Foodiva's Kitchen: Red Velvet Ice Cream

Monday, September 5, 2011

Red Velvet Ice Cream

The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.  
~ Kahlil Gibran

My sister loves red velvet cupcakes, and every time there has been a children's birthday party at any of our homes, these distinctive, red-colored treats invariably make their way onto the party menu and into the kiddies' bloodstream. Me, I'm not a big fan of red velvet anything. The combination of strong artificial coloring, buttermilk, vinegar and cocoa somehow manages to put me off. Moreover, the amount of red food coloring often used in these recipes (sometimes up to 3 tablespoons) scares the hell out of me.

Undeniably, there are many red velvet (RV) treat lovers out there, and I've seen anything from RV cakes, RV cookies, RV cream pies, to RV macarons and even scones! And then there's RV ice cream, the most famous of which is Momofuku Milk Bar's Red Velvet Soft Serve Ice Cream. The last straw was when I spotted this frozen beauty on Pinterest. That drooly snapshot made me decide almost instantaneously to overcome my disdain at the vast array of RV goodies out there and make something red velvety-ish in my kitchen.



And what better to start with than red velvet ice cream? Most red velvet recipes would call for 2 to 3 tablespoons of red food coloring, but I had goosebumps just thinking about how that amount would alter my DNA, so I reduced that to 1 1/2 teaspoons. It all depends on the strength of your coloring agent and I suppose mine just seemed lethal enough to impart such a deep, bloody hue.


I used the egg yolk method to make the custard base but if I were to try this again, I'd probably use mascarpone cheese and dispense with the eggs. And I did wonder if using beetroot juice instead of artificial coloring would make a big difference to the overall taste and color? Next time, I'll know what to do. For this batch, though, the cocoa flavor really came through giving a slight bitterness, and the buttermilk added a pleasing tart note that balanced out the sweetness. If you are a fan of red velvet edibles, then you have to give this a try. It's certainly the sexiest-looking ice cream I've ever made in all of my short, churning history! Oh, if you're wondering about that chocolate cone, I made that too using this recipe.

The Bowery Poetry Club in New York is a haven for many performing spoken word poets. While I'm nowhere close to being a poet, I do like to listen to spoken word poems, with all the intonations, emphasis and melodiousness of the speaker's voice. Here I share with you a gem entitled, "What Teachers Make" by poet Taylor Mali. Teachers are truly some of my favorite people in the entire universe. I had several really great ones growing up who inadvertently helped shape the course of my life and made me the person I am today. And now my kids also have fantastic teachers, many of whom I have great respect and admiration for, and several have even become our good friends throughout the years. This poem is a tribute to all the selfless teachers out there, for without them, there will be no other professions.


Red Velvet Ice Cream
Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar (sweeten to taste)
1 cup buttermilk or crème fraiche
1-2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1-2 teaspoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
1. Bring cream to a simmer. Meanwhile, thoroughly whisk together egg yolks and sugar.
2. Pour some of the simmering cream into egg yolks while stirring. Return this mixture to the pan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in buttermilk or crème fraiche, cocoa powder, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla extract. Pour into a bowl and leave to cool. Cover with plastic wrap so that the wrap is in contact with the top of your mixture; refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (around 4-8 hours). I placed mine in the freezer for 45 minutes to expedite things.
4. Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer ice cream to a covered container and place in your freezer for at least 2-4 hours to get the best consistency.

62 comments:

Beth Michelle said...

This red velvet ice cream looks so unbelievably delicious! I will definitely be bookmarking this for future use. Also, really great poem! Some of my best friends are teachers and I have had some pretty amazing ones in my life who have given me so much.

Anonymous said...

Yum! And, I was just about to make red velvet cupcakes. I'll have to switch to ice cream!

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

My daughter wants red velvet for her birthday cake on Thursday and I've always been a little leery of the 3 bottles of red food coloring that go into the batter! I really should try the beet juice. This is one amazing ice cream...the color is just gorgeous! And I love your little man showing his personality :)

Gerry @Foodness Gracious said...

Yip I too am a fan of RV but I think I may be more of a fan of the frosting. This ice cream looks amazing though, you really nailed the color!
Thanks...

TinaRBK said...

The color of this is so eye catching and the classic red velvet flavor has won so many awards. Genius making it into an ice cream-yum!

Lisa~~ said...

I adore red velvet and now you have me craving your ice cream. Do you deliver? Gorgeous!

Lisa~~
Cook Lisa Cook

Lora said...

This has to be the most luxurious and sexy ice cream of the summer. Double, triple WOW!

Unknown said...

Beth Michelle, many thanks. Glad you also liked the poem. I was inspired to become a teacher too once, until I realized I just didn't have the patience to be one!

Unknown said...

Yummy chunklet, as you can see there are many options for red velvet flavoring and this is just one of them. Hope you'll like this ice cream recipe!

Unknown said...

Lizzy, maybe you can make your daughter reed velvet ICE CREAM cake for her birthday instead? Oh, I tried baking a cake with beetroot once, and guess what, the red color changed into golden brown upon baking! So no, unfortunately beetroot wouldn't a red velvet cake make ;-). That little guy and I, we have so much fun together that I wish he didn't have to grow up so fast!

Unknown said...

Gerry, well what do you know? The cream cheese frosting has also been turned into ice cream at Momofuku Milk Bar and apparently, it tastes really good!

Unknown said...

Tina, yes I was turned on by its color too! Which is the reason why I made this, as I wasn't really a fan of red velvet flavoring in the first place.

Unknown said...

Lisa, my big red (velvet) ice cream truck will be coming around to your neighborhood soon! LOL.

Unknown said...

Lora, luxurious ice cream...now I really like the sound of that!

the [sugar] apothecary said...

My oh my! That IS one sexy ice cream cone! I, too, am usually put off by the icky sweetness and terribly fake coloring of RV desserts... But this? I could TOTALLY get into this.

Freshly cooked custard AND your hand-rolled chocolate cones! You are the best mom ever. I love the idea of slightly bitter/tart red velvet flavoring... Sounds way better than the not-so-great taste I've come to expect from RV!

The Farmers Wife said...

Oooooooooooo.... I'm drooling over here! We LOVE red velvet cake in this house, I've been dying to try it in ice cream form. This is just amazing! Great recipe!

Unknown said...

Christine@the sugar apothecary, so happy that you're willing to give red velvet a chance even though you're not that into it like me. Well, once in a while, we've got to live dangerously, haven't we? As for being the best mom, ask my kids and they'll cheekily tell you something else...haha.

Alex said...

I love red velvet, so I know I would love this! pile it on an ice cream cone for me!

Anonymous said...

This is stunning and you have some strong red dye! I have the gels used for dying tubs of frosting, so that might work for me! I don't know why I wasn't before...I'm now following you on google follower!

Unknown said...

Kim@The Farmer's Wife, yes I saw your lovely Red Velvet Whoopie Pies for your husband's birthday, so lovely! Next birthday you'll make him a red velvet ice cream cake, perhaps?

Unknown said...

Alex, haha... As you can see, I tried to pile mine rather high onto the cone. I managed two scoops and the top one eventually slipped off onto my camera lens as I was shooting it! Aaargh, the perils of food photography... ;-).

Unknown said...

Ann, thanks so much for following! You're here so often, that follower thing is merely a formality and great to remind you of new posts, I suppose. I have those gels too, but they're in itty bitty little tubs that I thought they might not be enough to color the ice cream. Maybe I'm wrong, they're probably in sold in smaller quantities for a reason!

Sandra said...

Maya, what an incredible ice-cream..love the color, making it even more delicious,photo are yummy!..and your son is adorable..ok let me say "handsome" my son don't like to call him cutie names:)))) Have a wonderful Tuesday sweetie!!!

Unknown said...

Heya, Sandra! Thanks, and btw, my son and your son are on the same page....no cute names, please, mommy! It must be the macho thing with boys. LOL.

Carolyn said...

It really is seriously gorgeous in colour. I'd be curious about a mascarpone version.

Unknown said...

Carolyn, the next version of this ice cream will probably be based on mascarpone and beetroot-infused cream. Let's see how that works out.

RavieNomNoms said...

Oh how wonderful is this?! I am so impressed! That color is amazing!

Ana Helena said...

You are the ice cream expert!!! I love every single one you have made so far, but I must confess...this is my favorite. Great idea to make your own cones. Thanks for sharing and by the way, your son is adorable :)

The Chocolate Priestess said...

I've never been a red velvet fan either because of the die. I think most of these cakes or cookies or whatever had so much die it completely overwhelms the chocolate.

Bibi said...

omg! can I order this? =S

Unknown said...

