 |
Vanilla Bean Gelato Base |
Introduction
Most ice creams on the market are made using a continuous process where the mixture is churned, scraped down, and simultaneously frozen until the desired amount of air (also known as overrun in the dairy industry) is incorporated into the mixture. The Ninja Creami is, on the other hand, completely opposite of this model and instead uses micro-pureeing technology that it has adapted from commercial pacotizing laboratory equipment to micro-puree a completely solid, rock hard frozen block of ice cream in under 3 minutes.
This frozen treat is, as mentioned, ultra dense and velvety-smooth with the texture and palate of a great Italian gelato. With this method of frozen treat construction the Ultra-Premium flavor doesn’t get muddied by egg-yolks and the flavors of your choice of aromatics really shine. In the following Masterclass we are going to explore and begin your education with the basic flavors of culinary frozen treats – The Ultra-Premium Madagascar Vanilla Bean Base for the Ninja Creami has been engineered to provide the perfect balance of fats, solids and sugars for the cleanest and smoothest emulsions that can undergo the absolute smoothest mechanical shear possible.
Ingredient Deep-Dive & Smart Substitutions
An Ice Cream with the ultimate texture is a fragile balance of fat, sugar and water at exact proportions to other ingredients. It is far to easily be too greasy or too brittle and chalky to desire consumption.
Heavy Cream (36% Butterfat): This ingredient is best found pasteurized but not ultra-pasteurized as many industrial heavy creams are today. Industrial stabilizers such as carrageenan, guar gum and xanthan gum are often added to ultra-pasteurized heavy cream and will not break down during the 24 hour deep freeze period and will impart a very unpleasant mouthfeel to the finished ice. Function: Heavy cream provides the milkfat that will cover the palate with richness and flavor.
Whole Milk (3.25% Milkfat): This ingredient must be very fresh and be full fat to use in the formula for the best results. Function: This ingredient supplies the water content to form the initial ice crystal structure plus the milk solids-not-fat (MSNF) to keep the ice from becoming too wet and flavorless.
Granulated Cane Sugar: Standard white sugar. This ingredient lowers the freezing point and adds sugar to the mix, thus achieving the desired level of sweetness. Light Corn Syrup or Tapioca Syrup: Liquid sugars add viscosity to your ice “cream” and function as anti-crystallization agents which in turn creates an elastic texture that is scoopable even after 24 hours in the deep freezer.
Cream Cheese: The secret commercial-grade stabilizer that is incorporated into cream cheese are the emulsifiers carob bean gum or guar gum. These bind free water, so that big ice crystals cannot form.
Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Bean Paste: True paste, with the flecks of the bean pod showing in the mix. Gives a beautiful visual contrast to the rest of the ice cream and a deep woodsy, balsamic-toned vanilla flavor.
Measured Ingredient Matrix
- Heavy Cream: 1 cup / 240 ml
- Whole Milk: 3/4 cup / 180 ml
- Granulated Sugar: 1/3 cup / 66 grams
- Light Corn Syrup: 1 tablespoon / 20 grams
- Cream Cheese (softened): 1 tablespoon / 15 grams
- Vanilla Bean Paste: 1 1/2 teaspoons / 7.5 ml
- Fine Sea Salt: 1/8 teaspoon / 0.75 grams
Dietary Adaptations
Vegan / Dairy-Free: Use full-fat coconut cream from a can (240ml) - shake well before use - and an extra-creamy, barista-edition oat milk (180ml) instead of the heavy cream and whole milk. Also use vegan cream cheese or 0.25g pure xanthan gum instead of the cream cheese.
Lower-Sugar alternative: Allulose Sweetener Mix - use same weight of this as sugar, eg 40g allulose mix (blending of allulose with other sweeteners) instead of 40g granulated sugar. Note -erythritol by itself is too harsh as it crystallizes and then makes things hard when below frozen.
