Country comforts: Milk Ice-cream

Milk Ice-cream
Home Cooking



It's kind of strange and interesting that people's taste in food changes over time, both in the short-term and long-term. I've mentioned on here numerous times, the various 'phases' I go through. This moment in time, I can't get enough milk.

Any kind of milk.



Soy milk has always been a regular for me but currently, I'm also quite partial to a glass of cow's milk. This might not mean anything to you but as a kid especially, I wouldn't go near cow's milk unless it was full cream. I just couldn't stand the taste! Not anymore. I'm drinking milk in smoothie form, milk with coffee, milk in milkshakes and milk with malt powder.


Ah yes, malt. My recently acquired can of Ovaltine is probably what triggered this whole thing in some round-about way.

So it happens that the September issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller features a section of milk recipes. Good? Very good.

There's a recipe for milk ice-cream with malt cookies and the accompanying photograph is to die for:

I decided it was time to take my ice-cream machine out of retirement and give that old baby another workout.

The original recipe is for 1 L of ice-cream. I divided by 3 to get um... whatever 1 divided by 3 is (1/3?!). I also substituted some of the milk and sugar with condensed milk (turned out fab-u-lous). Below will be an ingredient list directly copied out from the original recipe, as well as 'my' version using condensed milk that results in 1/3 L. The directions that follow are the same regardless of what method you use.

Milk ice-cream

Original recipe
Makes 1 L

• 2 L (8 cups) milk
• 140g caster sugar
• 6 egg yolks
• malt powder and/or malt cookies to serve (optional)

My recipe
Makes 1/3 L

• 2/3 cups milk
• 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 30g caster sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• malt powder and/or malt cookies to serve

Procedure:
1. Bring milk and 40g sugar to the boil in a saucepan over medium heat (if using my recipe, just combine the milk and condensed milk and bring to the boil - without any additional sugar).

Stirring the condensed milk into regular milk

2. Reduce the heat to low and stir frequently to prevent the milk at the base of the pan from burning. Heat the milk for around 30min for the smaller quantity recipe or 1hr - 1.5hrs for the full quantity recipe, or till the volume has reduced to about 1/3. Let it cool down slightly.

There's something so old-fashioned yet satisfying about watching milk simmer in a saucepan

3. Beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until pale and smooth.
4. Strain the reduced milk into the egg mixture, whisking continuously to combine.
5. Return to a clean saucepan and stir continuously on low-medium heat until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (5-8min).
6. Strain and refrigerate till cold (2-3 hrs).
7. Freeze in an ice-cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. You might need to freeze before it's hard enough to serve (sometimes, the ice-cream is too soft immediately post-churning).8. To serve, scoop out and sprinkle with some malt powder.

Yummmm

I like to crumble malt cookies in too - it makes this godly amazing cookies and cream spin-off : malt cookies and milk ice-cream!

Topped with crumbly malt cookie pieces

The ice-cream is quite the awesome. I don't know if it's my addition of the condensed milk or what... but milk on it's own (without vanilla flavoring etc) is just so understated but GREAT.

I just used skim-milk too but it came out really creamy (I guess the addition of egg yolks and having a reliable ice-cream machine helps too). This is a great after-meals comfort dessert that everyone will love.