Day 2 of my alphabet recipe challenge…on to the letter “B” and Brown Sugar Buttermilk Ice Cream.
One of my husband’s favorite desserts growing up was blueberries topped with sour cream. I did not get the appeal of this at all…until I tried it. Now I really like combining sweet foods with tangy ones, and this brown sugar buttermilk ice cream is along those same lines.
While I do love making rich custard based ice creams, I chose to make this one lighter and simpler by skipping the eggs and the cream (see Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for a much more decadent egg and cream filled version of buttermilk ice cream).
All you do here is whir the ingredients in your blender and then transfer them to your ice cream maker- how easy is that?!
I like this buttermilk ice cream on top of any type of baked fruit dessert (including the apple almond crisp recipe I posted yesterday). It would also be delicious topped with some fresh berries (or figs in rum syrup!).
If you are not a big fan of the flavor of buttermilk, you can decrease the amount and up the half and half (so you still have 3 cups of liquid, but less of it is buttermilk). You can also feel free to use a combination of milk and heavy cream instead of the half and half.
If on the other hand you love tangy treats, you could try using only buttermilk…I haven’t tried it so I can not say whether it will be good, though.
Or you could use plain kefir or yogurt, preferably Greek yogurt, instead of the buttermilk. You can use a bit more brown sugar if you want it to be sweeter, up to a cup or even a bit more would work just fine with the 3 cups of liquid. If you would like a more pronounced flavor from the sweetener, you can try this with maple syrup or honey (I might decrease the amount of the other liquids if you are using a liquid sweetener, though). And for a vegan version, you can try this with 3 cups of coconut milk!
Buttermilk Ice Cream Recipe
makes about 4 cups
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, preferably organic and real (truly the by-product of making butter)
1 1/2 cups organic half and half (or raw, unpasteurized cream if it’s available to you)
3/4 cups organic brown sugar
pinch of Himalayan or sea salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract-optional
Directions:
Blend all ingredients, pour into ice cream maker, and freeze according to your manufacturer’s instructions.
Did I mention it’s delicious over the apple almond crisp?
Looking for an ice cream maker? I highly recommend this one made by Cuisinart for making all sorts of frozen treats. I used it all summer and I’m still using it…plus it’s very lightweight and easy to store when not in use.
And if you’re looking for a great ice cream recipe book, you can’t beat Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments
