WTMI: creme fraiche ice cream

You know that acronym, don't you "WTMI?" or "way too much information?" Usually used when someone has just laid out the details of a particular body part, or function, or something that, really, you would never ask about , because it would be rude, and quite frankly, you didn't really WANT to know about. Let's face it, there are questions that we DO want answered, that we have no right asking (you know what I mean), so when you get those answers, it is really WTMI? But on the other hand, do I really want to know that a friend has three ingrown hairs on his left thigh?



Uh, no. THAT's WTMI



But there can be a literal read to that expression too. You can, literally, get too much information. Like this week, when I had decided the perfect ice cream to go with my raspberry brown butter tart (recipe to follow), would be creme fraiche ice cream. I don't know how to make that one. So I researched.



I found about 100 different recipes. They were not eve close to each other. That, ladies and biological ladies, is WTMI.



So, what do you do when you have TMI? It's tempting to throw up your hands and look for something where there is ONE recipe, but there is another approach.



Add recipe 101. And that's what I did. My version has got some parts of all of the other ones, and adds a bit too. And I'll tell you how I would make it differently next time.



Here are my ingredients: 2 cups of heavy cream, and one of whole milk. Six egg yolks. A heaping 3/4 cup of sugar. The innards of a vanilla bean. And a cup of creme fraiche.



The making of the ice cream is pretty simple, and standard. Dump the milk and cream into a pot, with the sugar. Slice your vanilla bean horizontally, and scrape out the seeds. Add those to the milk and cream.



I always add my egg yolks at this time, as I feel tempering is a waste of time. So, add your eggs to the cold liquid, and start whisking over medium heat. When you see a decided change in the texture of your custard, or the "coat the spoon" test is positive (if you don't know what I mean by that: that's when you can dip a wooden spoon into the custard, and then draw a line down the custard on the spoon. If it doesn't run together, it's ready).



Off the heat add the cup of creme fraiche, and stir it until it dissolves.



And you're done, except for freezing it in the ice cream maker.



Next time, I will dispense with the vanilla. The flavor is lovely, but it doesn't have the cheesy flavor I wanted with this. And I might add a spoon or two of sour cream, or strong yogurt, to push that acidy flavor to the front.



In any event, this is a pretty damn good ice cream. With the tart, for sure. But I can see adding something salty to it, like macrona almonds. Or some brittle (yes, yes yes, I am in a brittle making frenzy). Try it, and go for it. Play with it. Maybe some blueberries??? Hmmmmm?



Christa, you payin' attention?