More Than Sweet — A Recipe for Fruit Ice Cream

 We get into the frozen dessert section of summer with self-taught pastry chef Marie Frank, who shares a recipe from her new book, More Than Sweet.

While I adore the juicy, vibrant freshness of sorbets, there is something to be said about the scrumptious tart-sweet creaminess of a fruit ice cream. This base recipe is meant for you to customise, but it works best with berries, rhubarb, stone fruit, and other fleshy fruit. Simply blend in a portion of fruit purée or roasted fruit and season with any flavourings you love. I recommend eating the ice cream within a week—when the flavour of the fruit is still fresh and vibrant and the texture of the ice cream is at its peak!

Ingredients
1 cup / 240 ml whole milk
1 cup / 240 ml heavy cream
2½ tablespoons / 50 g Invert Sugar Syrup
⅔ cup / 125 g sugar
4 egg yolks
1 recipe Fruit Purée (page 86 of book)
Sea salt

Fruit Ice Cream
Makes about 2 pints / 1 L

1. Fill a large bowl halfway with ice water and place it in the sink.

2. Combine the milk, cream, and invert syrup in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook over medium heat until hot and steaming but not boiling.

3 . Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks in a medium heatproof bowl until combined. Temper the egg yolks by slowly pouring the hot mixture over the yolks while whisking continuously to prevent them from curdling.

4. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until the custard reaches 180°F / 82°C on an instant-read thermometer. Immediately pour the custard into a medium metal bowl and nestle it in the ice bath.

5. Stir the custard occasionally until it reaches 50°F / 10°C on the thermometer. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.

6. Add the fruit purée to the cold custard and blend with an immersion blender. Season to taste with a pinch of salt before adding to an ice cream maker and churning according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The ice cream is ready when the texture is like soft serve and a scoop of ice cream holds its shape, 20–30 minutes.

7. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze for at least 3–4 hours before serving.

Fruit Purée
450 g fleshy fruit of choice, peeled, cored, and pitted, as needed.

1. Place the fruit and 1–2 tablespoons water in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat for 3–4 minutes, until the fruit begins to break down.

2. Blend with an immersion blender or in a regular blender to a smooth purée, then pass through a fine-mesh sieve if a smoother texture is desired. Cool completely before adding to an ice cream custard.