I’ve always had a bit of wanderlust. I like to call it a case of the ‘get-gones’. I like to, you know… get-gone from everywhichwhere I am. Just drop me off at the airport and I’ll figure out the rest… all of this to the great dismay of my parents and my cat who tend to stay in one place for extended amounts of time.
Last month I was lucky enough to be in Asheville, North Carolina where they have the most awe-inspiring blue mountains and the most wonderful chocolate. Can I camp in the mountains and drink chocolate for the rest of my life? I might be ok with that.
This weekend I visited St. Louis where I found seriously good coffee at The Mud House and the most lovely tea from The ReTrailer. Can I just perfect latte art and blend healing teas for the rest of my days? That seems really nice.
The get-gones shape me, in big and subtle ways.
Realistically thought, I can’t always be gone. That’s just unreasonable. There’s Instagram for the times when the get-gones turn into the stay-puts. I mean… really.
I also find myself thumbing through cookbooks when I’m feeling travel-antsy. (I’ve made up a lot of words in this post.) My most recent cookbook traveling adventure is David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen. I haven’t been to Paris yet, but I’m pretty sure I’m 100% ready for the Coq Au Vin. Thank you, David.
David’s recipe for Buttermilk Ice Cream caught my eye. It perfectly marries my love of buttermilk with my love of cold, churned, frozen dairy.
It’s wonderfully simple! No egg yolks. No tempering.
There’s heavy cream for that luscious supple texture, buttermilk for the milky tang, and granulated sugar and vanilla honey for sweetness. I also decided to add a splash of bourbon (which comes pretty naturally to me) to help keep the ice cream scoop able in the freezer.
This creamy, smooth ice cream is like blending frozen yogurt with gelato. So rich and fresh to death!
As with most good ice creams, we’re going to need an ice cream maker to make this fluffy texture possible.
Maybe you have an ice cream mixing bowl chilling in the freezer right now. If you’re that person, I commend you. I’m never that person. I use an ice cream maker that freezes internally. It’s like having an air conditioner that makes its own ice cream, so…. at least there’s that.
I froze the ice cream in a bread pan overnight. When I scooped it the next day I was amazed at how creamy and scoopable the ice cream was. For this we can thank the fat from heavy cream and the unfreezing alcohol of bourbon. Also… it’s tastes daaaang good!
Strawberries are showing off. They’re sweet and ripe and basically begging to be paired with this tart ice cream. Fine. You win, strawberries. We all win.
This ice cream is simple with a side of tart. It’s lovely when paired with fresh fruit, but would also be wonderful over a warm fruit pie… I’m thinking Peach Blueberry Pie.
Buttermilk Ice Cream with strawberries
makes 1 quart
adapted slightly from My Paris Kitchen
1 3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons honey
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
strawberries and a bit of granulated sugar for topping
In a small saucepan, warm the cream over low heat with the sugar and honey until the sugar is completely dissolved. Place the mixture in a bowl and refrigerate until chilled through, 6 to 8 hours.
Stir the buttermilk and bourbon into the chilled sweetened cream. Freeze according to your manufacturer’s ice cream maker instructions. I churned my ice cream for about 30 minutes. Once churned, transfer ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze overnight, or until firm enough to scoop.
Just before serving, toss together sliced strawberries and a few pinches of granulated sugar. Allow to rest for 15 minutes at room temperature. Scoop ice cream and top with strawberries and juice. Enjoy!
Kenna
I have been making this ice cream for several years. It is perfect. I have now started subbing SWERVE sugar alternative for the sugar in a 1/1 ratio. No one even noticed. Taste, texture, smoothness were all unchanged. Hardened to the perfect consistency. Significant cut in calories. This recipe is a winner.
Rachel
I just found this blog and I love it!! I love the idea of using cookbooks to feed your travel wishes until you can actually get where you want to go! Thanks for putting a new perspective on my day :)
leola knight
I’m trying this today and I used vodka so here’s to hoping it works the mix taste good.
Rin
Just made this ice cream and while good, it was a bit bourbony for my taste. I think in the future I would reduce the amount to 1 tsp rather than a full tablespoon. Most other ice cream recipes tend to call for 1 tsp of alcohol.
Melinda
Hi – the ingredients just say ‘honey’, but the entry mentions ‘vanilla honey’. Which should I use? If I don’t have vanilla honey do you have a suggestion on how much extract?
joythebaker
Hi, I recommend using vanilla honey, as it adds a little extra bit of flavor. I actually have a post on how to make vanilla honey! https://joythebaker.com/2014/03/vanilla-honey/
Alisa@Tenml
Absolutely delicious ice cream, Thank you for the recipe.
Mike K
Nice shout out to The Mud House, which is such a wonderful place here in St Louis. This recipe looks great. I will have to try it, the twangy and funkier the better for me.
Elizabeth
classic and delicious – I can eat it everyday! :D
Nina's Kitchen
Sounds amazing. I am making this ice cream next, and yes I have the bowl chilling in the freezer (only because I meant to make ice cream weeks ago). Your strawberries look fabulous – in season – yeah!!! In season strawberries in Vancouver in a few weeks – can’t wait.
shineshka
Yeah, I’m not the one who has ice cream machine bowl in the freezer, but it’s going into the freezer now. Will be enjoying this ice cream tomorrow! Your strawberries look awesome, so red and ripe.
Bake Bellissima
I literally just bought an ice cream maker 2 days ago, and now I can try this recipe, so excited!
