Cabernet Sauvignon Ice Cream

Most of the other recipes that will show up on this blog have been adapted from various sources. But this one I created myself.

2 cups Cabernet Sauvignon wine
2/3 c. sugar
1/4 t. salt
1 2/3 c. milk
2 large eggs
1 t vanilla extract
1 c. heavy cream

1. Bring wine to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Boil until reduced to 1/2 cup.
2. Beat sugar into eggs until they are pale yellow.
3. Add salt to eggs.
4. Heat milk until it simmers.
5. SLOWLY beat the hot milk into the egg mixture, forming a custard.
6. Put custard in top of simmering double boiler. (Can also use regular sauce pan.)
7. Stir constantly, until thickened (back-of-spoon test).
8. Allow custard to cool slightly, then strain.
9. Mix reduced wine, cream, & vanilla into custard.
10. Cool 3-24 hours.
11. Stir & put in Ice Cream Machine, freeze according to directions.

Notes
12.5% butterfat based on 3.5 c. volume of mix pre-freeze.

Put mix in freezer for 10 minutes before putting in machine.

Good results with "Coppola Cabermet Sauvignon" and "Seven Oaks - J. Lohr - Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon". You really don't want an expensive bottle for this recipe, as you'll be boiling the heck out of the wine. On the other hand, don't buy a cheap wine (the kind that gives a headache), because you'd concentrate all the headache-causing the impurities.

Might be good with pepper! (Not kidding) 2t. coarse ground black pepper corns added at step 9 for mild pepperiness, or same added at step 6 for significant heat.

Can boil wine down to 1/4 cup, which would allow addition of more ingredients (e.g. strawberry puree) while still maintaining a decent butterfat percentage.

On the other hand, boiling wine for such a long time can't be good for the wine flavor. Consider leaving wine out in a shallow dish to evaporate... or will this invite contamination?

Other wines to try: Merlot & Pinot Noir. Want to try using a white wine (!) like Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer, but I have my doubts about how well it will turn out.