Summer
Black Currant Puree Ripple
- Serves 6
Author Notes
I have been learning how to make ice cream this summer and reading Nigel Slater's Ripe, which has inspired me with its recipes for beautiful frozen treats. He mentions the Raspberry Ripple, which is the standard for a British treat of fruit puree swirled through a vanilla ice cream base. He also has a section on Black Currants, which he describes as "strident." Since I don't typically hear of fruit being described in this way, I was intrigued. I acquired some black currants from a local farm and made a puree out of it. Then, I swirled it through a vanilla ice cream made by smashing together Suzanne Goin and David Liebovitz' takes on the sweet classic. Here's the result. Sweet meets strident = Simple summer perfection. —Hungryscribbler
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- Black Currant Puree
-
1/2 pint
Black currants
-
2 tablespoons
Sugar
-
2 tablespoons
Water
- Vanilla Ice Cream
-
1
Vanilla Bean
-
2 cups
Whole Milk
-
2 cups
Heavy Cream
-
5
Large Egg Yolks
-
1/2 cup
Sugar
Directions
- Black Currant Puree
- Give your fruit a good rinse. Place berries in a small saucepan. Add water and sugar.
- Over medium heat, cook just until the berries burst. Remove from heat.
- Pour mixture through a sieve and push through to remove skin and seeds. Set puree aside. Puree can be made up to a week ahead.
- Vanilla Ice Cream
- With a sharp paring knife, split the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds into a medium saucepan. Add the vanilla pod, milk and cream.
- Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil and turn off and remove from heat immediately. Cover and allow flavors to infuse for at least 30 minutes.
- After the flavors have infused, return the saucepan to the stove. Over medium heat, bring the mixture back up to boil and turn off heat as soon as it comes to boil.
- Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl.
- Whisk egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl.
- Whisk a couple of tablespoons of the cream mixture into the egg yolks and sugar. Slowly add a few more tablespoons, whisking constantly. Now you can add the remaining cream mixture in a slow, steady stream as you continue to whisk. Pour the mixture back into the pot and return it to the stove.
- Over medium heat, cook the custard mixture for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Make sure you scrape the bottom and the sides of the pan. The custard will thicken and when it is done it will just coat the back of your wooden spoon/spatula.
- Strain the mixture into a bowl that is smaller than your ice bath. Place your bowl of custard into the ice bath to cool, stirring the mixture.
- When custard has cooled, place it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. However overnight is best for the creamiest consistency. Once your mixture is thoroughly cold, process it in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Put together the Ripple: After removing ice cream from machine, place half in a freezer-proof container. Place a few spoonfuls of puree over the vanilla and then swirl it through. Place the remaining half of the vanilla ice cream over the first layer. Scoop remaining puree over the vanilla and swirl through that layer.
- Place your finished Ripple in the freezer for a few hours to firm up before enjoying.
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