Sometimes, the concept of one dessert can be used for another. Take ice cream for example. Almost anything goes with the frozen dessert whether it's the texture or the ingredients assembled. Other desserts like cakes have been used as inspiration for making some pretty fun and creative variations. Today, I have one of the most popular cake-inspired varieties called Red velvet ice cream. It's red, light and chocolaty just like a red velvet cake would be. It also has a cold, creamy, and silky texture to go along with it. Throw in some cream cheese for that extra frosting touch and it's a winner.

Making this variation isn't challenging at all as any ice cream formula will do, especially the really simple ones. Speaking of which, the American-style formula is a great starter. It's only got four ingredients (heavy cream, milk, sugar, and flavoring), and doesn't need to be cooked as a traditional custard would. However, to really make this variation pop out with texture, this recipe calls for buttermilk instead of regular milk. Why? Because the acidic properties in the buttermilk really bring out the bright redness of the food coloring.

The recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (8 oz) heavy cream, cold
  • 1 cup (8 oz) buttermilk, cold
  • 3/4 cup (5 oz) granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp (1/2 oz) cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Few drops red gel food coloring
  • 1 pack (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

The directions

  1. Pour the heavy cream and buttermilk into a bowl and whisk together. Whisk in the sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract until fully dissolved. Whisk in the food coloring by the drop until it reaches the desired tint.
  2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in a refrigerator for 3-4 hours. At the same time, chill the bowl of an ice cream maker in the freezer.
  3. Before it's time to churn the base in the ice cream maker, take out the cream cheese and let it soften in room temperature.
  4. Reattach the chilled bowl to the ice cream maker. Pour in the chilled base and churn until it nears the desired consistency for ice cream. At this point, add the softened cream cheese to the base and continue churning just enough to make swirls. Do not let it fully combine.
  5. Serve the red velvet ice cream immediately in dessert glasses or freeze it in a container for later use.

Serves: 6

Variations

  • Blue velvet - Substitute blue gel food coloring for the red variety.
  • Milkshake - Blend the finished ice cream with equal portions of milk.
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