Thanks for the recipe and great pics!
Shikha la mode
This is more like an ice milk then, right – no eggs! I’m definitely that person who always has an ice cream bowl freezing jjuuuuuuuuuust in case. And it always comes in handy, especially now when all I want to do is make ice cream!
KK
I so love your blog….! Everything..writing, recipes, and pictures!!
Meredith
Over the top delicious!
Jill
This looks amazing! Is there any substitute you could suggest for the bourbon to help with the freezing process? I find when I make ice cream it’s not very scoopable (word?!) after it freezes over night….but I don’t drink alcohol.
STLMary
Joy, how fun to hear you were in St. Louis this weekend! I hope you enjoyed the lovely weather. The Mud House is really a treasure- as is Whisk Bakery on Cherokee. Come back soon!
Arthur in the Garden!
I was wondering about making this over the weekend because I had some buttermilk in the refrigerate.
naivecookcooks
Ice cream looks so creamy and that’s how I eat my ice creams with- loads of fresh strawberries!
Nora&Laura
oh my…that looks SO good!!!
x
laura&nora
Bailey Wallace
I’m drooling! That looks amazing.
Next time you’re in The Lou, you should check out Ted Drews. It’s heaven.
Rhea Gupte (@TheGirlFromFUSS)
Looks delicious! I’m going to try it!
Xx
Rhea
http://www.fuss.co.in
Taylor
I want all the ice cream! I can’t wait to try this recipe out!
xoxo
Taylor
Carolyn
Wow, I have a vat of strawberries in my fridge… I think I need to make this happen!
Jessica
I hope you enjoyed St. Louis! We’ve lived here for about five years and just love it. If you liked The Mud House, you should try Rise Coffee next time. Similar vibe, great coffee and baked goodies. You’d like it. Oh, and Strange Donuts.
Maggie K.
Hi Joy! I am headed to Saint Louis in a month and I’d love recommendations for any other great places to eat. I will be staying downtown, right near the arch. I will be there on my own attending a conference for a week and I’d love to check out the local cuisine!
Courtney
Truly gorgeous shots Joy – as usual!
Thanks for sharing,
Courtney & Kelsey
http://www.nikitaandvesper.com
Maebells
You just took me back to every single summer of my childhood! Buttermilk ice cream was our treat of choice! Loving the addition of strawberries!
theamclain
I’m glad you came back to STL! I love this city, and we do have some major coffee. Sorry I missed you!
Shannon L.
Hi, Joy!
I know I’m writing this on the wrong post, but I just made your best chocolate buttercream recipe over the weekend. I’m not even kidding, it was literally the best icing I have ever had! My husband’s quote, “You’re getting dangerously good at this…” THANK YOU for the recipe!
Shannon
Patti Panuccio
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
My momma told me I had roaches in my shoes, cause I was always going somewhere.
Rebecca
Oh gosh. Your get-gones HAVE to go to Paris sometime, because even if Paris didn’t have Coq au Vin (which they do), it does have bakeries on just about every street corner, and little ice cream stands that sell a scoop for a Euro so that you can walk along the Seine with it and feel like Audrey Hepburn in Charade.
Just one question… is the bourbon flavor distinct in the ice cream? My husband and I don’t really care for alcohol (shocking, I know), but I would love not having rock-hard ice cream.
Kenna
No the bourbon is not that noticeable. This is an excellent ice cream. I make it frequently
sophieharriet
I’m extremely intrigued that you are using buttermilk in an ice-cream, because I always would have assumed that it would make for a very sharp flavor. However, I have yet to taste a recipe of your that did not satisfy any craving inside of me, so I am sure it is scrumptious!
Kenn morton
Ice cram is firm but not hard. This is a delicious treat I make it several times a month— summer and winter
New to the Ice Cream Game - Kristen
Yesterday, May 11, was my birthday. The gift my husband gave me was an ice cream maker. Then I check my email and see that you posted this recipe for ice cream on the same day! Is this meant to be or what?
Rebekah {aCricketSang}
WOW! That looks amazing, wish I had an ice cream maker…
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
This ice cream looks flipping perfect! love this!
Laura @ Raise Your Garden
I look at recipes like this and think to myself…..wow….food is only half taste, the other half is clearly looks! But then we live in a looks obsessed world, so no wonder we like our food to be pretty.
Jessica (BAKECETERA)
i still vote you come to paris ASAP… but until then, this ice cream looks like a pretttttty good substitute!
foodlikecake
That looks amazing!
emmajeanne16
I saw this recipe too and thought it was a must make for the summer. Now I really want to make it. It looks wonderful!!
Rock Salt
My ice cream mixing bowl is in the freezer. It has a tub of shop-bought ice cream in it at the minute. Oh, the delicious, delicious irony.
sophieharriet
Yum yum yum perfect recipe to start the summer holidays! Finishing finals today!! Woooo!
Belinda Lo (Moonblush Baker)
Hmm I got to try this take on ice cream. I normally can not go pass the egg based one but the creamy texture you describe is satisfying my brain craving to make Parisian style ice cream.
sundiegoeats
Usually I love having eggs in ice cream as it make more custardy but here I think just having buttermilk and cream keeps it so its just pure unadulterated milk-y goodness.
Sarah | The Sugar Hit
My cases of the get-gones always seem to coincide with my times of got-none (as in, no money for travelling!). Eating ice cream seems like a dandy way to distract my wandering feet from the fact that they’re not really wandering. And this looks incredibly delicious.