Vanilla’s a bore. Make roasted carrot ice cream – or one of the other new flavours – instead, writes BONNIE S BENWICK

THERE’S a reason vanilla ranks so highly year after year, and it’s not because we have bland taste buds. When you think about which ice cream is most often placed on a la mode desserts and gets blended into shakes, the rankings make sense. In eschewing the same-old, we looked for intrigue when we dived into this summer’s ice cream cookbooks. We mulled the merits of savoury ingredients and appreciated how sweet treats could translate into creamy smoothness. As always, we like to keep up with the newest ways to bypass the churning and do without the dairy. Here are some new ones to try. – The Washington Post

ender and just starting to caramelize (see headnote). Let cool, then transfer to a food processor and purée until smooth. The yield is 1 cup.

Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl, until smooth.

Combine 3 cups of the heavy cream, the sugar, vanilla bean pod and seeds, and the remaining 3 tablespoons of honey in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the carrot purée until completely incorporated. Cook, whisking, until the mixture reaches 55°C, then remove the pan from the heat.

While whisking, slowly drizzle about one-quarter of the cream – carrot mixture into the egg yolks (to temper it), then pour it all back into the pan and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture reaches between 76ºC and 80ºC. Do not go above this range or the egg yolks may scramble. Immediately remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 1 cup of cream. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a glass container, cover and refrigerate overnight. Discard the solids.

Churn the chilled ice cream base in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Scrape the ice cream into a jar or pan, cover with a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper pressed directly to the surface of the ice cream, and freeze until firm, about 3 hours. For the crumble: Preheat the oven to 180º. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine both sugars, the butter and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring continuously, until the sugars have dissolved and the mixture is bubbling. Stir in the nuts and sesame seeds, then remove from the heat and pour onto the baking sheet. Use a spatula to spread the nuts and seeds into an even layer. Bake (middle rack) for about 13 minutes, until the syrup has set and is lightly golden. Let cool completely. Even though the cooled slab may still be pliable, break it into pieces and transfer to a food processor; pulse to a coarse-crumb consistency. To serve, scoop the ice cream into bowls and top with a sprinkling of the crumble and pink salt, if using. Serves 12

erate until ready to use. Combine the cream cheese, 85g of the ricotta, the half-and-half, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, salt and corn syrup in a blender or food processor. Purée until smooth. Transfer to a mixing bowl; add the cream and the remaining ricotta, whisking gently to incorporate. The mixture should be slightly chunky.

Cover and refrigerate until the base is cold, at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Whisk the base to recombine, then transfer to the container of an ice cream maker.

Churn according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Transfer the ice cream to a freezersafe container and mix in the chilled blackberry mixture.

For a soft consistency, serve right away; for a firm consistency, cover and freeze for 2 to 3 hours before serving.

Serves 16 This unexpected, sweet-with-heat combination of flavours is one of the richest-tasting no-churn ice creams we’ve tried. In testing, we cut back on the original amount of curry powder, which was one tablespoon. Adapted from by the editors of Food52 (Ten Speed Press, 2017). 400g can sweetened condensed milk ¼ cup powdered peanut butter ¼ cup dehydrated milk/powdered milk 2tsp curry powder 1tsp vanilla extract 2 cups heavy cream, well chilled Pour the condensed milk into a large bowl.

Stir in the powdered peanut butter, milk powder, curry powder (to taste; see headnote) and vanilla extract until well incorporated.

Beat the heavy cream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a balloon-whisk attachment or use a handheld mixer.

Beat on medium-high speed for 5 to 7 minutes, to form stiff peaks.

Mix a few spoonfuls of the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture, then fold in the remaining whipped cream until fully incorporated. Do not over-mix.

Spoon the mixture into a container and freeze for at least 5 hours before serving. Serves 8-10