Advice needed making protein ice cream

amusedmonkey

I have an ice cream maker and make my own ice cream regularly. I usually make the cooked custard variety: 2 cups of heavy cream, 1 cup of milk, 4 egg yolks, 150 g of sugar, whatever flavoring I want, whatever mix ins I want.

I've decided to try and use protein powder as a flavoring since my new protein powder tastes great, and crumbled cream fudge candies as a mix in. I've decided to try this more for the taste than for the protein content, but having a higher protein ice cream version would not hurt. Of course I would need to reduce the sugar a bit because the powder is already sweet - I'm thinking 15-20 grams less sugar per scoop. I'm also considering increasing the milk amount a bit to make up for the solid bulk of the powder. I'm thinking about 2 scoops for the whole recipe since I like the flavor best at a 1 scoop per 1.5 cups of liquid ratio.

Now my question: since protein powder does not behave well under heat and clumps together getting nasty, what do you suggest I do? Do I just make the custard base as usual then try to vigorously mix in the powder after the custard cools down or would that make the mixture chalky with clumps of powder? Do I do a 1:1:1 cream:milk:protein shake ratio, essentially making the base out of 1 cup of each milk and cream, then mix the shake into the cool custard or would that ruin the structure of the custard? Any other ideas?

Strawblackcat

I mix mine with a shaker cup like I do normally before I churn it. For example, if the canister said 8oz of milk per scoop, I would mix it that way with the shaker cup, emulsify all of the other sugar and flavoring a in the blender, chill, and then churn it. You may need to add a few tablespoons of alcohol, 1/4tsp of salt, or 1/4tsp of Xanthan gum to keep it from getting too icy, though. Sugar brings down the freezing point of the ice cream and helps in keeping it creamy in the freezer. The alcohol, Xanthan gum, and salt would all serve the same purpose.

amusedmonkey

So you suggest I try a non-custard variety? I'm afraid the delicate texture of custard would be ruined in a high powered blender. I guess I'll just do a cream/milk/condensed milk base, mixing in the powder with the milk without cooking. It might not come out as smooth and silky as a custard base, but I guess condensed milk would make it a bit smoother than regular sugar. I do have xanthan and I could use some vodka. Thank you for the suggestion. I was hoping for the richness custard lends, but no harm in trying something different.

amusedmonkey

Now I need to figure out what to do with the egg yolks I have accumulated. Might just make a carbonara...

amusedmonkey

Update: made it and the frozen ice cream I scraped off the bottom of the ice cream machine is pretty good. I'm pleased with it. Next time I will not use xanthan gum though. My protein powder already has it, so adding more made the ice cream chewier than I'm used to and less fluffy. All is still good though.

Another advice for anyone considering it:
DON'T BLEND YOUR MIXTURE IN A HIGH POWERED BLENDER FOR MORE THAN A COUPLE OF SECONDS!
I ruined my first batch when I left it blending for a full cycle (15 seconds) and the cream churned into butter resulting in a slushy of sweetened butter lumps.

Amounts I used:

Base:
200 grams of sweetened condensed milk
365 grams of heavy cream
1/4 tsp of each xanthan gum and salt
1 tbsp vodka

Mixed them all for a couple of seconds in the blender and left in the fridge to cool in "super cool" mode.

Shake:
400 grams of milk
75 grams of protein powder (2.5 scoops)

Mixed in a shaker then added to the cooled base and mixed them well.

When it was almost done churning I added 60 grams of crumbled cream fudge and let the machine mix it in.

bioklutz

That sounds tasty! Any pictures?

amusedmonkey

bioklutz wrote: »

That sounds tasty! Any pictures?

Still freezing! Maybe later this evening.

amusedmonkey

Last update: the ice cream was pretty good, but not as good as my usual concoctions. It still has this distinct protein powder flavor so it feels more like a frozen protein powder shake than real ice cream. I don't know what I was expecting, maybe that the cream would overwhelm the protein powder flavor but leave the added flavor that I like? It's quite smooth and no grittiness or ice crystals though. Definitely going to use fudge crumbles in my future creations. It works so well in ice cream! I actually had a bigger portion than I normally would and decided to indulge since I'm not hungry today and have some calories left

Anyway, as promised:

bioklutz

Well it looks tasty!