Ingredients:
4 cups almond milk
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp water
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup lucuma powder, optional (you could use 1 tsp vanilla or almond extract instead, and a little extra maple syrup – maybe 2 tbsp – since lucuma is very sweet)
I made this hard on myself. I wanted to make sure I cooked the egg whites, which is a bit silly since I didn’t care so much for the mayo in the shrimp causa, and as long as your eggs are decent you probably won’t get salmonella poisoning. But I did it – After cross-referencing Alice Medrich’s “Chocolate and the art of the low-fat desserts” to make sure I didn’t mess this up, I set up a double boiler. I brought a pot to a simmer (you need a pot that you can set a stainless steel or ceramic bowl on top of where the bowl doesn’t touch the top of the water. You don’t need a lot of water in the pot, but it needs to maintain a steady simmer for the duration of the recipe (20 minutes-ish). Then I combined the water to the cream of tartar in my large ceramic bowl, added the egg whites and sugar and whisked together with a rubber spatula (not a whisk! Very important for the meringue as the foam created by whisking scrambles and burns easily).
Then I perched my ceramic bowl on top of my pot of simmering water and stirred gently until my candy thermometre read 160 degrees Fahrenheit. I had my hand mixer at the ready, as the second the meringue reaches 160 degrees it needed to come off the heat and be mixed until it came to about room temperature. This is the ultimate stable meringue. It won’t deflate unless you physically punch it and treat it like junk, so unless you’re an abusive baker, this is the idiot’s guide to meringue.
Which is what I need. And I’m still not recommending anyone actually make it because of all the fuss! You have to be a willful idiot who can follow instructions. It’s a real nuisance! I got used to it (not the idiocy – you don’t “get used” to that) while making so many mousses with mixed success awhile back. Me and meringue are generally getting along pretty well now. I have my double boiler system all set – candy thermometre in a mug of hot water next to the pot at the ready, hand mixer on the other side, plugged in and ready to go. So if you want a low-fat ice cream and are willing to put in the effort, here’s your method. If not, and you want to try your hand at the traditional Italian meringue (also tricky!) here’s a link to a recipe for extra-smooth fluffy strawberry sorbet (page 27 of the Gelataio 1600 manual)
Hard part’s done. Then I whisked the lucuma powder into 1/4 cup of the milk first so it didn’t clump (like adding cornstarch or flour to a small amount of water or liquid before adding it to a sauce), then added the rest of the milk and the maple syrup. Then I folded it all gently into the safe meringue. That’s a bit ambiguous – I really carefully added the meringue to the ilk/maple syrup mixture and then folded it in. Pouring the liquid over the fluffy meringue is a BAD idea!) Then into the fridge overnight or for at least 8 hours to thoroughly chill it.
The next day I poured it through a sieve (to remove any skin that forms or clumpss, though there shouldn’t be any) into my ice cream maker and followed the ice cream maker’s instructions (or you can pour it into ice cubes trays and freeze until partially frozen, then blend in a strong blender or food processor, then back into the freezer in a container for a few more hours until hard enough).
Oh my goodness sugar rush! This is pure luxury! Heaven! the meringue fuss was completely worth it! It makes it creamy and smooth without the fat of heavy cream (and indigestion for all us lactose-intolerant gals). And you can’t even buy this stuff – no restaurant is going to serve you pure maple syrup ice cream because 1/2 cup of maple syrup is a lot of expensive maple syrup, but I had tons from Lufa Farms, so I’m spoiling myself with slightly less refined sugar these days. And lucuma tastes like brown sugar so it pairs perfectly. And no store can manufacture this ice cream since the meringue is so delicate. They can add air, but it’s not the same, and it’s called Nestle or D’Anafro, depending on your country, which is still Nestle…
Even small artisanal gelato-makers usually won’t use a method like this since it doesn’t keep long with a fluffy texture. Sure, it freezes fine, but any ice cream is best eaten the day of making, or the day after at the very latest. Some place in the city of Montreal even recycle their ice cream (not as gross as it sounds!!), meaning that if it sits too long in the display case it gets sent back downstairs to the ice cream machine and reprocessed to make it smooth and creamy again. This is frowned on by one Italian gelato-maker I know.
All this to say! Yes! Maple-Lucuma low-fat, dairy-free ice cream! It made my night. I had a bite and I nearly died of joy. Everything was good. It was one of those epiphanal food moments. If you want to make this ice cream with me, you’re welcome to. Let me know. If you’re not creepy you can come on over and bring some eggs and almond milk and maple syrup and we’ll do it. It probably doesn’t even need to sit in the fridge overnight to chill if the almond milk has been chilled, and actually it doesn’t need to sit at all if you have my strong machin, Il Gelataio 1600. It’s a freezer! It’ll cool it for you! You just need to wait an extra 5 minutes. Totally worth it.
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