I just made this for the first time yesterday to use up some cantaloupe that was still good, but was on the verge turning not-so-good, and it came out really nice, so I thought I'd share!
Just a small note before I begin: My favorite ice cream base to make and use for all my ice cream endeavors is based Jeni Britton Baeur's method, which is based on the ingredients used in traditional Sicilian-style gelato- namely, in place of eggs, cornstarch is used (or some other kind of starch such as tapioca starch, or a gum such as xanthan gum).
Since I was going to be adding a goodly amount of watery fruit puree to the base, I modified the normal way I usually make my base in order to help cut down on the watery content of my other ingredients so that my finished ice cream would turn out creamy rather than icy. For example, instead of regular whole milk, I used whole evaporated milk, etc.., and I also added a little more cornstarch than I normally do in order to help cut down on any potential iciness from the puree.
-One 12-oz. can whole evaporated milk (373g)
-1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (284g)
-1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk (78g)
-2 3/4 cup strained cantaloupe puree (799g), from roughly 4 cups cubed.
-1 tsp. lemon juice (5 mL)
-1 1/3 cups sugar (256g)
-4 tbsp. cornstarch or tapioca flour/starch(32g)
-2.5 tbsp. light corn syrup (53g)
-3.5 tbsp. Mascarpone cheese (53g)
-1/8 tsp. salt (.75g)
1) To the 2 3/4 cup cantaloupe puree, add the lemon juice and 2/3 cup (128g) out of the total sugar amount. Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Cover and set aside in fridge.
2) In a 3 quart heavy-bottom pot mix the evaporated whole milk, heavy cream and condensed milk together Set aside momentarily.
3) Next, in a prep bowl, whisk the 4 tablespoons of cornstarch with 4 tablespoons of the of the dairy mixture until lumps are gone. Cover and set aside.
4) In a 2 qt. bowl, whisk the mascarpone cheese until softened/smooth. Set aside.
5) To the remaining dairy ingredients waiting in the pot, add the remaining sugar (128g), and the corn syrup. Bring to a boil over med-high heat while stirring intermittently.
6) Once a boil has been reached, set a timer for 4 minutes, then continue to boil (while stirring constantly now) until the timer beeps. Be careful to not let it boil over.
7) When the 4 minutes are up, remove pot from heat and gradually whisk in the corn starch mixture. It should thicken right up within about 30 seconds or so without needing to place it back on the heat, but if it doesn’t thicken up within a minute or so, put it back on the heat and stir until thickened enough to able to draw a line through a coating of the mixture on the back of a spoon.
8) Once thickened, pour 1/4 cup of the hot cream mixture into the set-aside softened mascarpone cheese, whisk until smooth, then whisk in the remaining hot mixture.
9) Next, whisk in the salt.
10) Cover and refrigerate until completely chilled through. Letting it sit overnight is perfect
11) To make ice cream: Combine the cold cantaloupe puree with the cold cream/base mixture, mix well with a whisk or stick-blender, then freeze with your chosen method- i.e., ice cream maker or the no-ice cream maker method. Should make between 1.5 to 2 quarts.
My ice cream maker bowl is broken (boo-hoo), so I just poured the refrigerated base into 2 stainless steel bread pans, covered with plastic wrap touching the surface, stuck them in a 0-degreeF freezer, and then took them out every 2 hours or so to stick-blend in order to break up any ice crystals. After doing this about 3 or 4 times, it reached a thick enough consistency to where I just left it alone to harden without any further interference from me.
Anyway, it came out quite lovely! I was kinda concerned before I stuck the cold base into the freezer for the first time because it had a slight starchy after-taste, but now that it is frozen, that taste is completely gone and all I can taste is sweet cantaloupe and cream. Yum!
IrishLass
Just a small note before I begin: My favorite ice cream base to make and use for all my ice cream endeavors is based Jeni Britton Baeur's method, which is based on the ingredients used in traditional Sicilian-style gelato- namely, in place of eggs, cornstarch is used (or some other kind of starch such as tapioca starch, or a gum such as xanthan gum).
Since I was going to be adding a goodly amount of watery fruit puree to the base, I modified the normal way I usually make my base in order to help cut down on the watery content of my other ingredients so that my finished ice cream would turn out creamy rather than icy. For example, instead of regular whole milk, I used whole evaporated milk, etc.., and I also added a little more cornstarch than I normally do in order to help cut down on any potential iciness from the puree.
-One 12-oz. can whole evaporated milk (373g)
-1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (284g)
-1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk (78g)
-2 3/4 cup strained cantaloupe puree (799g), from roughly 4 cups cubed.
-1 tsp. lemon juice (5 mL)
-1 1/3 cups sugar (256g)
-4 tbsp. cornstarch or tapioca flour/starch(32g)
-2.5 tbsp. light corn syrup (53g)
-3.5 tbsp. Mascarpone cheese (53g)
-1/8 tsp. salt (.75g)
1) To the 2 3/4 cup cantaloupe puree, add the lemon juice and 2/3 cup (128g) out of the total sugar amount. Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Cover and set aside in fridge.
2) In a 3 quart heavy-bottom pot mix the evaporated whole milk, heavy cream and condensed milk together Set aside momentarily.
3) Next, in a prep bowl, whisk the 4 tablespoons of cornstarch with 4 tablespoons of the of the dairy mixture until lumps are gone. Cover and set aside.
4) In a 2 qt. bowl, whisk the mascarpone cheese until softened/smooth. Set aside.
5) To the remaining dairy ingredients waiting in the pot, add the remaining sugar (128g), and the corn syrup. Bring to a boil over med-high heat while stirring intermittently.
6) Once a boil has been reached, set a timer for 4 minutes, then continue to boil (while stirring constantly now) until the timer beeps. Be careful to not let it boil over.
7) When the 4 minutes are up, remove pot from heat and gradually whisk in the corn starch mixture. It should thicken right up within about 30 seconds or so without needing to place it back on the heat, but if it doesn’t thicken up within a minute or so, put it back on the heat and stir until thickened enough to able to draw a line through a coating of the mixture on the back of a spoon.
8) Once thickened, pour 1/4 cup of the hot cream mixture into the set-aside softened mascarpone cheese, whisk until smooth, then whisk in the remaining hot mixture.
9) Next, whisk in the salt.
10) Cover and refrigerate until completely chilled through. Letting it sit overnight is perfect
11) To make ice cream: Combine the cold cantaloupe puree with the cold cream/base mixture, mix well with a whisk or stick-blender, then freeze with your chosen method- i.e., ice cream maker or the no-ice cream maker method. Should make between 1.5 to 2 quarts.
My ice cream maker bowl is broken (boo-hoo), so I just poured the refrigerated base into 2 stainless steel bread pans, covered with plastic wrap touching the surface, stuck them in a 0-degreeF freezer, and then took them out every 2 hours or so to stick-blend in order to break up any ice crystals. After doing this about 3 or 4 times, it reached a thick enough consistency to where I just left it alone to harden without any further interference from me.
Anyway, it came out quite lovely! I was kinda concerned before I stuck the cold base into the freezer for the first time because it had a slight starchy after-taste, but now that it is frozen, that taste is completely gone and all I can taste is sweet cantaloupe and cream. Yum!
IrishLass
