Wondering how to make ice cream like Haagen-Dazs? We were, so we did some research.
We read The Häagen-Dazs Book of Ice Cream, 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 more than 50 delicious dessert recipes as well.
You can watch a chef putting together Häagen-Dazs’s vanilla ice cream in this very short video. After watching the video, you’ll see that you too can make this base at home.
Häagen-Dazs keeps it simple with its base recipe. There are only 4 ingredients. But, oh, what wonders Häagen-Dazs creates from such humble ingredients!
Below you’ll find our copycat recipe for the Haagen-Dazs ice cream base.
But first, let’s summarize what Haagen-Dazs does differently to make its ice cream base so extraordinary.
Egg yolks: lots of them. Six! Some helpful commenters responding to the above video suggest reducing this to four yolks for a better result. The yolks thicken the base, adding structure and texture. The protein in the eggs also binds to water to prevent ice from forming, keeping the base smooth and creamy.
Double cream: this kicks up the butterfat percentage in the base a bit, making the base rich and buttery. Double cream may be difficult to find in most US grocery stores. However, it’s a common product in the UK. In the US, some Whole Foods and local British specialty shops may carry it as an import. You can also purchase English Double Devon Cream on Amazon. But what is “double cream”? Double cream is heavy cream with a butterfat content of 42-48%. If it’s not available locally, you can substitute “heavy cream” which has at least 36% butterfat.
Heating the base: twice! First, a long simmer of 30 minutes. Then, a second heating to 176° F, 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.
Contents
Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream Base Recipe
Yield
Makes about 4 cups
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (200 ml) whole milk
- 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) double cream (or heavy cream)
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated (or caster) sugar
- 6 egg yolks
Instructions
- Whisk together milk and cream.
- Pour into pot and simmer for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- In a bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar.
- Into the bowl of eggs and sugar, gently and gradually whisk the heated milk and cream.
- Pour the mixture back into the pot.
- Cook gently to 176° F (80° C), whisking frequently. Hold the mixture at 176° F for at least 25 seconds to pasteurize.
- Pass the mixture through a sieve, into a large bowl.
- Cool thoroughly in the fridge.
- Pour mixture into your ice cream maker. Process as you usually would, following manufacturer instructions.
Books
Need to know more? Get the Häagen-Dazs cookbook with over 50 recipes: The Häagen-Dazs Book of Ice Cream.
Learn about the challenges overcome by the Häagen-Dazs founders as they pursued their vision of a high quality ice cream for over 20 years: The Emperor of Ice Cream The True Story of Häagen-Dazs
Website
Order Home Deliver
Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream Delivery Nationwide
Related
Read all the Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream Pint Reviews.
Read all the base recipes of the famous brands like Ben & Jerry’s and Häagen-Dazs.
Last Updated on October 17, 2022 by Ice Cream Admin
I was so excited to try this! I used to eat Haagen-Dazs carob ice cream as a kid and wanted to try to replicate it. I followed instructions and thought it went well but I somehow ended up with about half the predicted amount once everything was cooked and cooling. Is it possible that during the simmer a lot of liquid evaporated? After I put it in the ice cream maker, it tasted exceptionally rich; like richer than it should be. And I feel like I ended up with almost frozen fat lol… tasty but super dense. Just wondering what I should adjust the next time I try it. Thanks for posting this recipe!