Turkish Coffee Ice Cream with Rosewater Raspberries

Some recipe ideas always seem to take longer to come to fruition than others.  Take, for example, this Turkish coffee ice cream.  It's a recipe idea I've been turning over in my head for quite a few months now.  It started out way back in early 2011, when my good friend Nadeen and I were brainstorming ice cream flavors that we wanted to make together (she suggested Earl Grey with condensed milk, which for some reason, led me to think about Turkish coffee--food association works in mysterious ways).  Then, when Nadeen moved away (sadness!), she kindly bequeathed me with a generous bag of Turkish coffee, so for months, I've had all of the ingredients to make said ice cream just sitting in my refrigerator, waiting.  But, I've just never been able to think up the right dessert for which to make this ice cream--until now!  Finally!

Enter, the raspberry.  Actually, back that up.  Enter the French Laundry, where I had the pleasure (or the great fortitude and honor?) to go last Friday night.  I think the French Laundry in and of itself deserves a special, dedicated post, so I won't share too many details right here.  But suffice it to say for now that the word "delicious" barely does it justice.  Anyways, one of the dessert courses (yes! there were multiple dessert courses--though not enough of them, in my humble opinion) had a few lightly glazed raspberries sitting delicately on the side, and perhaps they got into my subconscious somehow because that night, as I was sleeping off my intensely satisfying food coma, I dreamt about Turkish coffee ice cream... with raspberries.  (It really says something about how good that meal was, since usually good food can inspire me to cook, but rarely do I get inspired even in my sleep!)

Raspberries ended up being the perfect pairing for the Turkish coffee ice cream, especially after they macerated in a dash of rosewater, lemon juice, and a light sprinkling of sugar.  The raspberries were delicate and summery and fresh, with a touch of the floral brightness from the rosewater, which was exactly what the rich and dark ice cream, heavily spiced with cardamom and teeming with the extra fine coffee grounds that's so characteristic of Turkish coffee, needed.  Ah, sigh--add in a touch of warm weather, and the slanted light of a summer sunset....  (P.S. why is it already mid-August?!)

I promise--more to come on the French Laundry soon.  In the meantime, enjoy the Turkish coffee and raspberries!  (Nadeen! I wish you were here!)


Read on for recipes....

Turkish Coffee Ice Cream
adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop
makes about 1 quart

1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 (150 gr) sugar
3 Tbspn Turkish coffee
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 egg yolks
1/4 tspn vanilla extract

1. In a small saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, heat the milk, sugar, Turkish coffee, salt, and 1/2 cup of the heavy cream over medium high heat. As soon as the mixture reaches a simmer, remove from heat, and cover tightly with the lid. Let steep for 30 minutes.
2. Place the remaining 1 cup of cream in a bowl. Prepare a fine mesh sieve on top of the bowl and an ice water bath underneath, and set aside.
3. Whisk the egg yolks together in a separate bowl. Set aside.
4. Uncover the Turkish coffee and milk mixture and return to a bare simmer.
5. Whisking constantly, pour the milk gradually into the egg yolks to temper and return to the saucepan.
6. Cook the milk and yolk mixture over medium heat stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and can coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat immediately and pour through the strainer into the remainder of the cream.
7. Add the vanilla and stir to cool.
8. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the fridge, then freeze it in your ice cream maker of choice. Finish the ice cream in the freezer for a few hours if it is still soft.

Note: if you don't have Turkish coffee, substitute using the same amount of very finely ground coffee and 1/4 tspn ground cardamom.

Rosewater Raspberries

300 gr raspberries, red and/or yellow (~1-2 baskets)
2 tspn sugar
2 tspn rosewater
freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon

1. Toss gently to combine the raspberries, sugar, rosewater, and lemon juice. Let sit for 15-30 minutes, and serve over Turkish coffee ice cream.

Enjoy!