Got to say, not my most flattering childhood photo. It was the only one I could find of myself at that age eating something remotely resembling an ice cream bar or popsicle. I could’ve sworn there was more photographic evidence, much much cuter, of my voracious appetite for anything sweet, creamy, and frozen. My brother Sam, who methodically scanned a great number of family photographs years ago, begged to differ. “Are you sure you’re not imagining it?” he asked. “No,” I replied emphatically, “I’ve seen several other pictures of myself eating ice cream before… at the park…even at the airport.” Sam was incredulous. “The airport? How many times could you have possibly gone to the airport at that age?” Well, twice at least that I know of–when Dad, Sam and my grandparents left to come here and when Mom, our brother Ken and I followed almost a year later–enough for a couple of pics.

The point was I have very vivid memories of eating ice cream in Hong Kong. Specifically, I remember eating a sweet creamy orange flavored ice cream that came in a little paper cup. It was my flavor of choice and what I expected to find on my first ever visit to Baskin Robbins 31 Flavors. My grandparents hyped the place as an ice cream wonderland. “31 flavors! Can you imagine?!” Like Charlie heading to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, my excited 4 year old self imagined we were going to an ice cream palace.

Needless to say, I was a bit underwhelmed when we walked into the cramped little shop. My grandfather lifted me up to survey the selection inside the display case. I wasn’t interested in anything but orange ice cream, which they didn’t have. What they did have was a bright orange concoction called “orange sherbet.” Despite my skepticism, I agreed to give this stuff a taste. At first lick I knew, THIS WAS NOT ORANGE ICE CREAM!! I burst into tears. Mom tried to convince me to give it another try. “Maybe it’s not that bad…you might like it,” she cajoled. Nope, I was not having it. As far as I was concerned I’d been duped. 31 flavors was a sham! The place had been oversold and underdelivered. I’m not sure what happened to that scoop of orange goop–Mom probably ate it. I don’t remember what flavor I ended up with, maybe vanilla or strawberry. In retrospect, I think my meltdown was more about feeling insecure in a foreign place and the shock of being uprooted from everything I’d known in Hong Kong.

Kids are resilient, so it didn’t take me long to adjust to our new life and warm up to the neighborhood Baskin Robbins. I discovered other flavors like Mint Chocolate Chip and Rocky Road. Sam remembers fondly how Mom used to slice up a block of Neapolitan every Friday as an end-of-the-week family dessert treat. As we all got older, Mom would occasionally buy (only on sale) a couple different flavors. Fun note, my first real paying job besides occasional babysitting, was working behind the counter at a Baskin Robbins near Union Square when I was 16–talk about full circle.

Aside from a novel turn at making homemade ice cream with an old-fashioned hand-crank ice cream maker Mom once borrowed from a friend when I was a kid, I’d never attempted to do it on my own until I landed my first pastry assistant gig at The Lodge at Pebble Beach. Tasked with spinning gallons of assorted ice creams and sorbets each week for the various outlets I became proficient at mass production, though not necessarily with creating interesting flavors as I was bound by standardized recipes and production protocols.

When I came into my own as a Pastry Chef I really went to town, experimenting with different ingredients, flavor profiles, and techniques. I credit my favorite Executive Chef and friend Staffan for encouraging me to color outside the lines, to challenge myself and my staff to develop fun seasonal flavors and unusual presentations. There were times when I featured 9 different ice creams and sorbets on my dessert menu–which no doubt exasperated my pm production crew who had to spin all of it. At the height of this frozen lunacy, Staffan signed me up to make 800+ handmade waffle cones filled with 3 different flavors of ice cream, hand-dipped in 3 different chocolates–at 2 separate high-profile chef events. Did I curse him? Yep, I sure did. But I have to admit, it was really fun, especially since he gave me carte blanche to make whatever I wanted–like roasted banana ice cream with peanut butter swirl, maple white chocolate coating and candied bacon (we called it “The Elvis”).

