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Aurora Wold of Aurora Grace Chocolates with her trusty refractometer.
Get ready, this weekend will be a scorcher. On the bright side, it’s the perfect excuse for indulging in frozen treats. If you’re already a convert for homemade ice cream and sorbet, you already know – there’s nothing more satisfying and fulfilling than taking some humble ingredients and spinning them into something so delicious. If you’re new to the frozen dessert game, know this: master the base recipe and then use your own imagination for endless flavor possibilities. Enter Aurora Wold of Aurora Grace Chocolates, whose base recipes are thorough, easy to follow, and flexible. Her instructions read less like a recipe than a choose your own adventure. Enjoy and keep cool out there!
Sorbet Base Recipe
2 lbs fresh fruit (4 to 5 cups after prepping and slicing)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 to 4 tbsp lemon juice
Prepare the simple syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring gently once or twice. Simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved in the water, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Combine the fruit and 1/2 cup of the cooled simple syrup in a blender. Reserve remaining syrup and pass the juice through a fine strainer.
Whisk together ingredients. Brix to 30 with a refractometer or perform an egg test. Gently lower an egg into the sorbet base. If you see a nickel-sized round of egg showing above the surface, you’re golden. If the circle is smaller or if the egg sinks below the surface, you need to add more sugar. If the circle is larger, you need to add a little water or fruit juice.
Ensure your base is chilled and spin according to your machine’s instructions. Freeze overnight to set.
Notes:
Replace 1/4 cup of the simple syrup with 1/4 cup of corn syrup to make a smoother, less icy sorbet.
Using Other Sugars: You can replace all or some of the sugar in this recipe with another sweetener like honey, coconut sugar, turbinado sugar, or brown sugar.
Leftover Sugar Syrup: Leftover sugar syrup will keep refrigerated for about a month.
Sorbet Variations:
Infused Simple Syrup: After simmering the simple syrup to dissolve the sugar, add any of the following to infuse the syrup while it cools — fresh herbs, cinnamon sticks, vanilla bean, cardamom, fresh lemongrass, cacao nibs, fresh ginger, lavender, or any other aromatic ingredient.
Add Liquor or Other Alcohol: Add 1 to 3 tablespoons of wine, beer, or other liquor along with the simple syrup when blending the fruit.
Add Creaminess (sherbet!): Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of any of the following along with the simple syrup when blending the fruit: coconut milk, heavy cream, evaporated milk, yogurt, buttermilk, crème fraîche, or any other favorite creamy ingredient.
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Ice Cream Base Recipe
2 cups milk
2 cups cream
125g (½ cup) sugar
50g (1/8 cup + 1 tbsp) glucose ***
25g (1 tbsp) trimoline ***
220g (1 cup) yolks
92g (½ cup) sugar
Infuse your milk and cream with desired flavor by warming and steeping for 30-60 mins. Strain liquid and rescale to original volume. Boil together liquid with sugars (***substitute corn syrup for glucose and trimoline if you don’t have it) and temper in to your yolk/sugar mixture. Put mixture back on the stove and make an anglaise, whisking constantly (cook the liquid to nappe – until the mixture coats the back of a spoon – about 170F). Strain immediately and chill the base. Spin according to your machine’s instructions. Add any mix-ins while the ice cream is soft. Freeze overnight to set.
Notes:
All ice cream is mostly water, and as water freezes, it forms hard, crunchy ice crystals. Besides great flavor, the ultimate goal of ice cream making is to keep those crystals as small as possible through added ingredients and technique. Here’s how to fight crystallization:
Emulsifying fat (cream) into a base sticks fat molecules in between water molecules, getting in the way of ice as it freezes.
Sugar also forms a physical barrier to crystallization, just like fat. When dissolved in water, it forms a syrup with a lower freezing point than plain water, lowering the freezing point.
Air is incorporated into ice cream during the churning process. A more aerated ice cream is easier to scoop, and has a fluffier, less dense texture.
Ice Cream Variations:
Steep your heavy cream and milk with flavorings like vanilla beans, fresh mint, lemon thyme, different types of nuts, or herbs. Bring your liquid to a simmer and add your flavorings, cover with plastic to prevent oxidation (the base can become bitter if left uncovered), and steep for 1-2 hours depending on your desired taste. Add mix-ins in the last few mins. Spinning your base or layering the finished ice cream with jam will create a swirl effect in your ice cream.
And for those days when you simply don’t feel like cooking, The Philadelphia Inquirer has a comprehensive list of area restaurants who are offering takeout and delivery!
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