This month, two of the city’s top ice cream shops debut their cookbooks – Humphry Slocombe (Chronicle Books) and Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones from Bi-Rite Creamery (Ten Speed Press) - each with a very distinctive personality. We dish out two awesome recipes to DIY.

Of the twelve flavors Humphrey Slocombe offers daily, Vietnamese Coffee is one of the three that never changes, along with Secret Breakfast and Tahitian V*nill@. 

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp salt

3 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

3 tbsp strong ground coffee

1 tbsp ground chicory

½ cup sweetened condensed milk

(makes 1 quart)

Fill a large bowl or pan with ice and water. Place a large, clean bowl in the ice bath and fill the bowl with a fine-mesh strainer.

In a large, heavy-bottomed, non-reactive saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream, milk, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until hot but not boiling.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until well-blended.

Remove the cream mixture from the heat. Slowly pour about half of the hot cream mixture into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Transfer the yolk mixture back to the saucepan with the remaining cream mixture and return it to medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula and being sure to scrape the bottom of the saucepan so it doesn’t scorch, until the liquid begins to steam and you can feel the spatula scrape against the bottom of the pan, 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove the custard from the heat and immediately pour it through the strainer into the clean bowl you set up in the ice bath. Stir in the coffee, chicory, and condensed milk while it’s hot (you can’t cook condensed milk because it’ll burn). Let cool, stirring occasionally. 

When the custard is totally cool, cover and let steep and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight. When you are ready to freeze the custard, pour it through a fine-mesh strainer into an ice cream maker and spin according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Eat immediately, or transfer to an airtight container, cover, and freeze for up to 1 week. 

In Bi-Rite Creamery's Caramelized Banana Ice Cream recipe, the riper the bananas, the better and more flavorful your ice cream will be. At Bi-Rite, they wait until the ‘nanners are completely black!

2 very ripe medium bananas, peeled

½ cup packed light or dark brown sugar

5 large egg yolks

1 ¾ cup heavy cream

¾ cup 1% or 2% milk

¼ tsp kosher salt

1 to 2 tbsp rum (optional)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Caramelize the Bananas

Combine the bananas and brown sugar in medium skillet and use a fork to smoosh them together into a nearly liquid paste. Put the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is dark golden brown and slightly reduced, 5 to 7 minutes.

Let cool briefly, then purée in a blender or food processor to make a smooth paste. Set aside.

Make the Base 

In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the yolks just to break them up. Set aside. 

In a heavy stainless steel pan, stir together the cream, milk, and salt and put the pan over medium-high heat. When the mixture approaches a bare simmer, reduce the heat to medium. 

Carefully scoop out about ½ cup of the hot cream mixture and, whisking the eggs constantly, add the cream to the bowl with the egg yolks. Repeat, adding another ½ cup of the hot cream to the bowl with the yolks. Returning to the pan of cream on the stove, use a heatproof spatula to stir the cream as you slowly pour the egg and cream mixture from the bowl back into the pan.  

Continue to cook the mixture carefully over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened, coats the back of a spatula, and leaves a clear mark when you run your finger across it, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Strain the base through a fine-mesh strainer and into a clean container. Wash your whisk, add the puréed banana to the base, and whisk until smooth. Set the container into an ice bath, wash your spatula, and use it to stir the base occasionally until it is cool. Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the base for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Freeze the Ice Cream

Add the rum (if using) and vanilla extract to the base and stir until blended. 

Freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. While the ice cream is churning, put the container you’ll use to store the ice cream into the freezer. Enjoy right away or, for a firmer ice cream, freeze for at least 4 hours.