Bay & Thyme Ice Cream with Blackberry Swirl (dairy free)
It probably comes as no surprise that I’m a fan of the Great British Baking Show. In collection 10, episode 7 Kevin makes a custard flavored with bay and thyme. As soon as he described the flavors, I had to pause Netflix and add bay and thyme to my Big List of Ice Cream Flavors to Make. Kevin paired his custard with a raspberry jelly. I’ve borrowed his herbs and swapped raspberry for blackberry to make dairy-free Bay and Thyme Ice Cream with Blackberry Swirl.
This ice cream is all about contrasts. The bay and thyme give the ice cream an almost savory character, while the blackberry preserves make the swirl intensely sweet and fruity. It’s also extremely easy to make — just steep the herbs, strain them out, blend, chill, and churn.
I’ve opted to use dried herbs, because thyme isn’t always available fresh. (If you’d like to use fresh thyme, I’d try about 4 teaspoons, loosely packed.) Bay leaves are nearly always dried anyway. Since the blackberry swirl comes from jarred preserves, it’s very possible to make this ice cream with ingredients you typically have on hand in your pantry.
To make the blackberry swirl, layer spoonfuls of the churned ice cream into your storage container and alternate them with spoonfuls of the blackberry preserves to create pockets of swirl. Depending on how you want your swirl to turn out, you can leave the blackberry preserves in large pockets or drag a knife through the ice cream to mix them in more evenly. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of blackberry preserves, which provides a good deal of sweetness to balance the herbal flavor of the ice cream. Feel free to play with the proportions to suit your taste, maybe experimenting with 1/3 cup if you’d like a bit less of the sweet swirl. You can get a feel for the proportions in the pictures below, which have a 1/2 cup of the swirl.
I love using coconut and silken tofu as an ice cream base. It yields a nice texture while raising the protein content and lowering the fat. However, we need to add a bit of fat back to the recipe for extra richness and creaminess. Olive oil works perfectly here, because the grassy flavor complements the herbs. It’s also a healthier fat. As with most of my recipes, I’ve used protein powder (collagen powder in this case) to increase the protein and reduce the sugar, without sacrificing texture. For more details on how that works, click here. See the notes at the end of the recipe for advice on substituting other protein powders.
Bay & Thyme Ice Cream with Blackberry Swirl (dairy free)
Makes ~1 quart
Ingredients
For the ice cream base
For the swirl
Instructions
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INFUSE THE COCONUT MILK WITH THE HERBS
In a large sauce pan on the stove, whisk together the coconut milk, sugar, salt, bay leaves, and thyme. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a low simmer. Reduce the heat if needed to keep it at a low simmer for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally, then turn off the heat. Let the herbs steep for 15 minutes.
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STRAIN OUT THE HERBS
Pour the mixture through a sieve into a large bowl.
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ADD REMAINING INGREDIENTS
Add all the remaining ingredients (tofu, collagen, honey, olive oil, and xanthan gum). Use your whisk to break up the tofu and start to blend everything together, but don't worry if it's still lumpy, because we're about to...
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BLEND
Blend with an immersion blender or transfer to a standard blender and blend thoroughly, scraping down the sides with a spatula, until you can no longer see white specks of tofu. This might take a couple of minutes!
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CHILL
Transfer to a container and chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.
For a quicker chilling time, place the bowl containing your mixture in an ice bath (a larger bowl containing ice water) for a few hours. Stir the mixture occasionally. As the water in the ice bath warms up, pour off some water and add ice to keep the mixture chilling as quickly as possible.
Ideally, the mixture will be about 40 degrees when you churn it. When your mixture is fully chilled, it will be thick like pudding because of the tofu. Don't worry, it will churn just fine (but fast!).
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CHURN
Before you start churning, set up everything you'll need to quickly transfer the ice cream from the machine into a container for freezing. Measure out your blackberry preserves. I like to keep a knife handy to scrape down the dasher (or paddle) and a wooden spoon to scoop out the ice cream.
Set up your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Scoop your mixture into the ice cream maker and churn. Because this mixture is thicker than many ice cream bases, it churns more quickly than most. In my machine the perfect churning time is only 8 minutes, but your experience may vary.
It's finished churning when it looks like soft-serve and is pulling away from the sides of the canister.
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SWIRL AND STORE
When the ice cream has finished churning, start scooping it as quickly as possible into your storage container. Put down a layer of ice cream (about a third of the total), then spoon about half of the blackberry preserves on top, making pockets of preserves. Put down another layer of ice cream (about a third), more dollops of preserves, and then the rest of the ice cream on top. Drag a knife through the ice cream to further mix the swirl, if desired.
Cover it with plastic wrap or parchment paper, if using. (Placing a sheet of parchment paper between the container and lid will help prevent frost, or you can press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the ice cream.) Put the container in the freezer. The ice cream will be fully firm in a few hours.
Note
Protein powder substitutions:
You can use any unflavored, unsweetened protein powder you want. Whey, collagen, and egg white work the best. Vegan protein powders can work too, but sometimes create a chalky texture. Because different protein powders have different textures, the same volume of different powders may weigh different amounts. Weighing is the best method for ensuring you get the 65 grams the recipe calls for, but here are some estimates for using a cup measurement:
- 65 g collagen powder = 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons
- 65 g whey protein = 1 scant cup
- 65 g egg white protein = 3/4 cup
- 65 g soy protein = 1 cup
Optional additions:
- 1-2 tablespoons of alcohol -- Adding alcohol improves the texture and scoopability of the final product and gives a little kick of extra flavor. Gin or vodka would be good choices.
Suggested toppings/accompaniments:
- toasted almond slivers
- graham crackers
Recommended equipment (may contain affiliate links):
- My ice cream maker (2 qt)
- Newer version of my ice cream maker (2 qt)
- Well-reviewed less expensive ice cream maker (1.5 qt)
- Insulated ice cream container
- Heat-proof spatula
- Immersion/hand blender
- Ice cream scoop
Recommended ingredients (may contain affiliate links):
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