What I love about making ice cream (and sorbet) is that I’m not strictly bound by the same rules that govern baking, which gives me more freedom to experiment. I miss having the opportunity to do this on a regular basis. Getting up the energy to make ice cream at home–without an ice cream maker no less– is a challenge. Heck, even with an ice cream maker most of us would rather just buy some already made, or line up at Mitchell’s for a sundae.

What would possess me, given my growing lactose intolerance, to take up homemade ice cream? Oddly, it wasn’t because I really wanted ice cream, but rather because I was curious. I was intrigued by a Miso Butter Pecan Ice Cream I’d seen on Facebook. Per usual, my friend Karen encouraged me to try it.

The recipe was for a no-churn ice cream that used sweetened condensed milk in the base. I’ve made no-churn ice cream using this method before but the issue I have with it is that the ice cream tends to be on the sweet side. The miso would theoretically provide enough savoriness to offset the sweetened condensed milk. Nevertheless, I opted to try making a custard base with half and half, then whipping the chilled base with ice cold heavy cream in a metal bowl set inside a larger metal bowl full of ice and rock salt, using an electric hand mixer borrowed from my sister-in-law. This is a method I saw online so figured I’d give it a shot.

I further tweaked the BA ice cream recipe by also browning the butter first to make the miso butterscotch, adding maple syrup and bourbon to add more depth of flavor. After beating the crap out of the base, chilling the whole shebang, then repeating the process, I stirred in the butterscotch pecans and transferred the mixture to a chilled loaf pan to freeze overnight.

Not content to make just one flavor of ice cream–I mean I did buy a quart of heavy cream–I proceeded to recreate my beloved childhood favorite Orange Ice Cream. I didn’t want to get fancy or make the process more complicated than necessary, so I stuck with the essential ingredients–half and half, heavy cream, sugar, orange juice concentrate, orange zest, pinch of sea salt, and vanilla extract. To replicate the shade of orange from my memory, I added a tiny bit of powdered orange food coloring. To satisfy my adult palate, I added a splash of Cointreau. The taste was spot on–pronounced orange flavor with subtle notes of vanilla.

With the ice creams made, I thought about what would pair nicely with them, particularly the Miso Brown Butter Pecan Ice Cream. My friend Maria had loaned me her electric pizzelle iron to make ice cream waffle cones when I first told her of my ice cream plans. The idea for black sesame waffle ice cream sandwiches came to me. To bring out more toasty, nutty flavor I added a few drops of sesame oil and a couple tablespoons of toasted rice flour in addition to the toasted black sesame seeds to the waffle batter. I only needed a heaping teaspoon of batter to make a waffle appropriately sized for a small ice cream sandwich.

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The results of my ice cream experiments were pretty good. I loved the flavor of both ice creams, though I wasn’t totally sold on the no-churn electric mixer method.. I found the texture of both ice creams still a little icy. In an attempt to remedy the situation I decided to beat both ice creams again, hoping to beat those ice crystals into submission, which sort of worked. Although, if I make ice cream at home again, I will borrow my brother’s ice cream maker.

Even after I made both ice creams, I still had heavy cream left…so I decided to use up the half pint of strawberries in my fridge and make a batch of no-churn sweetened condensed milk-based ice cream. They weren’t great strawberries, not very sweet, nor fragrant for that matter, which necessitated roasting to concentrate the flavor. For a flavor boost, I blended in some ground freeze-dried strawberries and a tablespoon of homemade strawberry preserves. Tartness of the strawberries and touch of sea salt balanced out the sweetness of the condensed milk. Overall a very fine Strawberry Ice Cream.

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Tinkering with homemade ice cream has been a surprisingly satisfying endeavor–for me making it and, no doubt, for my friends and family eating it. The process reminded of how much fun it is to color outside the lines and improvise–even if the outcome isn’t exactly what I expected. After all, It’s just ice cream…and who doesn’t like ice cream.

If you don’t have an ice cream maker but do have either an electric hand mixer or hand blender with a whisk attachment by all means give the no-churn electric mixer method a go. Keep in mind you will need to make space in your freezer and have plenty of ice and salt on hand. I happened to find ice cream salt (or rock salt) on sale at the grocery store but regular table salt or Kosher salt will work.

