If you love ice cream, put down your scooper and run out and buy this book immediately! I got a lovely Cuisinart ice cream machine last summer and I played with a lot of fruit sorbets, but never ventured out into ice cream.
This year I was on the hunt for the perfect vanilla ice cream. I’ve tried several recipes but haven’t been happy with any of them. The French type vanillas, made with an egg custard base, were too eggy for me. I tried other recipes as well, without eggs, and found texture problems, they weren’t creamy enough or worse yet were icy.
Britton has a unique way of thickening her ice creams and she spells it out with easy to follow directions and even better, easy to find ingredients. Her Ugandon Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, (which I made with vanilla beans from Costco and not from Uganda to be sure,) was fantastic; just the vanilla I’ve been searching for. Sweet but not too sweet, creamy, lots of vanilla flavor and just plain delicious.
There are lots of recipes for very unusual flavors that I can’t wait to try; Roasted Pumpkin 5-Spice Ice Cream will be on my Thanksgiving table this year. I will surprise my husband one night soon with Roxbury Road Ice Cream, a dark milk chocolate ice cream with handmade marshmallows, Praline Sauce and smoked almonds. I was intrigued by Toasted Brioche Ice Cream with Butter and Jam, Bangkok Peanut Ice Cream and next time Steve comes for dinner I will be serving The Darkest Chocolate Ice Cream in the World. And when I want to treat myself, I’ll be whipping up Roasted Pistachio Ice Cream. Or maybe Banana Ice Cream with Caramelized White Chocolate Freckles. Or Gorgonzola Dolce Ice Cream. Jeni is a genius. I am smitten with Britton!
8/12 Stacy Alesi
JENI’S SPLENDID ICE CREAMS AT HOME by Jeni Britton Bauer. Artisan (June 15, 2011). ISBN 978-1579654368. 217p.
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