Most of the time when people think pastry chefs, frozen desserts don’t come to mind. In most cases, pastry chefs don’t really get involved in making ice cream and sorbets from scratch. One big reason for this is that, commercially speaking, frozen dessert production requires large equipment that can be cumbersome and may need special attention like for cleaning. Many large resorts that make cakes and other desserts from scratch just don’t find it cost effective to make frozen desserts from scratch and often times the one ice cream machine will sit in the corner collecting dust. Smaller operations are more likely to take advantage of an ice cream machine as long as they have the space for it. Despite all this, most cooks, bakers, and pastry chefs have at least some experience and knowledge of frozen desserts.
Sources: The New Food Lover’s Companion
Types of frozen desserts
Still Mixtures or Still Frozen Desserts
Ingredients in frozen desserts
Freezing and Overrun
According to my college text book, Baking and Pastry Fundamentals (Johnson & Wales) iced desserts were first enjoyed by the Chinese hundreds of years B.C. Their methods resulted in a hard product that required being chipped or scraped. The chipped ice was then served with flavored syrup. The concept of flavored iced desserts spread throughout the continent and in the Middle East crushed ice was flavored with fruit and honey. This dessert was called sharbat and is thought to be the predecessor of sorbet and sherbet.
Chipped and crushed ice desserts eventually gained popularity in Italy but it was Catherine di Medici who refined the churning process which resulted in sorbetti. She brought sorbet with her to France where it became a much loved dessert. The French are credited for adding cream to the frozen desserts resulting in sherbet and ice cream.
Despite having origins in France, ice cream as we know it today is very much thought to be an American invention. In 1846, Nancy Johnson invented the hand-cranked freezer which improved the production of ice cream. By steadily adding air into the ice cream base and constantly moving the mixture the resulting product was smoother. According to the text book, “Other than the Italians, who still pride themselves on their sorbetto, granita, and of course their gelato, Americans eat and love ice cream more than any other culture on Earth.”
Ice cream (French, American, Gelato)
There are two distinct types of ice cream which have to do with how the base is made.
Using the kitchen aid ice cream bowl attachment to make ice cream. When using this attachment always use the lowest speed setting and make sure you've frozen your bowl for at least 15 hours.
French style ice cream (think French Vanilla) is made from a thick custard base – usually a pate a bombe or crème anglais, which is why melted French Vanilla ice cream resembles crème anglais so much. French style ice cream bases are always heated. French style ice creams are usually creamier but require more skill and time to make.
American style ice cream has no eggs and is a simple mixture of milk, cream, and sugar. Since it has no eggs American style ice cream does not need to be heated. American style ice creams are usually quicker to make but may have a grainer (from the ice crystals) consistency than French style ice cream. The texture, body, or richness may be less appealing than a French style ice cream as well.
Another style of ice cream that is very popular is the Italian frozen dessert gelato. While gelato and ice cream are similar it is typically considered taboo to call gelato ice cream (kind of like calling grey poupon mustard… I’m working on a better example). Gelato has less fat and more sugar than traditional ice cream. Gelato may or may not be made from a custard base. Gelato is also made faster than ice cream resulting in less air being incorporated. The resulting product is a denser richer frozen dessert.
Bombes
Ice cream bombes get their name from the shape they are usually served in – a sphere or dome. However, with the different approaches to dessert today bombe typically refers to a frozen ice cream dessert made in layers usually incorporating a cake, icing, glaze, and/or meringue. Most bombes are finished with a torched meringue similar to a lemon meringue pie. The most common bombe dessert is the Baked Alaska which is a layer of cake, topped with ice cream (possibly layered with different flavors), which is coated in a meringue and lightly torched before serving.
Sorbet, Sherbet, Spoom, Granita (Iced desserts)
Sorbet, sherbet, spoom, and granita are made from a sugar syrup base that is flavored using fruit or alcohol (like wine or champagne). Unlike ice cream, they usually have less air incorporated in them, much more sugar, and (with the exception of sherbet) are dairy free.
