Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream

I've had The Perfect Scoop cookbook for a while now and was excited to try my first recipe. I saw many rave reviews for the recipes in this book on other blogs and they were right! This recipe starts with a delicious vanilla custard base that would easily be adaptable with other mix-ins or great all on its own. The ice cream was perfect the day we made it, however, I found after sitting in the freezer longer, the berries became crunchy. I omitted the vodka mixed in with the raspberries because I was feeding the ice cream to children. I realize now, the vodka was intended to keep the raspberries from freezing. So if you are making this recipe, keep that in mind. I will definitely be trying more of the wonderful recipes from this book. My biggest problem, is picking which one to choose next!

Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream
Source: The Perfect Scoop by Dave Liebovitz

Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract ( I would like to try vanilla bean paste next time)

Raspberry Swirl

1 1/2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen (I used fresh)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vodka (I omitted-see note above)

To make the ice cream, warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Pour the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula scarping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Add the vanilla and stir until cool over an ice bath. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.

An hour or so before churning the ice cream, make the raspberry swirl by mashing the raspberries together with the sugar and vodka with a fork (if using frozen raspberries, let them thaw a bit first) until they're juicy but with nice-sized chunks or raspberries remaining. Chill until ready to use.

Freeze the ice cream custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. After you remove it from the machine, layer the container with spoonfuls of the chilled raspberry mixture.