Burnt Rosemary Butter Lemon and Meringue Ice Cream

Fusing beloved flavors of nutty brown butter and classic lemon meringue, this scratch ice cream is anything but routine, boasting a satisfying texture with charred flecks of crunchy torched meringue throughout. Infused with pure lemon extract, a thick and custardy ice cream base lays the foundation while an innovative rosemary brown butter serves as the underlying flavor enhancer. Chilled after browning, hunks of the butter are added into torched Swiss meringue yielding a char-forward riff on the classic Swiss meringue buttercream.

This recipe is featured as part of the Charred & Smoked Trend of our Flavor Forecast 25th Edition.

Ingredients

Procedure

1. For the Ice Cream Base, mix heavy cream, milk, sugar and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to simmer, stirring until sugar has completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Whisk egg yolks in large heat-safe bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly add one-third of the hot cream mixture to eggs, mixing until well blended. Slowly whisk the yolk mixture into the remaining cream mixture in saucepan.
3. Return saucepan to stovetop. Cook on medium-low heat, simmering gently until mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, strain mixture through fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Stir in lemon extract. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
4. Meanwhile, for the Burnt Rosemary Butter, melt butter in medium saucepan on medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned and fragrant. Remove from heat; add rosemary, swirling gently to combine. Let stand until butter has cooled to room temperature, about 10 to 15 minutes. Strain into clean small bowl to remove rosemary pieces. Cover and refrigerate until butter resolidifies. Remove from refrigerator and return to room temperature.
5. To prepare Meringue, whisk egg whites, sugar and salt in a heat-safe bowl. Bring medium saucepan with a few inches of water to a simmer on medium-low heat. Place bowl with egg whites over top, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Whisk mixture constantly until sugar has dissolved and egg whites are very warm, about 4 minutes. (To test this, carefully dip a clean finger into the mixture. Rub between thumb and finger to make sure mixture is not grainy.)
6. Transfer meringue mixture to bowl of stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Add vanilla Extract. Beat on medium-low speed until foamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually increase the speed and beat until stiff peaks form. Remove bowl from mixer. Use a kitchen torch to char the meringue, both in the bowl and on the whisk attachment. Return bowl to mixer and continue to beat, mixing in the burnt meringue. Repeat this process 1 more time (for a total of 3 times), beating after last addition until meringue is glossy with caramelized chunks. The meringue should droop only slightly when you lift the whisk. The bottom and sides of the bowl should no longer feel warm to the touch. This process should take about 4 minutes.
7. Remove whisk attachment and replace with paddle. Gradually add burnt butter (1 tablespoon at a time), beating after each addition. Remove ice-cream base from refrigerator. Whisk into meringue mixture until well blended. For a no-churn ice cream, pour mixture into a freezer safe container. Cover and freeze overnight for best results. Alternatively ice cream base can be frozen and churned using an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.