Food52 Ice Cream and Friends

60 Recipes and Riffs [A Cookbook]

About the Book

A fun collection of 60 recipes, riffs, toppings, and serving ideas for ice creams of all styles.

Ice cream is more fun with friends, but also with cones, sprinkles, candied nuts, hot honey—you get where we’re going. So the editors of Food52 brought together sixty well-tested recipes for frozen desserts of all styles and a billion (give or take a few) ideas for toppings and add-ons. There are surprising flavors—think cinnamon roll ice cream, coffee frozen custard, and grilled watermelon cremolada—and spins on enduring favorites, such as spiced fudgesicles, cherry-mint snow cones, and even a chocolate-hazelnut baked Alaska. There are Saltine and waffle sandwiches, boozy floats, and something called “spoom.” There are tricks for making ice cream without a maker and spiffing up the store-bought stuff, and Hail Marys for when things go wrong (like when—whoops!—all the ice cream melts). But don’t be nervous: even if you’ve never made ice cream before, you’re in good hands with this no-fuss, all-fun book. Consider it your permission to play (and eat a ton of really good ice cream).

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Praise for Food52 Ice Cream and Friends

 “Ice cream is my life and Food52 really knows their frozen stuff. This book isn’t cutesy and it’s not snore-inducing science-y either. Recipes that actually work, imagine that. I’m a fan.”

— BROOKS HEADLEY, chef/owner of Superiority Burger and author of Fancy Desserts
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Excerpt

Food52 Ice Cream and Friends

Olive Oil–Cacao Nib Gelato

Makes 1 quart (950ml) | From Amanda Hesser 

If you have a bottle of olive oil you’ve been saving for a special occasion, bring it out now. Whisk the olive oil into a creamy gelato base and the floral, peppery flavors head just a smidge toward “sweet.” Food52 contributor Yossy Arefi’s turn on Amanda’s recipe is to add cocoa nibs, crunchy like chocolate chips but fruity and bitter like olive oil. They’re in no way necessary, but certainly a welcome bite in this smooth-as-aioli gelato.

3⁄4 cup (150g) sugar
3⁄4 cup (175ml) whole milk
Pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
6 tablespoons (90ml) good-quality olive oil
2 tablespoons cacao nibs

1. In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, milk, 6 tablespoons (90ml) water, and salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. While the mixture is heating, in a large
bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.

2. When the milk mixture has come to a gentle simmer, gradually whisk it into the egg yolks. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches 185°F (85°C) on a candy thermometer. Be careful not to let the mixture boil, which will scramble the eggs and ruin the base.

3. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl, and refrigerate to chill completely, at least 4 hours but ideally overnight. When the ice cream base is cold, whisk in the olive oil; the base will be thick and glossy. 

4. Pour the chilled base into an ice cream maker and churn it according to the manufacturer’s instructions. During the last minute of churning, add the cacao nibs. 

Magic Shell

Former Food52 editor Marian Bull taught us how to make our own Magic Shell, that stuff you drizzled copiously over every scoop of ice cream, watched harden, then broke into like a little monster while growing up. For 1 cup (240ml) of the good stuff, chop 6 ounces (170g) good-quality chocolate (dark, preferably) and add it to a microwave-safe container with a scant 1⁄2 cup (110g) coconut oil. Melt in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until liquid. Pour over ice cream (or milkshakes). Then, magic! Magic Shell will stay liquid in a hot kitchen and solidify after sitting in a cold kitchen or the fridge. You can remelt it in the microwave.

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About the Author

Editors of Food52
FOOD52 was founded by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs--two authors and opinionated home cooks who formerly worked for the New York Times--to celebrate food as the center of a well-lived life with recipes, books, home goods, and more. More by Editors of Food52
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About the Author

Amanda Hesser
Amanda Hesser, co-founder and CEO of Food52, is the author of the award-winning The Essential New York Times Cookbook, Cooking for Mr. Latte, and The Cook and the Gardener, as well as the editor of the essay collection Eat, Memory. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Tad Friend, and their two children. More by Amanda Hesser
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About the Author

Merrill Stubbs
Amanda Hesser, co-founder and CEO of Food52, is the author of the award-winning The Essential New York Times Cookbook, Cooking for Mr. Latte, and The Cook and the Gardener, as well as the editor of the essay collection Eat, Memory. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Tad Friend, and their two children. More by Merrill Stubbs
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