Vanilla Fior di latte ice-cream
I love nothing more than enjoying a scoop of ice-cream in the summer, especially when you can make it homemade and I can enjoy it on my balcony in the sun.
Being from Scandinavia I am a hugeee ice-cream lover and I eat it all throughout the year. Even Winter for me is ice-cream season 😉 not as much as in summer of course but I do really enjoy eating ice-cream even when it’s -15°C outside.
I love making my own ice-cream at home because it gives me the chance to be creative with flavors if I want to try something new. This Fior di latte ice-cream isn’t something new and innovative but it is amazing! So creamy and delicious especially with the intense vanilla flavor.
I love this recipe because it is very easy and quick to make and it is so versatile. So in the summer for example I like to make a strawberry-cheesecake version or a simple stracciatella ice-cream with this same recipe….amazing!
I makes for a great ice-cream base.
What is fior di latte ice-cream?:
Fior di latte ice-cream translated from Italian literally means “flower of the milk” this simply means a “milk ice-cream” or a basic milk/cream based ice-cream. Known for its neutral and mild flavor.
I love using this basic fior di latte ice-cream recipe because you can customize it and changing it into many different flavors with seasonal fruits, berries etc... this recipe also makes for a great stracciatella ice-cream.
How to make ice-cream:
For this recipe I used an ice-cream machine that results in really creamy and smooth ice-cream that will give you the perfect melt-in-your-mouth texture.
This recipe does not use any egg, that way the flavor of the vanilla really comes through.
Making ice-cream at home is much easier than most people think. It requires a few steps depending on the type of ice-cream you are making but the process is simple.
If you are using an egg based ice-cream recipe you have to start by heating the milk-cream-glucose mixture over low-medium heat to about 55°C and then add in your sugars and stabilizers. Mix well until everything is dissolved.
Then you need to cook your egg yolks with the hot cream-milk mixture and cook this to 80°C. Hand blend until you have a smooth and clump free base.
After this step you need to cool down your ice-cream base as quickly as possible. For example over an ice-bath works best. Once cooled cover the ice-cream base mixture and chill overnight in the fridge and churn the next day in your ice-cream maker.
The process for eggless recipe is more or less the same. You just don’t need to worry about cooking the egg to 80°C and also skipping the step to cool the ice-cream base down quickly to keep it safe and hygienic.
The important steps to sum-up:
1. Heat your cream-milk-glucose mixture over medium heat until the glucose has dissolved around 55°C
2. Whisk in your dry ingredients = the sugars and stabilizer and whisk constantly until dissolved and the temperature reaches about 80°C.
When using egg yolks make sure the mixture reaches 80-85°C
3. Add in your flavorings for example fruit, chocolate, etc…
4. Hand blend until smooth and clump free.
5. Cover and chill overnight in the fridge and churn in your ice-cream machine the next day.
While churning your ice-cream you can add in for example your chocolate pieces for a stracciatella ice-cream or cheesecake chunks, strawberry pieces etc. (Keep in mind to do this at the end of the churning process once your ice-cream is almost done)
You can definitely also make a no-churn ice-cream if you prefer less ingredients and steps, but you won’t achieve the same results as when using an ice-cream maker or all of the ingredients, especially the stabilizers. If you go for the no-churn ice-cream you will have a much harder ice-cream where you will notice the texture of the ice-crystals when eating it and you won’t have a smooth creamy texture.
I’m just mentioning this to keep in mind the differences.
What ingredients do you need to make fior di latte ice-cream:
Milk: you will need full fat milk for this recipe.
Cream: I use a full fat 35% cream for the creamy and milky flavor
Vanilla: use the best quality vanilla/vanilla pods you can find (I like to use the brand “Vanilla Dream”)
Skimmed milk powder (Magermilchpulver) : This is a skimmed milk powder that you can find in most basic grocery stores. This makes for a very creamy ice-cream because it helps to bind the water particles in the base and avoids having ice crystals
Dextrose: is a type of sugar which has a low sweetening power and also helps to achieve a very smooth and creamy ice-cream because of its antifreeze properties.
Dry glucose powder (Trockenglucose): is another type of sweetener
Guar Gum powder (Guakernmehl): is a binding agent that also is used to get a smooth and creamy texture and stability into your ice-cream. It helps bind the free water in your ice-cream resulting in a smooth texture when freezing.
Glucose sirup: is another type of sugar that comes in either sirup or dry powder form. This is another sweetener and is added for textural purposes.
Locust bean gum powder (Johannisbrotkernmehl): is another binding agent that also is important for giving structure to your ice-cream and for texture.
I am aware that some of these ingredients are not found in every grocery store, but nowadays they are easily found online and in some specialty stores. Having these ingredients makes such a difference in your ice-creams flavor and texture and for me it is totally worth it to buy them.
Most of these ingredients come in small amounts as you don’t need a lot for the recipe.
THE RECIPE
Makes about 500ml of ice-cream
Vanilla Fior di latte ice-cream:
250g milk, full fat
140g cream, full fat 35%
2 vanilla pods
7g glucose sirup
23g skimmed milk powder
64g light brown sugar (very light) or normal cane sugar if you can’t find it
9g dextrose
1g Locust bean gum powder
0,6g Guar gum powder
7g dry glucose powder
Instructions:
1. Mix all the dry ingredients together and mix well. Set aside
2. In a medium pot mix the milk, cream and glucose sirup and the scraped out vanilla pods and bring it to about 55°C and add in the dry ingredients mixing constantly until fully dissolved.
3. Bring the mixture to almost a simmer at around 80°C and hand blend to create a smooth and even mixture. Pour into another container, let it cool down slightly and then cover with plastic wrap. Let it chill and rest in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours or better overnight.
4. Churn the ice-cream in your ice-cream machine according to the instructions. Normally it will churn for about 20-40 minutes depending on your machine.
5. Transfer into a container and freeze again until serving.
6. After churning you can also fill the ice-cream into single serve ice-creams or popsicles. This also makes for a great base for Magnum style ice-cream with caramel and caramelized almonds for example.
Happy ice-cream making!