Somewhere, early on in my experience with low-glycemic foods, I discovered that ice cream was a perfect tool for my new found way of life. It was fairly easy to make, it was incredibly easy to portion and store in the freezer, a near infinite variety of flavors could be made, it was almost always excellent and it somehow seemed a fitting way to end each day! I’ve made hundreds of flavors, but this one is easily in my top 10. It takes a few extra steps, but … the contrasting swirls really make it worth it!
Click Here To Pin Raspberry Swirl Cream Cheese Custard
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (119g) Cream, Heavy Whipping
- 1/2 cup (120g) Almond Milk, Unsweetened
- 6 large (102g) Egg Yolks
- 1 tsp (4g) Vanilla Extract
- 3/4 cup (180g) Granulated Sweetener -- for sugar-free I recommend Swerve or Birch Xylitol
- 3/4 tsp (2.4g) Xanthan Gum (optional)
- Dash Celtic Sea Salt
- 12 oz (341g) Full Fat Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
- 2 tbsp (29g) Vegetable Glycerin (optional)
- 1 pint (312g) Raspberries, washed
- 1 tsp (5g) Fresh Lemon Juice
Directions
- Bring a wide mouthed pot or a base for a double boiler full of water up to a boil.
- Combine cream and almond milk in a medium sauce pan. Bring up to a very light simmer.
- Combine the sweetener, xanthan gum and salt. Mix them, so that the xanthan is evenly distributed within the powder. Set aside.
- Place the egg yolks and vanilla into a non-reactive metal bowl with a diameter just a bit wider than the mouth of the pot of boiling water (or the top of the double boiler). Whisk until they have a lemony color.
- Add a little bit of the hot liquid into the egg yolks, while whisking (about 1 ounce or 56 ml). This will "temper" the eggs. Keep whisking, while adding more of the hot liquid, adding a little more and a little faster, each moment. You want to add and whisk, to incorporate the hot liquid, without creating scrambled eggs. Keep whisking, while pouring, until all the liquid has been incorporated.
- Add the sweetener/xanthan mix, and whisk it in.
- Place bowl (or double boiler) over the mouth of the boiling water and continue to whisk. Whisk well, consistently and constantly; moving around the edges of the bowl, or else you'll develop cooked/scrambled egg bit around the edge. If the bowl gets too hot, remove it from the heat for a moment, and keep whisking. Never let scrambled eggs form. Alternate the location of the bowl, moving from the cool countertop, back to the hot steam, slowly raising the heat of the egg mixture to about 165 F.
- Once the mixture reaches about 165 F (74 C), has no frothy bubbles and is noticeably thick, remove it from the heat and whisk in the room temperature cream cheese. The mixture will be quite thick and smooth (and delicious!).
- Chill the mixture then pour into your ice cream machine, following the instructions for your specific machine.
- While the machine churns and chills the frozen custard base, puree the raspberries and lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Through a fine sieve, strain the seeds from the raspberry puree. Chill, while the custard continues to churn.
- When the custard base is “soft-serve ready”, remove 2/3rds of it and place in the freezer. To the remaining third, add the raspberry puree and turn the ice machine back on. It should quickly (10 to 15 min, depending on machine) form a nice raspberry ice cream.
- Once the raspberry ice cream forms, remove the original custard from the freezer. Scoop the raspberry ice cream on top of it and spread it to cover the cream cheese ice cream. Now, with a plastic spatula, fold the two flavors together, until an obvious swirl has formed.
- Freeze, or scoop into individual containers with lids and freeze!
Notes
Sugar, aside from adding sweetness to ice cream, also has behavioral properties that make it ideal for the scoopable texture and mouth-feel of ice cream. Sugar-free ice creams tend to freeze VERY hard and lose a lot of the soft, creamy texture.
As a result, I’ve learned that making frozen custards (with cooked egg yolks) helps the texture a lot. A little xanthan gum and vegetable glycerin both aid the texture, as well. These second two aren’t required and don’t alter the flavor, but the little addition really helps to create the perfect scoop and mouth-feel that many seek in an ice cream experience.
These make rock star vehicles for stashing portioned ice creams and custards.
Click +1 Below. Have you ever made healthy custard?
