Dreamy Frozen Treats in Rose’s Ice Cream Bliss

Rose’s Ice Cream Bliss

She may be known for her cake, bread, pie and baking bibles, but Rose Levy Beranbaum says the sweet she loves most is frozen. Like all of her meticulously detailed cookbooks, Rose's Ice Cream Bliss, out this summer, gives readers solid formulas, practical tips and, often, explanations of how she managed to coax maximum flavors out of her ingredients. Most recipes call for an ice-cream freezer (high-tech or hand-cranked), but there are a couple, like Lemon Ginger Ice Cream, that just need a beater.

We talked with Beranbaum from her New Jersey home in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic when all were asked to stay at home.

“Everyone’s baking!” says Beranbaum. “But the ultimate comfort food is ice cream.” Last summer, when she wrote her upcoming cookbook, Rose’s Ice Cream Bliss, she ate ice cream every day for lunch (and didn’t gain weight). Now, she’s working on a new book for fall 2021, covering another ultimate comfort food, cookies.

As homebound people – many first-time cooks – whip, ferment, knead their way through the coronavirus crisis, Beranbaum sees a positive aspect to the present quarantine. “It’s better when you make it yourself,” she says. “It’s a good thing to know how to do things. You don’t feel so dependent.”

In her book, new and experienced cooks will appreciate some of Beranbaum’s discoveries during her summer of ice cream. Her silky-smooth dulce de leche is made by cooking sweetened condensed milk in Ball canning jars, but they must be brand-new because they’re designed to shatter when they get a scratch. (Reuse old ones for storing things.) Or pomegranate: “I figured out a way to make the most incredible reduction!” she says. Her luscious Pomegranate Pride Ice Cream calls for Pama pomegranate liqueur, which appears again at the end of the book in a recipe for a pomegranate bourbon sour. No ice cream in it, just a comforting reward to all for a job well done.

Rose’s Ice-Cream Making Tips

• The most important item in your kitchen is a thermometer.
• Make ice cream the day before serving. It’s not ready right after it’s made.
• Scrub citrus fruits with a little liquid detergent, rinse well and dry before zesting.