Ice Cream

Buttermilk-Plum Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups half-and-half

1 cup buttermilk $

1 cup heavy cream

6 large egg yolks $

1 1/3 cups plus 3 Tbsp. sugar, divided

2 cups peeled, chopped black plums (such as 'Methley')

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1/8 teaspoon table salt

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 

Preparation

1. Whisk together first 4 ingredients and 1 1/3 cups sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking often, 10 to 12 minutes or until mixture just begins to boil. Pour mixture into a medium-size metal bowl. Fill a large bowl halfway with ice water. Place bowl containing custard mixture in ice water, and cool completely (about 30 minutes), whisking occasionally. Cover and chill custard mixture 2 hours.

2. Meanwhile, stir together plums, corn syrup, salt, and remaining 3 Tbsp. sugar in a small saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 12 minutes or until plums are very tender. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Cover and chill plum mixture 2 hours.

3. Pour custard mixture into freezer container of a 2-qt. electric ice-cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. (Instructions and times may vary.) Transfer ice cream to a freezer-safe bowl or pan, and freeze 1 hour. Meanwhile, freeze plum mixture 30 minutes. Dollop frozen plum mixture over frozen ice cream, and gently swirl.

Ice Cream

Ingredients:

• 2 
  cups 
  loosely packed mint leaves
• 2 
  cups 
  plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 1/4 
  cups 
  heavy cream
• 2/3 
  cup 
  sugar
• 4 
  tablespoons 
  cornstarch
• 3 
  tablespoons 
  cream cheese, room temperature
• Kosher salt
• 1 
  3.5-ounce 
  chocolate bar

Directions:

1. Wash and drain mint leaves. Bruise the leaves using so that they soften and release some of their oil. Set aside.
2. Combine 2 cups of whole milk, heavy cream, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium/high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Add the mint leaves to the warm milk. Cover and let steep for 25 minutes, then strain out the leaves.
3. In a small glass, combine 2 tablespoons of milk and the cornstarch. Stir vigorously to create a slurry, then stir slurry into the mint-milk mixture.
4. Return saucepan to the heat and bring to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute, stirring frequently, until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat.
5. Stir together the cream cheese and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Add the hot milk mixture and whisk until fully combined. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until cool.
6. While the base is chilling, chop the chocolate bar into small pieces. Place chocolate chunks in a plastic bag and chill in the freezer until ready to use.
7. When base is completely cool add it to an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Stir in the chilled chocolate pieces. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving