3 ice cream recipe books to tantalize your taste-buds for summer

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. Picture: Instagram

Whether you’re looking for for decadent salted caramel or a refreshing sorbet, these recipe books have you covered for all your frozen dessert needs.

Salt & Straw Ice Cream Cookbook. Picture: Instagram

Salt & Straw Ice Cream Cookbook by JJ Goode and Tyler Malek

Named one of the best ice cream recipe books of the season by critically acclaimed pastry chefs, Salt & Straw is the brainchild of two cousins, Tyler and Kim Malek, who had a vision but no recipes. 

Based out of Portland, Oregon, they turned to their foodie friends for advice - chefs, chocolatiers, brewers, and food experts of all kinds - and what came out is a super-simple base that takes five minutes to make, and an ice cream company.

Using that base recipe, you can make dozens of Salt & Straw’s most beloved, unique (and a little controversial) flavours, including Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons, Roasted Strawberry and Toasted White Chocolate, and Buttered Mashed Potatoes and Gravy.

But more importantly, this book reveals what they’ve learned, how to tap your own creativity, and how to invent flavors of your own, based on whatever you see around you.The Icecreamists: Boutique Ice Creams and Other Guilty Pleasures to Make and Enjoy at Home. Picture: Facebook

The Icecreamists: Boutique Ice Creams and Other Guilty Pleasures to Make and Enjoy at Home (eBook) by Matt O’Conner

Infamous creators of the Sex Bomb and Baby Googoo - The Icecreamists are passionate about ice cream and the business of sin. Drawn to the mix of childhood fantasy and adult indulgence, The Icecreamists achieved instant notoriety with their breast milk ice-cream in 2009.

With a rich variety of both summer and winter treats, The Icecreamists are famous for their cutting-edge flavours and creations. This is where ice cream meets cocktails, with concoctions including the vodka-infused Miss Whiplash and the Moloa Toffee Cocktail, as well as the devilish Toast Mortem. 

The Icecreamists' closely-guarded recipes are revealed here for the first time in simple, easily lickable recipe formats so you can recreate the authentic experience at home.

Food52 Ice Cream and Friends: 60 Recipes and Riffs. Picture from Facebook.

Food52 Ice Cream and Friends: 60 Recipes and Riffs 

This book is a fun collection of 60 recipes, riffs, toppings, and serving ideas for ice cream of all styles.

Ice cream is more fun with friends, but also with cones, sprinkles, candied nuts, hot honey - so the editors of Food52 brought together sixty well-tested recipes for frozen desserts of all styles and a billion (give or take a few) ideas for toppings and add-ons. 

There are surprising flavours - think cinnamon roll ice cream, coffee frozen custard, and grilled watermelon cremolada - and spins on enduring favorites, such as spiced fudgesicles, cherry-mint snow cones, and even a chocolate-hazelnut baked Alaska. 

There are Saltine and waffle sandwiches, boozy floats, and something called “spoom”. There are tricks for making ice cream without a maker and spiffing up the store-bought stuff, and Hail Marys for when things go wrong (like when - whoops - all the ice cream melts). 

Even if you’ve never made ice cream before, you’re in good hands with this no-fuss, all-fun book. Consider it your permission to play (and eat a ton of really good ice cream).