Sorbet is sugar syrup mixture that is typically flavored with fruit juice (some of my favorite sorbets include grapefruit and lychee). Sherbet is similar to sorbet but has a milk or cream component added to it. A spoom is made the same way as a sorbet but has Italian meringue folded in during the freezing process. Spooms are typically made with wine or champagne. Granita is sugar syrup mixture typically flavored with fruit juice but unlike sorbet it is not churned during the freezing process. Instead it is frozen in a shallow pan and scraped or chipped after it is frozen.
These frozen desserts are usually made by taking a measurement of the sugar syrup prior to freezing. The density is measured with a baume scale and the measurements are called degrees baume or simply just baume. For example: It is acceptable to say this sorbet requires a sugar density of 14 baume or requires a sugar density of 14 degrees baume.
Sorbet, sherbet, and spoom have a final sugar density of 14-18 baume while granita has a sugar density of 10-12 baume.
It is very important to point out that a baume reading must be done while the sugar syrup is at room temperature (somewhere between 68 and 78 degrees F). If the syrup is too hot or too cold the baume reading will be inaccurate.
Other frozen desserts
Semifreddo – An Italian specialty made from a semi- or completely frozen mousse.
Pears Belle Helene – A poached pear, either whole or half, served with vanilla ice cream and served with a rich chocolate sauce.
Peach Melba – Vanilla ice cream served with peaches, a slice of cake, and melba sauce. According to my Johnson and Wales Baking Fundamentals textbook, the original Peach Melba was invented by Escoffier in 1892 by Dame Nellie Melba. Her dessert was ice cream and peaches served in a swan made of ice and topped with spun sugar.
Frozen Yogurt – Frozen yogurt is the healthy alternative to ice cream. It is typically made by simply freezing yogurt. Additives, like fresh fruit pieces, are added during the freezing process.
Still Mixtures or Still Frozen Desserts
Still mixtures are frozen desserts that are not churned during the freezing process. This means ice cream, sorbet, granita, and so forth are NOT still mixtures since they are churned while being initially frozen.
Parfait Glace and Souffle Glace
Parfaits are basically a French style ice cream with whipped cream folded into it – speaking in the traditional sense. In other words, the base is made from a creme anglais or bavarian cream (gelatin optional – see stabilizers below) and then a soft to medium peak whipped cream is folded in prior to freezing. They are considered still mixtures because, unlike ice cream, they are not churned during the freezing process. Parfaits are usually frozen in glasses or terrines while soufflé glace is frozen in a ramekin with a paper collar. The collar is removed when the product is served so it resembles a baked soufflé.
Essentially they are both the same dessert but depending on how they are frozen (shape and serving dish) depends on the name of the dessert. Notice that still mixtures can still contain whipped air (from a meringue or whipped cream for example). The major difference is that additional air is not added during the freezing process. In turn, this makes it relatively easy to make a frozen dessert even if you don’t have an ice cream machine or ice cream maker attachment for your mixer.
Making other frozen dessert into still mixtures
Technically it is possible to make anything into a still mixture as long as you don’t stir it at any point during the freezing process – that means no churning like in the Saffron French Style ice cream episode and no stirring like in the Blackberry Mint Granita episode. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean every dessert you create as a still mixture will work. A sorbet that freezes as a solid ice brick is a still mixture but not exactly what you’re aiming for. If it does freeze into a solid brick you could chip it with a tool to create an old school iced dessert. Whether that qualifies as a still mixture depends on how strict you are. As a chef, you have the ability to decide how to categorize your creation. Don’t believe me? Check out all the various definitions of meringue and chiffon over in the glossary.
Try looking at other recipes that are basically still mixtures like semi-freddo. A mousse is not churned during the freezing process because of the delicate air cells you created during the process of making the mousse.
You can also try changing classical desserts by substituting still mixtures for the churned components. Baked Alaska, an ice-cream bombe, can be made by using a parfait glace or semi-freddo frozen in a hemisphere mold.
Ingredients in Frozen Desserts
Milk and Cream
When it comes to ice cream, milk and cream are credited for contributing to the dessert’s characteristic texture, body, and richness. Typically, an ice cream has 14-16% fat content but it can go as high as 22-25%. Butterfat (the fat found in cream and milk) and milk solids also help contribute to the whipping process which allows the frozen dessert to have so much air incorporated into it.
