Add this maple ice cream to the short list of good things to emerge from the unrelenting pandemic. When truckloads of crème fraîche started returning to Vermont Creamery in March 2020 because supermarket warehouses were closed, creamery leadership got creative. “We had two weeks to move it or lose it,” recalls Adeline Druart, the company’s president. So they moved it. Joining forces with a nearby company that operated an ice-cream truck, they debuted Maple Crème Fraîche Ice Cream, sending all proceeds to the Vermont Foodbank. Dumping the crème fraîche would have been easier, but that’s not how they roll in Vermont.
“Early on we made some decisions,” says Druart. “We were not going to dump a drop of milk or lower our prices to our farmers. We won’t cut jobs. We had no sales, but we stayed the course.”
Vermont Creamery, started 40 years by two young friends, is now owned by Land O’Lakes, a dairy cooperative with deep pockets. So the company could afford to make this generous gesture. But still, transforming your own misfortune into a benefit for the community is not what companies typically do. Sales of the ice cream funded 5,000 meals at the food bank.
Druart came to Vermont Creamery 20 years ago as a young intern from France, speaking minimal English. Today she runs the place. You certainly know some of the products: the sublime cultured butter, fromage blanc and crème fraîche, mixed-milk Cremont and impeccable aged French-style goat cheeses like Coupole, Bijou and Bonne Bouche. I don’t think any U.S. creamery makes more consistently delicious goat cheeses.
Lake Champlain Chocolates made the benefit ice cream batch for Vermont Creamery, but the recipe below is my own. Add it to your Labor Day menu, with warm blueberry sauce or grilled nectarines.
Maple Crème Fraîche Ice Cream with Blueberry Sauce
Lake Champlain Chocolates suggests using Grade A Very Dark maple syrup for the most pronounced flavor. I couldn’t find Very Dark in my local markets, but Dark produced a good result.
Ice Cream
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
6 large egg yolks
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup crème fraîche
¼ cup Vermont maple syrup, the darkest you can find
Blueberry sauce
2 cups blueberries
2 tablespoons Vermont maple syrup, plus more for drizzling
Candied walnuts, optional
Put the cream and milk in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and salt until the mixture is pale and forms a ribbon when the whisk is lifted. Gradually whisk in the hot cream mixture. Return to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture visibly thickens, about 3 minutes. If you have an instant-read thermometer, cook it to 180°F. Do not let the mixture boil or it will curdle.
Remove from the heat and stir for a minute or two to prevent overcooking. Cool to room temperature, then whisk in the crème fraîche and maple syrup. Chill thoroughly before freezing in an ice-cream maker.
Make the blueberry sauce: Put 1 cup blueberries and the maple syrup in a small saucepan and cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring once or twice, until the berries collapse and release their juice, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining blueberries. Let cool until just warm.
Divide the warm berry sauce among 4 to 6 ramekins and top with ice cream. Drizzle with maple syrup and add candied walnuts if you like.
Makes about 5 cups