Happy Fourth of July! Stay Cool this summer making delicious and creamy home-made ice cream! Use a vanilla custard base and add simple ‘mix ins’ to customize. I love apricot, Bella Sophia adores strawberry, Uncle Eric is all for cookie dough, David, Davey and Catherine crave vanilla…how about peach or apple pie ice cream? Yummy!
My talented sister Fran (AKA “Fern” in my children’s book series) shares her fabulous custard base and tips for making Fourth of July ice cream. Have fun! What are your tips and tricks for traditional Fourth of July recipes or family events? Feel free to share. I can be reached at huckleberryhilladventure@gmail.com. Enjoy a wonderful 4th of July! If you are in Monterey, California stop by the parade and look for me and my Huckleberry family. (See summer events link at the book/events menu at this site for details.) Huckleberry Hugs, Maxine (AKA “Molly”)
My sister Fran (“Fern” character in The Wild Buck) is a terrific cook.
When my sister Fran and I were kids we took turns rotating the handle on the ice cream maker. Do you remember doing that?
Anyway, things are much easier now. Just layer in ice and rock salt and plug your machine in!
Fran uses two machines, to make the process easier.
We also have ice cream containers handy so that you can easily label and store your delicious frozen custard (as they call ice cream on the East Coast).
Make the custard the day prior and chill overnight. We use a creamy vanilla base and use ‘mix-ins’ to flavor. Easy mix ins include:
Candies such as chocolate chips or m&m’s
Fresh fruit such as strawberries, apricots, peaches, cherries, raspberries, etc.…
Apple Pie; add in caramel sauce, cooked apples and vanilla wafers
Cookie dough (use specialized non egg dough)
And of course…wild huckleberries from huckleberry hill!
What are your favorite mix in’s?
Auntie Fran’s Vanilla Ice-Cream Recipe:
3 Cups (750 ml) sugar
¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml) salt
5 cups (1.25 L) whole organic milk
6 organic large fresh beaten eggs
4 ½ cups (1.125 L) organic heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla extract or vanilla bean
In a heavy saucepan combine sugar, salt, and milk. Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until mixture is steaming. Reduce heat to low.
In a medium bowl slightly beat eggs, do not over beat. Slowly whisk half of the hot mixture into the eggs and pour back into saucepan. Cook over medium low heat until slightly thick, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and refrigerate overnight.
Once ready to make ice cream then you stir in the heavy cream and add your vanilla. Pour the chilled custard into your canister.
If making fruit ice cream add fruit before transferring into canister.
If making mix-ins then make vanilla ice cream and add those ingredients once ice cream is processed (example, chocolate chip or apple pie).
-Enjoy-
(*This article is updated from the original post of July, 2017.)