Miso Brown Butter Pecan Ice Cream (inspired by Bon Appetit)

Yield: about 1 quart

• 1/2 c. pecans, toasted & chopped
• 4 T. unsalted butter
• 1/2 c. brown sugar, divided
• 3 t. miso paste (red or yellow), divided
• 1/4 t. sea salt
• 1 1/3 c. half and half, divided
• 1 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 3 large yolks
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 1/3 c. maple syrup
• 2 T. bourbon

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1. Brown the butter in a saucepan until dark amber, then stir in 1/4 c. brown sugar, 1 t. miso and salt. Let the mixture come to a boil, then carefully stir in 1/3 c. half and half cook for another 2 mins.
2. Remove butterscotch from heat and stir in pecans; set aside to cool.
3. In another pot, heat remaining half and half, 2 t. miso and maple syrup to a scald. Meanwhile whisk together yolks, 1/4 c. brown sugar and bourbon in a medium bowl.
4. Gradually whisk in some of the hot liquid to temper the yolks, then whisk that mixture into the rest of the hot liquid. Cook the custard, stirring constantly, over medium heat until it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
5. Quickly strain the custard into a bowl set over ice and stir in vanilla. *At this point if you are planning to use the no-churn method, follow the directions in the video for making the ice cream, folding in the butterscotch pecans at the very end.
6. Stir the heavy cream into the chilled custard, then pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to the machine instructions. Add the butterscotch pecans at the very end of the churning cycle. Transfer the churned ice cream into a chilled container (a metal loaf pan will do), press a layer of plastic wrap or wax paper onto the surface, cover and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Orange Ice Cream

Yield: about 1 quart

• 1/2 c. partially thawed orange juice concentrate
• 1 T. orange zest
• 1 c. half and half
• 1/2 c. sugar
• pinch of sea salt
• orange food coloring, optional
• 1 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 1 T. Cointreau

1. Blend together orange juice concentrate, zest, half and half, sugar, salt and a little orange food coloring (if using) until smooth. Strain mixture into bowl, then whisk in cream, vanilla, and Cointreau.
2. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to the machine instructions.
3. Transfer the churned ice cream into a chilled container (a metal loaf pan will do), press a layer of plastic wrap or wax paper onto the surface, cover and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.

No-Churn Strawberry Ice Cream

Yield: about 1 quart

• 1 pint strawberries, hulled & quarted
• 1/2 c. half and half
• 2 T. strawberry preserves, optional (if strawberries need help)
• 2 T. ground freeze-dried strawberries
• pinch of sea salt
• 2 c. heavy cream
• 1 can (14oz.) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract

1. Place the strawberries on a baking sheet, lightly coated in non-stick spray. Roast for 15-20 mins in a preheated 400F degree oven until very soft. Cool to room temperature.
2. Puree the strawberries with half and half, salt, and preserves (if using) until smooth; set aside to chill until ready to use.
3. Whip the cream to medium soft peaks, then add the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Continue whipping to medium firm peaks.
4. Add the strawberry mixture and freeze dried strawberry powder and whip to fully incorporate.
5. Transfer the mixture into a chilled container (a metal loaf pan will do), press a layer of plastic wrap or wax paper onto the surface, cover and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Black Sesame Waffle Batter

Yield: enough 6-8 ice cream sandwiches

• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 T. light brown sugar
• 1 T. honey or golden syrup
• 2 T. unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/8 t. sea salt
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 t, water
• 1/4 t. sesame oil
• 3/4 c all-purpose flour
• 2 T. toasted rice flour
• 1/4 t. baking soda
• 2 T. toasted black sesame seeds

1. Blend the first 9 ingredients until very smooth.
2. Add the flours and baking soda and blend until smooth.
3. Transfer the batter into a container, then stir in black sesame.
4. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 mins. before using.
5. To make the waffle disks, place a heaping teaspoon of batter in the center of a lightly greased pizzelle iron.
6. Close the iron but don’t clamp it shut. “Too much pressure will press the batter out too thin.
7. Check for doneness after about a min. The pizzelle should be medium golden brown but not dark brown.