Ravie, yep it certainly is a sexy color for ice cream! Plus you get to lick it too, how about that? ;-)

Unknown said...

Ana Helena, thanks. And my son, the cutie pie, thanks you too..haha.

Unknown said...

Choc Priestess, I absolutely agree with you. I suppose there's no harm in adding more cocoa to the custard mixture, but it'll probably be more bitter than chocolatey.

Unknown said...

Bibi, you'll have to wait until my ice cream truck rolls around to your neighborhood. Mr. Red Velvety instead of Mr. Softy! ;-)

Bibi said...

when will that be? lol. but i really want this =S before im flying off..... lalalala

Torviewtoronto said...

delicious looking ice cream

Magic of Spice said...

Oh wow! What a great idea...and love the cone :) Looks fantastic!

Kim Bee said...

This is gorgeous. Love your pics not only of the food but the rocker hair. Great post. I must try this one.

Unknown said...

Thank you, Akeela and Alisha!

Unknown said...

Kim Bee, haha, I don't know why that rocker wig is even included in this post. I guess I just liked the funny poses!

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

See Maya, this is what I was talking about! Red Velvet ice cream? So genius!! I need your cooking talent! Look at the beautiful color. I'm stunned!

Umm Mymoonah said...

Wow! Just couldn't resist the look of this ice cream, simply amazing

Unknown said...

Nami, what are you talking about? Red velvet is a classic flavor, I haven't created anything new...I just simply turned it into ice cream. LOL. But a big THANK YOU and hugs to you for your kind comments, anyway!

Unknown said...

Umm Mymoonah, many thanks. Who's that cute little one in your profile photo?

Edith said...

I chanced upon your blog and gosh! I am going to keep coming back.

BigFatBaker said...

YUM! Making this tonight. I've been trying to think of ways to use up my buttermilk... Thanks for the recipe, it sounds fab!

Mama Chef said...

This is awesome! I heard Blue Bunny Red Velvet ice cream was great, but I would much rather try home-made :)

Jenny VintageSugarcube) said...

That is the perrrrfect dessert for your kitchen. Do another kitchen photoshoot with the whole family in fun wigs and eating that ice cream. Have you reminded your kiddos how lucky they are to have a diva for a mama?

Lilly said...

OMG 2 scoops? I love the sound of red velvet and then I found out that it was only food color. Bummer!
I think beet root juice would do the trick as well. Can't wait till you give that a try =)

Unknown said...

Edith, I really hope you do! :-)

Unknown said...

BigFatBaker, if you do make this, post it up because I want to know what you think about the ice cream after you've tried it. Oh, and thanks for dropping by!

Unknown said...

Mama Chef, I have no idea what Blue Bunny is, but yes, isn't homemade stuff always better anyway?

Unknown said...

JENNY! LOL, you crack me up, gurl. We don't have enough wigs to go around and I doubt if the teenagers and Foodivo would want to destroy their street cred, you know. So that basically leaves my 7-year old and me, we have nothing to lose! Plus we have fun fooling around in front of the camera :-).

Unknown said...

Lilly, you said it! Red Velvet is such a clever marketing thing, it's actually just cocoa and buttermilk masked in a sea of red! You'll have to wait for the beetroot juice experiment....

Anonymous said...

That is one incredibly pretty ice cream! -Pinkydoodles

Unknown said...

The ice cream looks lovely.

S.V. said...

The ice cream looks amazing. I also love that quote and have used it myself in the past, but unfortunately I used it in reference to what a teacher should be as we had a rough year with a horrible teacher. But we have had many great teachers who I adore, and a great teacher makes all the difference in your child wanting to learn and fostering a learning environment.

Evelyne CulturEatz said...

Food coloring does not scare me lol. Bring on anything RV but never thought of ice cream...must make it.

egb said...

Love this idea! Living in the south, this sounds like the best treat for the summer! Yum! Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

Hiya Pot@egb, is it summer where you are right now? Well, I hope you try this ice cream out then. I know how much you and Kettle like making your own ice creams, it's about time that ice cream maker comes out of hiatus now!

Tammy said...

I've been on quite a red velvet kick lately. This ice cream looks truly fabulous. I would definitely go for a scoop! Great post...thank you for sharing!

xoxo,
Tammy

HB said...

It looks absolutely gorgeous! I've never tried red velvet Icecream and would love to give this a go :)

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