Essential Equipment
Ninja Creami Appliance: (7-in-1, 11-in-1, or Deluxe models).
Official Ninja Creami Pint Containers: Make sure they are perfectly level and free of any defects or damage that could affect the structure.
Digital Kitchen Scale: The most accurate means for a digital kitchen in the production of pastry; whereas volumetric measurement of ingredients can introduce up to a 20% variation in sugar (sucrose) in terms of mass.
Immersion Blender: These are far better for cream cheese stabilization in cold dairy than a hand whisk.
Step-by-Step Professional Method
Phase 1: Emulsifying the Base
- To make this sauce, mix the following ingredients in a tall, narrow mixing pitcher or large glass measuring cup: Softened cream cheese (15 g), granulated sugar (66 g), light corn syrup (20 g), vanilla bean paste (7.5 ml), and sea salt (0.75 g).
- Next, add the whole milk (180 ml) to the pitcher. Lower the mixer into the liquid, and blend for 30 seconds. This should dissolve all of the sugar and thoroughly mix the cream cheese with the liquid, leaving no visible spheres of fat.
- Now slowly pour in the heavy cream (240 ml). You will need to pulse the blender 3 – 4 times until well combined. Note that you don’t want to over-mix here or you’ll start to beat the mixture into butter lipids. The buttery flavor will remain in the finish and be very unpleasant feeling, have a waxy texture in your mouth.
Phase 2: The Critical Cold Cure
- FOLLOW CAREFULLY: Once mixture is smooth and ready- Pour into the pint container for your Ninja Creami. FILL LINE MUST NOT BE EXCEEDED.
- Secure the storage lid of the pint and place the pint on a completely flat, level surface in your freezer.
- After mixing your base, place the pint in the freezer for a minimum of 24 hours. It’s crucial to make sure the pint is on a flat surface and that there is no interference to it at all. Ideally the freezer should be set to -5°F to 0°F (-21°C to -18°C) as this will result in the best possible results from the shearing process. Importantly, the entire base must be frozen solid, with no liquid what so ever.
Phase 3: The Shearing Processing
- Remove pint from freezer. Remove storage lid from pint and inspect surface. If a sharp hump of frozen material has formed in center of pint, use a large sturdy spoon to scrape flat to facilitate safe processing.
- Place the pint into the outer processing bowl. Lock the creamizer blade assembly into the outer bowl lid. Secure the pint processing apparatus to the machine base.
- Select the Ice Cream function. The dual-drive motor will then descend to start shaving the icy block layer by layer.
Phase 4: The Re-Spin Evaluation
- Remove the container. If the gelato appears dry, powdery, or even chalky, this is okay and means the base was too cold.
- Add exactly one tablespoon (15 ml) of fresh whole milk or heavy cream to the pint of gelato base.
- Re-lock the container in the machine and select Re-Spin. The remixed gelato base should have a smooth texture with a well-defined and shiny surface. It should pull away from the sides of the pint in tight ribbons and appear very stable.
The Science Behind the Recipe
Learning about the mechanics of the Creami changed how I approach flavoring my ice creams. Unlike most ice cream makers on the market that rapidly cool mix while folding in air to create the tiniest of ice crystals, the Creami forms very large ice crystals over the 24 hour still freeze period. Then it beats them up.
This product works due to the “freezing point depression” (caused by the sugars and salts) that is managed by the type of liquid sugars (such as corn syrup) that are added to the product. In frozen products, the sugars and the corn syrup in particular keep the water in the product from “locking up” so that even when frozen solid the product stays in a brittle condition that can be chopped or shredded by a blade rather than broken into tiny pieces. The emulsifiers in the cream cheese used in this product also stabilize the fat in the cheese and prevent it from separating into large fat clumps during processing, giving the product a smooth mouthfeel.
Pro Tips for Success
Exterminate the Peak: Make sure your frozen pints are “flat” – don’t let them develop a frozen peak in the middle of the pint as this can cause problem down the line with the machine’s shaft, or wear the clutch.
