Serves 6
Our experiments with hot ice cream in 2004 showed us there was much more to explore. We had successfully created warm ice cream but hadn’t figured out how to preserve the right texture. That took dozens of tries to get right, and we still have room for improvement.
The texture is created with methylcellulose. Think of methylcellulose as vegetable fibers that do the exact opposite of gelatin. Gelatin melts at warm temperatures and sets at cool ones, like ice cream. Methylcellulose sets at warm temperatures and melts at cool ones. When we add it to a delicious ice cream base we get a firm scoop of hot ice cream that melts as it cools.
200 grams mascarpone cheese
100 grams sugar
1.5 grams salt
120 grams water
10 grams vanilla bean seeds, scraped from 1 split vanilla bean
20 grams methylcellulose (see Sources, here)
1000 grams freshly brewed coffee
500 grams freshly brewed espresso, chilled
Put the mascarpone cheese, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl and use an immersion blender to puree until smooth. Reserve.
Put the water and vanilla in a medium saucepot set over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Adjust the heat to maintain the simmer and cook for 5 minutes to infuse the vanilla into the water. Remove from the heat and let cool completely, at least 30 minutes. Add the methylcellulose and whisk until smooth. Pour the vanilla mixture into the mascarpone mixture and use an immersion blender to puree until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to poach.
Put the coffee in a medium saucepot set over medium-high heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Use a spoon with a deep bowl and gently pointed end to create a quenelle of the mascarpone mixture: Dip the spoon in hot water to heat it and quickly wipe dry. Hold the spoon over the mascarpone so that the side edge is at a 90° angle to the cheese. Quickly dip it into the mascarpone and slide it toward you, scooping up the mixture as you would ice cream in a scoop. The angle of the spoon should tilt toward you; as you run the spoon through the mixture, it should form a teardrop-shaped quenelle, though this may take some practice. Immediately lift up the spoon and gently slide the quenelle into the simmering coffee. Alternatively, use a small ice cream scoop and gently scoop the mascarpone into the simmering coffee to set. Repeat 5 more times so that all 6 portions of ice cream are cooking at once. Let the Hot Ice Cream cook for 1 to 2 minutes to allow the methylcellulose to set. Once all of the ice cream has a custard-like consistency, transfer the quenelles immediately to individual dessert bowls and ladle chilled espresso over the ice cream to create an affogato. Serve immediately.