Eggs
Eggs contribute to the flavor and fat content of frozen desserts. Eggs contain lecithin, a natural emulsifier found in the yolk, which helps in creating a smoother more custard-like dessert. When eggs are used in a dessert the base should be heated between 140 – 180 degrees F to ensure proper consistency.
Sweeteners
The most common sweetener in frozen desserts is sugar. However invert syrups such as corn syrup, honey, and glucose are also used. Invert syrups help reduce sugar and ice crystallization so the product stays smoother longer. This is especially important in sorbets, spooms, and sherbets.
Sugar is a freezing inhibitor. Frozen dessert with a high sugar density (higher baume) will be softer and have smaller ice crystals while those with a lower sugar density (lower baume) will be harder with larger ice crystals. Consider sorbets versus granita. Sorbets have a higher sugar density than granita, and as a result sorbets are smooth and soft while granita has very large ice crystals and has a hard texture.
Flavorings
Just about anything can be used to flavor frozen desserts: solid fruit, fruit juices, spices, herbs, extracts, oils, alcohol, wine, champagne, candy, coffee, and other solid foods like cake. Keep in mind that since frozen desserts are cold the dessert’s flavor will be more difficult to detect. The tongue is cold so taste buds are impaired, the molecules evaporate slowly so the aroma is detected less, and (in the case of ice cream) high fat content may inhibit the perception of flavor. Knowing this, always add extra flavor to your frozen desserts. Keep in mind that flavoring agents may change the make up of your base, especially when adding fruit puree to sorbet. Some solid flavorings (chocolate chips, candy pieces, nuts, solid fruit) should be added toward the end of the freezing process. This will make sure they are still in the desired solid shape, allow the churning process to properly incorporate air, and prevent your machine from breaking or damage.
Stabilizers and other solids
In order for air to be properly incorporated into a frozen dessert there must be a balance of solids and liquids. In most cases, especially for home bakers, there is no need for the addition of stabilizers. However there are times when stabilizers may be needed. If you desire a softer product, a finer texture, notice your frozen desserts suffer from ice or sugar crystallization, or you experience separation in your final product stabilizers may be needed. Stabilizers are more important in sorbets and iced desserts because they have less milk solids (and egg solids in some cases) than ice cream. Common stabilizers for iced desserts include gelatin, agar-agar, and pectin. Other stabilizers (typically used more ice cream) include gums and starches. When stabilizers are used in ice creams they assist in the incorporation of air, so you can use less cream and eggs to help reduce the cost.
To properly make ice cream and other frozen desserts the finished base must be frozen and must have air incorporated into it. Freezing takes place a 0 degrees F and is continuously churned (except in the case of still mixtures and granita). Churning incorporates air while freezing takes place.
When air is incorporated the overall volume is changed – much like mousse or chiffon cakes. So a cup of ice cream base is not equal to a cup of ice cream, even if the same ice cream base was used to make the ice cream. The overall change in volume is called overrun (or overage) and is expressed as a percentage. For example: An ice cream base is 1 cup but the finished ice cream is 2 cups. The overrun would be described as 100%. Typical overrun for ice creams is 70 – 100%; for sorbets, spooms and sherbets it is 25-45%; and for gelato is 20-35%. Too much overrun can result in separation (especially in the case of sorbets flavored with alcohol); a snow-like, coarse, crumbly texture; and an overall weaker flavor.
After the mixture has been frozen and churned it can be served right away. The texture will resemble soft serve ice cream. Frozen desserts can also be stored in the freezer for storage and for additional hardening. To prevent the formation of ice crystals on the top of your homemade iced desserts be sure to place a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper right against the surface of the finished product.
Freezing without an ice cream machine or ice cream maker attachment
While having a ice cream maker makes professional tasting frozen desserts it is still very possible to incorporate air, albeit less, without a machine.
Place the frozen dessert base into a shallow dish, like a pyrex casserole dish, and place in the freezer. Every 45-60 minutes, take the mixture out of the fridge and stir with a fork or whisk. Make sure that everything is freezing evenly. Bring the more frozen pieces at edges into the middle and push the less frozen parts out to the edges – but also mix them together! After repeating for about 4-6 times, your frozen mixture should be ready to eat or ready to freeze overnight. This technique can be seen in the blackberry mint granita episode.
