This Salt & Straw French Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe Is Anything But Boring
Salt & Straw chef and co-founder Tyler Malek is here to share an excerpt from his new cookbook and his classic French vanilla ice cream recipe.
Salt & Straw is an iconic ice cream brand known for its love of interesting ingredients, which results in delicious, out-of-the-box flavors. They push the boundaries of what ice cream can do by a little (think Salted, Malted, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough), then a bit more (Honey Lavender), and then a lot (Pear and Blue Cheese) — making our taste buds sing with astonishment the whole way.
To let us in on their process and share some of the wealth of flavors with us, Salt & Straw head ice cream maker and co-founder, Tyler Malek, just penned a new cookbook. In many ways, the cookbook is a love letter to classic ice cream flavors. There’s a reason the classics have stood the test of time, and it’s because they’re delicious in all contexts — whether that’s sandwiched in between cookies for a perfect ice cream sandwich or served as an à la mode topping for a delicious summer pie.
But in true Salt & Straw style, the cookbook doesn’t stop there — it also expands on how to riff on these classics. Take chocolate, for instance. Tyler’s version wholeheartedly leans into that rich chocolate-y flavor with Chocolate Chocolate Chip — and then takes it one step further with variations like a rich vegan Chocolate Sorbet, Chili Crisp Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, and Cocoa Nib Almond Frangipane.
Lucky for us, Salt & Straw understands how much our Organic Authority readers appreciate local ingredients and exciting flavors, and they were willing to share a sneak peek of the cookbook with us.
Here’s what Tyler has to say about the most classic of all classics: good old vanilla. (And if you’re looking for a vegan recipe for homemade vanilla ice cream, we’ve got you covered with an alternative here.)
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Excerpt from America’s Most Iconic Ice Creams: A Salt & Straw Cookbook: Classic Flavors and Creative Riffs
While Salt & Straw superfans come to our shops for cult classics like Goat Cheese Marionberry Habanero or Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper, we do get the occasional customer who ignores his family’s pleas to be adventurous and insists on getting vanilla. The groans! The eye rolls! Shh! Can I tell you something? Whenever I visit an ice cream shop that I’m excited to try, I do exactly the same thing! I order the vanilla.
Though it has become synonymous with dull, vanilla is one of the most incredible foodstuffs I’ve ever worked with. Its flavor is impossibly complex, composed of more than 220 chemical compounds. When someone opens a fine vanilla pod within a ten-foot radius, the aroma will inhabit your body, entering through your nose, hugging your soul, and then exiting from the nape of your neck like a cartoon ghost.
And while vanilla has countless uses in the sweet kitchen, when you want to truly celebrate top-notch vanilla beans, you’ve got to make ice cream. With your palate primed by sugar (which stimulates your taste receptors, telling your brain to “start tasting”), and the vanilla’s arrival tantalizingly delayed by cold and fat (the cold dazes your taste buds, the fat slows the release of flavor), it arrives at last in a crescendo (fat intensifies vanilla’s flavor, too)—all 220 compounds flooding your tongue in a sort of gastronomic slo-mo.
As a big vanilla booster, I’ve gone all out to create what I think is the ultimate version of the iconic scoop. The goal is to maximize the impact of the vanilla. So while I look to vanilla beans to provide those tempting specks, the major infusion of flavor comes from vanilla extract—the steeping process really opens up vanilla’s complex flavors. And I suggest seeking out an excellent blended vanilla extract or mixing up your own (see Note), then using a touch of salt and molasses to play up vanilla’s darker, savory side.
The “French” part in the ice cream name is a nod to the addition of egg yolks in the base, which gives this ice cream a nostalgic yellow hue and, more important, helps the vanilla flavor enrobe your palate.
French Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
MAKES ABOUT 2 PINTS
Ingredients
Instructions
STEP 1:
In a medium bowl, combine the custard base, vanilla extract, molasses, and salt. Use the tip of a sharp knife to split the vanilla bean lengthwise. Use the knife to scrape the vanilla seeds into the bowl and stir well.
STEP 2:
Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and turn on the machine. Churn just until it has the texture of soft serve ice cream, 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the machine.
STEP 3:
Transfer to freezer-safe containers and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours or for up to 3 months.
Note: If you really want to go the extra mile, look to blended extracts, which deliver an especially complex and balanced vanilla-y-ness and which good vanilla companies offer with the pride of vintners who make fine Chianti. You can even mix one up yourself. My favorite: 1 part Mexican vanilla, 2 parts Bourbon vanilla, and 2 parts Tahitian vanilla.
The Richest Custard Base Ever
MAKES ABOUT 3 CUPS
Ingredients
Instructions
STEP 1:
In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, milk powder, and xanthan gum.
STEP 2:
In a medium pot, stir together the whole milk and corn syrup. Add the sugar mixture and egg yolks and whisk vigorously until smooth.
STEP 3:
Set the pot over medium-low heat and stir constantly with a silicone spatula until the mixture steams, reducing the heat if necessary to prevent a simmer.
STEP 4:
Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the spatula, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat.
STEP 5:
Add the cold cream and stir well. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 6 hours, or for even better texture and flavor, 24 hours. Stir well before using.
The base can be further stored in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw completely and stir well before using.
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