This video has a lot going for it: cute kids, a grass-fed dairy farm, backyard chickens, and — most compelling of all — a recipe for ice cream. But there’s an added gimmick: this isn’t ordinary ice cream — it was made with snow, not some fancy kitchen device. So watch the video and, while the snow lasts, whip up some ice cream outside with your kids (or cousins, as was the case with me). And use the best-quality milk you can find!
Outdoor Milk Ice Cream “Fleur de Lait”
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
10 egg yolks
Pinch of salt
This recipe is just for an ice cream base. Because I was using such delicious milk, I didn’t flavor it. But this base can be flavored with anything — chocolate, vanilla, caramelized sugar, whatever you fancy.
Combine cream, milk, and sugar in a pot. Heat until sugar is incorporated.
Whisk together egg yolks. Pour some of the warm milk mixture into the eggs and whisk again. This tempers the eggs — if you add them straight to the hot milk, they may cook and you won’t have a nice custard.
Add the tempered eggs to the milk mixture and heat to 160 degrees, or until it starts to thicken and coat the back of a spoon. The slower you do this the better. Twenty minutes is a good amount of time for it to come up to temperature. Make sure you are stirring often as the eggs can scramble at the bottom of the pot if you aren’t careful. Pass through a fine sieve.
Let the mixture cool.
Outside, make a hole in the snow and add salt. Press a mixing bowl with the custard into the hole, packing snow in around the sides. Cover the bowl with a lid or a towel. Stir every 10-20 minutes for an hour (or more). The result will be a rich and delicious ice cream.
