Blueberry Coffeecake Ice Cream "Cone" Best Lick! 2008 Ice Cream Contest Entry #21

Original Ice Cream Flavor: Blueberry Coffeecake Ice Cream "Cone"

Ice Cream Chef: Joyce

What inspired this recipe? Blueberry coffeecake and blueberries with sour cream - summer in a mouthful, childhood memories by the spoonful. Blueberries are a full-blown obsession in the summer (e.g. New York Times article, Daring Baker's blogroll)... (continued below)

Tastetester comments and full recipe after the jump. Take a look, then vote here!

Inspiration, continued: A recent trip to San Francisco – where blueberries regularly overachieve and fulfill their blueberry potential. How does one coddle that kind of development on the East Coast with less virulent berries – see next inspiration.

Little Miss Sunshine – ahh, the ensemble performance par excellence of 2006. Truly, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Such is my endeavor here – with the supporting cast of crème fraiche’s tang, lemon’s brightness, ginger’s je nais sai quoi and the crumble's assertive nuttiness, i hope that the blueberry here can achieve endearing abigail breslin-ment: greatness in being one's self.

Tastetester Comments: "hmmm....ahhh, mmmmm" - my onomatopoetic roommate

Blueberry Coffeecake Ice Cream "Cone"

Almond Lemon Tuile
230g almond paste
57g butter
1/4 tsp salt
28g heavy cream
2 egg whites
164g rum
35g AP flour
1 tsp lemon zest

1. Cream the butter and then add almond paste and salt
2. Add heavy cream, egg whites, rum and lemon zest
3. Stir in flour and chill
4. Spread a thin layer on parchment paper or Silpat in size and shape that you desire and bake at 350F for 5 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. For a "cone, I made round stencils out of plastic binder dividers. After taking them out of the oven, I immediately rolled them around a a pastry tip in the shape of a cone.

Pecan Streusel Topping
50g butter
130g chopped pecans
65g AP flour
110g brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Place all ingredients into a bowl.
2. Cut the butter into other ingredients until large crumbs form
3. Bake at 325 for 5 minutes
4. Cool and chill in the refrigerator

Blueberry Creme Fraiche Ice cream
1 L milk
300g sugar divided into 3 100g portions
1/2 vanilla beans, split and scraped
25g ginger, 1/4 inch slices
25g lemongrass, coarsely chopped (optional)
pinch of salt
8 egg yolks
1 cup creme fraiche
1 cup blueberries
zest of 1 lemon

1. In a pot bring blueberries, 100g of sugar and a little bit of water to a boil. Simmer until blueberries have popped and mixture thickens a little bit. Add the lemon zest
2. Cool the mixture slightly and puree in a food processor. Strain through a sieve for a smooth blueberry puree. Place in a large bowl.
3. Add the creme fraiche to the puree and refrigerate.
4. In the meantime, prepare the creme anglaise base for the ice cream. Combine 1 L of milk with 100g sugar, vanilla, ginger, salt and lemongrass if using. Bring to a boil and steep 30 minutes. Strain and place back into the pot.
5. Bring the milk back to a simmer. As the mixture begins to simmer, prepare your egg yolks. Whisk the egg yolks with the last 100g sugar until the mixture turns a shade lighter.
6. Take the creme fraiche and puree mixture out of the refrigerator and place nearby with strainer sitting on top of the mixture.
6. Temper your egg yolk mixture by pouring half of the milk onto it while whisking vigorously until warmed. Return the entire mixture back into the pot and place on medium heat.
7. Stir in a figure 8 motion unrelentingly for a few minutes until mixture thickens. If using a thermometer, the temperature should be 165F - 170F. At 180F, the egg yolks with curdle!
8. Immediately remove from the heat and pour of the blueberry and creme fraiche mixture over the strainer.
9. Fold in the creme anglaise into the creme fraiche and puree and refrigerate (or freeze) until cold.
10. Pour into ice cream machine and freeze according to the machine directions.
11. Let harden in the freezer if necessary

Sprinkle generously with crumble topping and tuile and serve.