July is National Ice Cream Month, and with that in mind, we thought to share some very special recipes from Chef Jeffrey Saad’s La Ventura in Studio City. He says the flavors he creates are reflective of his travels to different regions across Mexico and Latin America.  

“Yes, I do wake up thinking about ice cream,” says Jeffrey. “It is my morning inspiration on the day!”

He says that the key to his ice cream is to make a paste of the flavors and then mix them into the egg and cream custard base. Make your own ice cream treat at home with the basic frozen custard recipe below, along with two flavor variations: salted caramel and sangria.

5 egg yolks

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

Whisk all together in a bowl until smooth. Add to a large, wide, thick-bottomed, stainless steel pot. Bring to 170º exactly, whisking often to prevent sticking, burning and scrambling of eggs. Turn off heat and stir in flavors of choice. Place in a pan and refrigerate until 35º to 38º. Pour the custard into the ice cream maker. Once frozen, keep it in a container in the freezer until ready to serve. Makes about one quart.

Add the following recipes to the ice cream custard base above.

Salted Caramel

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup caramel sauce (use ready-made or make the recipe below)

Mix together and add to base recipe.

Caramel Sauce

1/3 cup water

1½ cups white sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1¼ cups heavy cream

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

Bring the water, sugar and butter to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Do not stir the mixture until the sugar has completely dissolved. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the caramel has turned golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Add cream slowly. The hot caramel will boil when the cream is added and solidify in areas. Add the vanilla extract and salt. Turn down heat.

Continue stirring over low heat until the caramel is smooth and creamy, 5 to 10 minutes more. Allow to cool for at least half an hour before stirring into the custard.

Sangria

1 3/4 cups fruit of choice pureed

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup heavy cream

Mix together and add to base recipe.