How to Make Ice Cream Like Coolhaus: The Coolhaus Ice Cream Base Recipe

Wondering how to make ice cream like Coolhaus? We were, so we did some research.

We read the Coolhaus Ice Cream Book: Custom-Built Sandwiches with Crazy-Good Combos of Cookies, Ice Creams, Gelatos, and Sorbets, and we encourage you to click the link and do the same.

It’s an amazing cookbook for the ice cream lover, and it includes a fair number of delicious gelato and sorbet recipes as well. And if you love their ice cream sandwiches, then this is the cookbook for you to learn how to make them at home.

Below you’ll find our copycat recipe for the Coolhaus ice cream base.

But first, let’s summarize what Coolhaus does differently to make its ice cream base so extraordinary.

Milk and Cream: equal amounts milk and cream, similar to Salt & Straw’s base recipe. This is about dialing in the butterfat percentage just right. Too little butterfat and you haven’t made ice cream, you’ve made gelato; too much and the fat begins to leave an unpleasant buttery film on the back of one’s teeth.

Egg yolks: 8 of them! Even more than in the Häagen-Dazs base recipe. The yolks thicken the base, adding structure and texture. The egg protein also binds to water to prevent ice from forming.

Heat: twice-cooked, similar to Häagen-Dazs though for a total of only about 7 minutes. The second heating to 176° F helps to pasteurize the eggs. The heat also loosens milk and egg proteins, which bind to water. This keeps the base creamy, preventing ice shards from forming. Remember: ice is the enemy of a great base, making it crunchy and diluting flavor.

Rest: Just like Salt & Straw, Coolhaus recommends the base rest in the fridge after cooking, for 12 – 24 hours. This gives the cooked milk proteins time to relax, resulting in more milk flavor and a smoother texture. Why? Because proteins taste better the day after they’re cooked, when they’ve had some time in the fridge to relax and mature.

Bonus: You’ll also find below Coolhaus’s Philly-style eggless base! It’s faster and easier to make than their custard base.

Contents

COOLHAUS PLAIN CUSTARD ICE CREAM BASE

YIELD

1 1/2 quarts

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/4 cup granulatedsugar
8 large egg yolks

Instructions

In a large saucepan, whisk together cream, milk, and half of sugar.
Cook over high heat for 5 minutes. Whisk occasionally, until mixture boils.
While mixture is cooking, combine egg yolks and remaining half of sugar in a bowl, and whisk for about 30 second until smooth.
When cream mixture boils, whisk it one last time, then remove from heat. While whisking constantly, slowly and gradually pour half of the heated cream mixture into the bowl of egg and sugar mixture. Whisk until fully blended.
Return saucepan to low heat. Pour the mixture from the bowl into the saucepan and whisk constantly.
Continue stirring until mixture reaches at least 176 degrees Fahrenheit, about 2 minutes. Do not heat above 180 degrees or eggs will scramble. Mixture will be thick, steaming, but not boiling.
Pour into an airtight bowl. Refrigerate 12 – 24 hours, the longer the better. Use within 3 – 5 days.

COOLHAUS PHILLY-STYLE EGGLESS BASE

Yield

2 quarts

Ingredients

3 cups heavy cream
2 cups half and half
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

Instructions

In a saucepan, whisk together all ingredients.
Cook over low heat, whisking continually until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes.
Pour into an airtight bowl. Use immediately if you wish, but no later than 3 – 5 days.