GOAT CHEESE WITH BLACKBERRY–RED CURRANT COMPOTE ICE CREAM
You might be surprised to find that goat cheese makes ice cream taste just like an incredible, creamy cheesecake. It's also a perfect complement to the tart blackberry–red currant compote. Our favorite is the fresh goat cheese from Sprout Creek Farm in Poughkeepsie, New York, and it doesn’t hurt that the farm has the cutest goats we’ve ever seen! This seasonal flavor shines the most during spring and summer when goats have access to green pastures making fresh goat cheese more flavorful.
MAKES ABOUT 1 QUART
1½ cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (125 grams) sugar
¼ teaspoon (1 gram) kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
6 large egg yolks
6 ounces (170 grams) fresh goat cheese
1 cup Blackberry–Red Currant Compote
1. Pour the cream and milk into a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water). Whisk in ½ cup (100 grams) of the sugar, the salt, and the nutmeg, and stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Warm the mixture until you see steam rising from the top.
2. Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath in a large bowl and set another bowl over it. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, with a kitchen towel underneath it to prevent slipping, whisk together the egg yolks with the remaining 2 tablespoons (25 grams) sugar until uniform. While whisking, add a splash of the hot dairy mixture to the yolks. Continue to add the dairy mixture, whisking it in bit by bit, until you’ve added about half. Add the yolk mixture to the remaining dairy mixture in the double boiler. Set the heat under the double boiler to medium and cook the custard, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon and reducing the heat to medium-low as necessary, until steam begins to rise from the surface and the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Hold the spoon horizontally and run your finger through the custard. If the trail left by your finger stays separated, the custard is ready to be cooled.
4. Strain the custard into the bowl sitting over the prepared ice bath and whisk in the goat cheese. Using an immersion blender, buzz the custard until the mixture is combined and the custard is uniform. Stir for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the custard has cooled. Transfer the custard to a quart-size container, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or, preferably, overnight.
5. Pour the chilled custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Place the container in which you refrigerated the custard in the freezer so you can use it to store the finished ice cream. Churn the ice cream until the texture resembles “soft serve.” During the last minute of churning, fold in the blackberry–red currant compote until combined. Transfer the ice cream to the chilled storage container and freeze until hardened to your desired consistency. Alternatively, you can serve it immediately—it will be the consistency of gelato. The ice cream will keep, frozen, for up to 7 days.