Olive Oil Ice Cream with Fig Jam Swirl

Figs start falling off trees mid summer in Phoenix, which means I'm always months too late when I ask my friend for figs off her parent's tree each fall.  This year, she texted me and I snagged some! Wanting to do something special, but still summery, I dreamed up this ice cream. My favorite way to eat figs has been on toast with cream cheese, olive oil, sea salt and honey...which led me to this ice cream...which is now my new favorite way to eat figs.

It's my vision, but a mashup of the two recipes linked below with some tweaks:

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/olive-oil-ice-cream

https://www.deliciouseveryday.com/honey-roasted-fig-ice-cream/

Ice Cream Ingredients
1 3/4 cups whole milk
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar
4 large egg yolks
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil (+ up to 2 tablespoons more to taste, if desired)

Fig Jam Ingredients
2 cups of fresh figs, quartered
1 tbsp of brown sugar
2 tbsp of honey

2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp of whiskey

Instructions

Don't forget to freeze your ice cream maker long enough in advance to make your ice cream! 

Preheat the oven to 400. Line a roasting pan with parchment paper or a silpat mat. Toss figs, honey, brown sugar and sea salt in a bowl until figs are well coated. Transfer to roasting pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until figs are caramelized. Let cool (this will go faster if you transfer to them
Once the figs have cooled place into a food processor, blender or a bowl for an immersion blender. Puree. Add more salt to taste and loosen the mixture with the whiskey. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, bring milk, cream, salt, and ½ cup of the sugar to a simmer in a saucepan. Stir until sugar is dissolved and remove from heat.

Whisk egg yolks and 2 Tbsp. sugar in a medium bowl until pale and thoroughly combined (about 2 minutes). Temper the eggs by slowly whisking in a little of the hot milk mixture. Continue to add a little, whisking madly, until well incoporated and the color of the eggs has paled.  Tranfer yolk mixture back into the remaining milk mixture in saucepan, whisking to be safe. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened  (it should coat the back of a wooden spoon after about 2–3 minutes). Strain custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl set in a large bowl of ice water; whisk in oil. Let cool, stirring occasionally. Add more olive oil if desired. Process custard in an ice cream maker according to your maker's instructions. Once ice cream has thickened and firmed, get an airtight container and the fig jam.  Swirl some of the jam on the bottom of the container, top with ice cream, and dollop with more jam.  Continue until filled.  Don't stir or jam will melt into ice cream and no longer be a swirl! Cover and freeze until firm, at least four hours.

Mint Chip Ice Cream with Blackberry Swirl

Looking at the prospect of a Phoenix summer without swimming pools, air conditioned restaurants, or air conditioned visits to other's homes, I decided there could be only one solution - I've officially declared it ICE CREAM SUMMER in our home.  I've obtained an ice cream maker and sworn off turning on the oven for at least three months.  Ice cream flavors, it turns out, are incredibly fun to play with, and quality ice cream takes considerable less effort than say, pie.  Why did I ever make pie?


I got simultaneously excited by the idea of blackberry and mint paired together, and by recreating a blackberry chip ice cream I had at an ice cream shop one during winter in Boston (searching for summer).  I pulled from the two recipes linked below and made some adjustments. The result is an incredibly fresh and light mint flavor, with just a hint of brightness from the blackberry.

Sources:

https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/fresh-mint-chip-ice-cream-recipe/
https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/06/12/recipe-blackberry-mint-ice-cream/
https://thetaste.ie/wp/blackberry-mint-ice-cream-recipe-from-handmade-gatherings-cookbook/

Ingredients: 
Ice Cream Base

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1½ tablespoons cornstarch (or arrowroot)
2 cups 1/2 & 1/2
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups fresh mint leaves

OR 1/4 cup mint leaves, 1/4 teaspoon mint extract
4 oz dark chocolate, from a bar, chopped.

Blackberry Swirl

 6 oz fresh blackberries

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot

Directions: 

Ice Cream Base: 

1. Whisk sugar and eggs together in a large bowl until mixture thickens. Add cornstarch and whisk until incorporated. Set aside.
2. Warm 1/2 & 1/2 in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. When it just begins to simmer, turn off heat.  Temper the eggs by slowly & carefully whisking hot 1/2 & 1/2 into the egg and sugar mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring continually, until the mixture thickens enough to cling to the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat. Strain custard through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Set aside to cool for at least an hour.
3. Stir in the heavy cream, fresh mint, and mint extract (if using). Cover bowl with a clean towel or plate and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight). Whisk the chilled mixture, then strain off the fresh mint and either discard or compost it. For additional mint flavor, finely chop another 1/4 cup of mint and add to custard mixture.

Blackberry Puree: 

4. Combine blackberries and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for five to ten minutes, stirring and mashing berries while cooking to help release their juices. Once they've broken down, add the cornstarch, stirring well to combine. Remove from heat. Strain mixture through a mesh strainer into a clean bowl, pressing the berries through strainer with wooden spoon. Discard the solid blackberry seeds that remain or keep for use as a rough jam. Cover the blackberry puree and chill in the refrigerator until cool alongside base.

Ice Cream:

4. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker. Freeze it according to your machine’s instructions, adding the chopped chocolate once it begins to firm up, 15 to 20 minutes into processing time. Once ice cream is thickened according to instructions, transfer to container.  As you transfer, drizzle puree into ice cream to create swirl.  Add ice cream to container, then puree, and continue until you've used all of both.  Refrain from stirring or puree will mix thoroughly into ice cream mixture. Freeze until firm, about 4 hours.