I recently went to the farmer’s market and scored a great deal on some yellow plum seconds. I knew what I wanted to do was make ice cream, so I started looking for a base recipe. Once again, I pulled out Frozen Desserts by Caroline Liddell & Robin Weir. As I’ve noted before, this is a great book and you can sometimes pick it up on Amazon for a great price. I paid under $3. http://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Desserts-Definitive-Sorbets-Delights/dp/0312143435
I made some adjustments to their recipe and swapped in the port wine. Here’s what I came u with.
Yellow Plums 1 pound
Port Wine 1/2 cup (I used Trader Joe’s because that’s what I had)
Heavy Whipping Cream 1 cup
Egg Yolks 2
Granulated Sugar 1/2 cup
Vanilla Extract 1/4 tsp
Wash, halve & stone the plums. Cut into 6 pieces and put into a med pot. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Let cool at room temp for 10 minutes. Pulse in a food processor until it is a coarse textured pulp. Cover and chill in fridge.
Make a French style ice cream base:
Combine cream, vanilla extract and half of the sugar. Bring to just below boiling. Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks and remaining sugar. Use an electric beater/mixer if possible. You want a pale color and some ribboning. Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture in a thin stream, whisking steadily.
Either heat the mixture in a double boiler or direct heat (if you’re good). Stir frequently until the mixture reaches 185 degrees F/ 85 degrees C. Remove the pan or bowl and place it in an ice bath to quickly chill.
At this point you can mix the plum into the vanilla base. Chill in the fridge, preferably overnight. Process in an ice cream maker.
