

Lovely color on the ice-cream!!

Posted by Anonymous anh@anhsfoodblog.com, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:16:00 AM  

This is gorgeous Pick Yin! Love the beautiful rosy colour of the ice cream. Amazing photos!

Posted by Anonymous Sneh | Cook Republic, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:16:00 AM  



Anh and Sneh: Thanks ladies, the color actually came out better than I would expect!

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:17:00 AM  

Lychees too? Haven't seen any around, maybe cause I'm always distracted by the durians :P

Posted by Anonymous pigpigscorner, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:17:00 AM  

Ann: That's more than 2 weeks ago. The season is short this year. Even in Shanghai the lychees are no longer at their peak.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:17:00 AM  

Mmm I'm looking for lychees I wonder if they're still in season.. Haven't made ice cream for a very long time now.. Texture looks absolutely perfect! :D

Posted by Anonymous Swee San @The Sweet Spot, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:17:00 AM  

Swee San: Here in Singapore I stopped seeing the baskets of lychees at Cold Storage since I came back this weekend. I guess the season is ending. We'll have to move on to cherries, Rainer ones are in the rage right now.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:18:00 AM  

I bought mine from ToTT not too long ago and loving it. If you want, I have the discount card for it. If not wrongly, it is retailing at 500+.

BTW, just adores your berries ice cream! yum.

Posted by Anonymous Edith, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:18:00 AM  

Edith: What brand is yours? I saw a self-fringing unit there but didn't get it because I've neve heard of the brand and they stopped selling Cuisinart.

Posted by Blogger PickYin, at Feb 2, 2012, 10:18:00 AM  

I am about to make your delicious ice cream here in Salt Lake City where we at 105 degrees right now!! So hopefully your ice cream will make us feel really cool !
The only recipe that I have found that I feel like giving it a try.
MMM.
Overstock.com has those KitcheAid ice makers but only for 110 watts.
Miguel

Posted by Anonymous Anonymous, at Jul 1, 2013, 4:18:00 AM  


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