I had wanted to make something light and refreshing for dessert this Thanksgiving so I came up with a Cranberry Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.  It started out as a cranberry crème anglaise sauce to serve with an apple tart, but I wanted something lighter, but still festive.

I asked our Pastry Chef for a standard ice cream base recipe and we discussed the proper technique to swirl in the cranberry puree.  I really wanted to preserve the cranberry texture and to see distinct colors without turning the ice cream pink.  Normally, I don’t provide quantities in detail but I thought it would be helpful.

Steep four cups of milk and four cups of cream together with one vanilla bean and one teaspoon of grated orange zest. In another bowl whisk together 15 egg yolks and 12 ounces of sugar. Temper the cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture and return to the stove and cook over low heat (stirring constantly) until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Strain the mixture immediately through a chinois into a container and immerse immediately into an ice bath to cool.  You can then place the mixture in the refrigerator until it is really cold.

Meanwhile, make simple syrup by combining two cups of sugar and two cups of water in a saucepan. Once the sugar is dissolved, add one cinnamon stick, one teaspoon of orange zest, the juice of one orange and one 16-ounce bag of cranberries. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes until thick. Strain the mixture to separate the solids from the cranberry syrup, but save the syrup in another container. Add the solids to a blender; add a 1/4 cup of light corn syrup and enough cranberry syrup to obtain a smooth, but thickened puree. Place the cranberry puree in a container and chill until thick and cold. If you don’t want any texture to your ice cream, you could strain again to remove any skins and seeds, but I like the texture of the cranberries.

Next, add the chilled vanilla bean mixture to an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions. Once the ice cream is a smooth, thick consistency, spoon out into another container and swirl in some of the cranberry puree using the handle of a long spoon. You could also place the ice cream into a bowl and fold in the puree using a spatula. To keep the ice cream base from turning pink, I did this in several stages, placing the container back in the freezer for about 10 minutes and then swirling in more puree. When finished, freeze the ice cream for at least four hours before using.

This cranberry vanilla bean ice cream would also be great with chopped pistachios but that’s another holiday! Now it’s time to check on my Moroccan spiced turkey in the oven

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who celebrate this American tradition!