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HINTS FOR BEST RESULTS
To achieve the best results when making frozen
desserts, ensure all ingredients are fresh and
well chilled.
Recipes that require pre-cooking are best done the
day before. This will allow longer time for pre-chilling
mixture before use.
It is recommended to pre-chill all made up mixtures
in a pouring bowl or jug for at least 1-2 hours in the
refrigerator (or 20-30 minutes in the freezer) before
using in the Crazy Scoops. Longer chilling time will
increase the volume of the frozen dessert during the
churning stage.
Dessert mixtures that do not require pre-cooking
are best made with a food processor or blender on
low speed as this will provide better texture to the
finished dessert.
An electric mixer on low speed can be used to blend
the ingredients but avoid over aeration of the mixture.
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VITAL INGREDIENTS
Milk, cream, sugar and eggs are the most commonly
used ingredients in ice cream making. These can often
be substituted with similar ingredients depending on
your preference.
Other frozen desserts such as gelato use more milk
than cream, sorbets are made from sugar syrup, and
frozen yoghurts use a mixture of unflavoured yoghurt,
milk and cream to achieve their distinctive textures.
MILK
Recipes using a mixture of milk and cream will be
smoother than those made with milk. The type
of milk chosen will also affect the flavour, texture
and consistency of the dessert. Most recipes in
this book use homogenised, pasteurised full cream
milk. However, for individual dietary requirements,
a selection of Vanilla Ice Cream recipes have
been created for your convenience using a variety
of available milk types. If changing a recipe by
substituting full cream milk with low fat milk, the
frozen dessert will be icier and may not have as much
volume. Buttermilk can be used, it is thicker than milk
but has less fat and a refreshing acidity that blends
well with fruit ices. Pre-flavoured milks are a quick
and easy way to add versatility to your ice cream
making.
CREAM
Rich ice cream is usually cream based. Different
types of cream are available and labelled according
to the amount of fat contained. Ice cream recipes in
this book require cream containing 35% milk fat. In
recipes using more milk, a fine, smooth textured ice
cream can be made by substituting cream for some of
the milk content. To make a harder, firmer ice cream,
reduce the amount of cream and egg yolks. Overall,
the thicker the cream used (and more cream than
milk used) the richer the results.
EGGS
Eggs and egg yolks will assist in giving more volume
and stability to the frozen ice creams. Egg whites will
give a finer texture and more volume to sorbets.
SUGAR
Sugar adds sweetness to frozen desserts and at the
same time controls the softness. Too much sugar
will impede the mixture's ability to freeze whilst
not enough sugar may result in the dessert setting
too hard. White granulated sugar, or white castor
sugar, has been used in most of the recipes in this
book. Other sweeteners, such as brown sugar, honey,
syrup, etc. can be used, but the flavour, texture and
consistency of the frozen dessert may vary. Artificial
sweeteners, such as granulated Splenda, can be used.
If wishing to substitute Splenda for sugar in a recipe,
use an equivalent amount, however the flavour,
texture and consistency of the frozen dessert may
vary. For your convenience a Low-Joule Vanilla Ice
Cream recipe using Splenda has been included in the
recipe section.
FRUIT
The ripeness, sweetness and acidity of a fruit can
affect the taste and texture of ice cream. If using a
tart fruit, compensate by adding more sugar. If a fruit
is extremely sweet, reduce the sugar.
Once the ice cream is frozen it will not taste as sweet
as the original mixture. Keep this in mind when
adjusting the sweetness.
A wide variety of canned fruits can be used to add
flavour and colour to frozen desserts as shown in the
Flavoured Ice Cream recipe section.
When using fresh fruit, it may be necessary to sprinkle
it with a little lemon juice to avoid discolouring.
ALCOHOL
Add alcohol to the dessert mixture when it is almost
frozen. If liquor is added too soon, it will slow down
the freezing process. Sweeter liqueurs or fortified
wines will add that special flavour to vanilla or fruity
ice creams.
THICKENING AGENTS
Gelatine and agar agar will assist in stabilising frozen
desserts particularly when low in fat or sugar and also
will help to slow melting after serving. If wishing to
add to a recipe, dissolve 1-2 teaspoons gelatine or
agar agar in 1-2 tablespoons water and add to the
mixture before chilling.
ESSENCES, EXTRACTS AND FOOD COLOURINGS
Essences such as vanilla, almond, lemon, peppermint
add that extra distinctive flavour. However, vanilla
extract has been used in the Instruction Book recipes
and will give a more authentic vanilla flavour to the
frozen desserts. It is recommended to use essences
and extracts sparingly but remember the flavour of
the frozen desserts will not be as strong as the chilled
mixture prior to churning.
Food colourings will accentuate the particular flavour
of the frozen dessert. For example, green colour in
peppermint ice cream or red colour in strawberry ice
cream. Use only a few drops for softly coloured frozen
desserts, add more for brighter colour effects.
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