EVOO Ice Cream

A silky olive oil ice cream built on a French custard base, powered by the fruit-forward richness of Bona Furtuna Forté. Churned to peak texture, finished with Grand Cru and flaky salt.

Why You'll Love EVOO Ice Cream

This isn't vanilla ice cream with olive oil poured over it. The oil is blended into the chilled custard, eight yolks deep, so it disappears into the base and turns the whole thing round and almost savory against the cream.

Here is the part worth knowing before you make it. Egg yolk and dairy bind most of the pepper in an olive oil, so the Forté inside the base reads as fruit rather than bite. The Grand Cru you drizzle at the end is the only oil you taste undiluted. That is where the pepper lives, and it is why the two oils are doing two different jobs.

Tips and Tricks

• Chill the base completely before the oil goes in. The blender needs a cold, thick base to break the oil into fine droplets that stay put.
• Use the oil at room temperature, not out of the fridge. Olive oil clouds and starts to solidify in the cold, and cloudy oil disperses badly.
• Taste it at freezer temperature, not warm. Put two spoonfuls on a small plate in the freezer for twenty minutes and taste that. Cold flattens sweetness and the fat slows the flavor down, but salt holds up, so salt is the lever.
• Salt it harder than feels right. Half a teaspoon in a batch this size is barely seasoning at all.
• A few drops of lemon juice in the finished base brighten the olive oil without reading as citrus.
• Soft cookies make great vessels for ice cream sandwiches.

Variations

• Steep the zest of one orange in the dairy as it warms, then strain it out before churning.
• Swirl a few tablespoons of good fig jam through it on the way from the machine to the container. Marbled, not mixed.
• Swap the vanilla for a quarter teaspoon of almond extract for a nuttier profile.

Substitutions

• Vanilla bean paste in place of extract. Use about a quarter teaspoon, it has more depth.
• Coconut sugar in place of white, for a caramelized edge and a slightly darker base.
• Fine sea salt in place of kosher. Use about half the amount, since kosher is less dense by volume.

Best served with

• Espresso or cold brew. The bitterness sharpens the olive oil.
• Roasted figs, or cherries macerated in red wine.
• A drizzle of aged balsamic and a crack of black pepper.

How to Store Leftovers

• Airtight container in the freezer, with a piece of parchment pressed directly onto the surface to slow ice crystals.
• Best within a week. There is no stabilizer in it, so the texture coarsens faster than a store-bought pint.
• Let it sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before scooping. It firms up hard.

Common Questions

EVOO Ice Cream

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A silky olive oil ice cream built on a French custard base, powered by the fruit-forward richness of Bona Furtuna Forté. Churned to peak texture, finished with Grand Cru and flaky salt.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Chill & Freeze 6 hours hrs

Total Time 6 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Servings: 6

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Californian, Italian

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

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Base

• 2 cups Whole milk
• 1 cup Heavy cream
• ¾ cup Granulated sugar
• 8 Large egg yolks
• ½ teaspoon Kosher salt plus more to taste
• ½ teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup Bona Furtuna Forté extra virgin olive oil at room temperature

To Finish

• 2 tablespoon Bona Furtuna Grand Cru extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
• ½ teaspoon Flaky salt for garnish

Equipment

• Medium saucepan
• Mixing Bowls
• Whisk
• Rubber spatula
• Fine Mesh Strainer
• Immersion Blender
• Ice Cream Maker
• Airtight Container for freezing

Method

 

Warm the Dairy

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream, and half the sugar. Heat over medium until steaming, not boiling.

Whisk the Yolks

1. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until lightened in color and slightly thickened.

Temper the Mixture

1. Slowly ladle the hot dairy into the yolks while whisking constantly. Return the whole mixture to the saucepan.

Cook the Custard

1. Stir over medium-low heat until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, 170 - 175°F / 77 - 80°C. Manage your heat closely and do not let it boil. Plain yolk sets around 149°F. The sugar is what lets you take it to 175 without scrambling.

Finish the Base

1. Pull the pan off the heat. Stir in the vanilla and the kosher salt. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve if you like. Hold the olive oil back. The base goes in cold, but the oil itself should be at room temperature, since fridge-cold olive oil clouds and disperses badly.
2. Chill completely, at least 4 hours.

Emulsify the Oil

1. Once the base is fully chilled, add the Bona Furtuna Forté and blend it with a hand blender until the oil disappears into the base. Taste it and salt it until the olive oil comes forward. You will need more salt than you think.

Churn

1. Before you churn, put two spoonfuls of the base on a small plate in the freezer for twenty minutes and taste it there. That is roughly how it will eat. Season it at that temperature, not in the warm pot.
2. Adjust the whole batch to match, then pour it all into the ice cream maker at once and run it to your preferred hardness. It leaves the machine at soft-serve consistency and firms up in the freezer, so do not chase scoopable here.

Freeze

1. Transfer to an airtight container, press a piece of parchment directly onto the surface, and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.

To Serve

1. Scoop into bowls. Drizzle with Bona Furtuna Grand Cru and finish with a pinch of flaky salt. Egg yolk and dairy bind most of the peppery bite an olive oil carries, so the Forté in the base reads as fruit rather than bite. The Grand Cru you drizzle at the end is the only oil you taste undiluted. That bite is what you're tasting.

Notes

For seasoning, I always use Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If you use Morton, use half.

Storage: keep it in an airtight container in the freezer with a piece of parchment pressed onto the surface to slow ice crystals. Best within a week, since there is no stabilizer in it and the texture coarsens fast. Let it sit out for 5 to 10 minutes before scooping, because it firms up hard.

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