Koldskål Ice Cream
This koldskål ice cream tastes just like Danish summer, with that classic buttermilk flavor and crunchy vanilla cookies layered in!
Ingredients
CUSTARD:
- 300 ml full fat or whole buttermilk
- 360 ml heavy cream
- 175 grams granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste (if you don't have vanilla bean paste, you can use 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract instead)
- Lemon zest from 1 large lemon
MIX INS:
- 70 grams crushed vanilla cookies, like Nilla wafers
Instructions
- If using an ice cream machine, make sure you are following the machine instructions and freezing the cooling bowl for at least 12 hours before preparing your ice cream! The bowl has to be completely frozen for the ice cream to properly churn.
- Making the custard should be done a few hours ahead of churning the ice cream! Mix heavy cream, buttermilk, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan.
- Whisk egg yolks, the whole egg, vanilla paste/vanilla extract, and lemon zest together in a separate heatproof bowl.
- Heat up the buttermilk & cream mixture until you see small bubbles forming along the edge. Make sure not to overheat! We recommend keeping this on low/medium-low heat.
- Slowly stream half of the buttermilk mixture into the eggs to temper the eggs, whisking constantly. Add the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the buttermilk mixture, still whisking. Heat this over medium to low heat until it for a few minutes, whisking the whole time to avoid scrambling the eggs.
- Once the mixture coats the back of a spoon and you can run a finger across the spoon and it leaves a trail, the custard is thickened, and it's ready. You can also check the temperature of the custard - once it reaches 170 degrees F (76 C), it is ready! Try not to overheat the mixture as it could scramble the eggs and make for a strange texture.
- Strain the custard into a bowl. We like to strain it just in case there are any lumps!
- Cover with plastic wrap that touches the surface of the custard to avoid a skin forming, and refrigerate until cold. It's very important that it's fridge-cold, so that it doesn't thaw out the ice cream bowl too quickly.
- When the custard is totally cooled down (fridge temperature!), start your ice cream machine and add the custard mixture to the cooling bowl (follow your machine instructions).
- Our ice cream takes about 25-30 minutes to churn to soft-serve consistency, which is what our machine instructions indicate.
- Get a freezer-safe container ready (we use a container with a 4-5 cup capacity!)
- Crush up Nilla wafers (or other store bought vanilla cookie) into a bowl. We like a good mix of small and large chunks. We used about 70 grams of cookies, but you can add as many or as few as you would like.
- Add about half of the soft serve custard to the bottom of the container; then sprinkle over half of the cookies. Run a knife through the ice cream to mix the cookies in slightly.
- Add the rest of the custard, then the rest of the cookies, optionally leaving a small amount of cookie crumbs for decorating the top of the ice cream.
- Use a knife to mix the cookies into that layer. Top with the remaining cookie bits on top.
- Transfer to the freezer.
- Let the ice cream harden for at least another couple of hours before scooping - best if left overnight, but it will taste just fine if you eat it earlier, it will just be a bit on the softer side. Enjoy!
Tip: if you're in a rush or the custard isn't fully cooled by the time you'd like to churn the ice cream, you can add ice to a large bowl with some water, place a smaller bowl in the ice water, and add the custard to the smaller bowl. Leave for a few minutes, then stir well, and continue to stir every few minutes until the custard has cooled down fully.