The Warm Water Bath: Run the sides of the pint in warm water for 15 seconds prior to placing into machine to get perfect pint edges. This will melt a thin outer layer of ice to prevent chalk formation on the glass edges.
Mix-ins are your worst enemy in forming perfect micro-emulsions if not added properly. Adding in chocolate chips, cookie dough, candy pieces, etc. should be added manually using the ‘Mix-in’ function. They must be completely CHILLED OR FROZEN before adding. They will destroy the delicate emulsion if they melt and you manually add them to the mixture.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Mistake: Using Pure Stevia or Erythritol without Bulking Agents.
- Why: The pint turns into an indestructible block of ice that can strain the motor.
- Fix: Use allulose or xylitol since these ingredients behave similar to natural sucrose under very cold conditions.
- Why: A soft base or 12 hours of frozen time is not enough for this blade. It is meant to shave a hard base frozen for 24 hours. It will merely plow through a soft base and make a soup.
- Fix: Commit to the full 24-hour hard freeze.
Culinary Safety & Hygiene
- Dairy received in Cold Chain Management storage and handled properly before processing to maintain refrigerator temperature below 40°F (4°C).
- Blade Sanitation: The Creami blade assembly has very tight recesses that dairy fats can fill. Always wash the blade assembly immediately after using it with boiling water and a sanitizing dish soap. Utilize a small detail brush to clean around the shaft housing.
- Refreezing Guidelines: Do NOT re-spin a pint that has COMPLETELY MELTED and sat at room temperature as this can create potential biological hazards.
The Perfect Pairing
Warm rustic fruit galettes, thickly-cut slabs of dark chocolate torte and a scoop or two of this ultra-dense gelato (made with whole vanilla beans) would make for a very satisfying and beautiful dessert offering. We enjoy pairing this dense gelato with a double shot of hot, high-acid espresso, poured over a fresh scoop to make an Affogato al Caffè. Because this particular formulation is so dense it doesn’t melt immediately, the espresso quickly becomes an ultra-creamy, and velvety reduction.
Storage & Preservation Excellence
If you have leftover ice cream that you haven’t devoured yet, scoop it back into the Ninja Creami pint and press down with the back of your spoon (in the freezer) to flatten to a layer and pop the lid back on to put in the freezer for later. Don’t let it thaw out on the counter because it will go through melting and then become icy when you put it back in the freezer. Lock the pint with the remaining solid ice cream in it and hit the Re-Spin button to have freshly-churned ice cream made again in seconds!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
My ice cream has been powdery or crumbly after the first spin!
Your Ninja Creami ice cream may become powdery or even develop into a crumbly like consistency after the first spin, as very cold ice cream can sometimes become too hard and the ice crystals shave off as a very fine powder or dust instead of forming up into a smooth consistency of cream. Running the Re-Spin with 1 tablespoon of milk or cream added to the pint instantly fixes this as it links the micro crystals together.
Can you make totally fat free ice cream with this recipe for the base?
To make “ice cream” using a fat-free dairy alternative, you will increase the stabilizer(s) in the base (i.e. 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum or other) and use a liquid sweetener (e.g. Stevia, etc) as otherwise the blade will be chopping at a solid block of pure water ice.
How long do unspun pint sized Ninja Creami containers hold in the freezer?
Unspun pint containers can be kept in a normal residential type freezer for up to three months provided the lids are tightly sealed to prevent freezer burn and absorbance of ambiant odors.
Nutrition Facts
The upcoming lab is to create your own frozen dessert. What are you going to make? Are you going to use alternative sugars in your experiment or add in custom confections by folding them into your frozen dessert? I want to hear your ideas on favorite mix-ins to add to your traditional dessert as well as any technical issues you run into while making a traditional dessert and how you overcome them to replicate them. Comment below with your ideas!
