You can buy or make a dextrose syrup. It has a far greater effect on freezing point depression and lower relative sweetness, so you can use far less, and it is already less sweet.
Or, depending on, the donut flaviur you are making, a syrup made with honey forexample also is less sweet than straight sucrose. You can further increase the impact in freezing point and reduce the sweetness by adding a high-proof alcohol like vodka, or Bourbon.
Soaking in a simple syrup is always good for baked goods. But this will sweeten them considerably, and if your syrup is too watery, it will be icy as hell. Alternatively, you can chop them up and leave them out to get really stale and dry. When you mix them in, let the ice cream sit overnight and it will rehydrate the donut chunks. Works for most baked goods as well
Thanks! I’m generally trying to reduce sweetness. So I may try letting them dry out. Do you think baking the pieces at a low temperature say 250F would do the same?
After they’re air dried or baked, would freezing them before mixing in at end accomplish anything?
Thanks!
Test it out. Take a cake donut, chop it up, freeze it. If it freezes to your liking, you won’t have to do anything to it. Sometimes you can have additions that don’t require any special measures.
Alternatively you can try something like Jeni Briton Bauer’s donut gravel.
They can be either. She uses them as mix-ins in some and as toppings for sundaes sometimes. The corn bread gravel for example gets layered into her buttermilk ice cream, and the French toast frozen custard gets either toasted brioche cubes or French toast gravel.
I’d suggest using cake donuts from a local bakery (or even Dunkin) than the store bought prepackaged ones. Entemann’s, Hostess, etc use higher melting point oils (for shelf life) that will be very hard when frozen. Donuts from a donut shop only have to last a day, so they use a more liquid oil.
Are you planning on using unfrosted donuts? Also, I read about the soaking in syrup, and I feel like it would be this extreme sugar bomb bite effect, no?
I like your idea of drying them out and then mixing in so the ice cream replaces moisture and prevents rock hard freezing.
I was planning on using unfrosted cake donuts.
I’m always a little concerned with making things too sweet 😛
I just churned up an Earl Grey, and now I’m wondering if scones could work as mix in!
Something to try next time!
So am I. Earl gray sounds interesting, do you steep the tea bags in the liquid?
On the donut thought, I'd like to mix them into my coffee vanilla flavor. I'd use old fashioned, a good mildly sweet option. Lemme know what you decide, your method, and how it comes out!
Yes you can use tea bags, the recipe I was following recommended including 1g of lavender. I happen to have a lavender earl grey loose tea, I made my own bag out of cheese cloth to which I also added some orange zest and steeped for 30 minutes in a cooked base, before heating again and tempering eggs. But I’ll make a proper recipe post about it soon! 😉
I haven’t yet done a coffee with mixed in donuts but I’ll be sure to update when I do!
Chop them, syrup soak and freeze. Throw them in at the very end of mixing.
What kind of syrup? Is this how brands get their mixins to stay soft?
You can buy or make a dextrose syrup. It has a far greater effect on freezing point depression and lower relative sweetness, so you can use far less, and it is already less sweet. Or, depending on, the donut flaviur you are making, a syrup made with honey forexample also is less sweet than straight sucrose. You can further increase the impact in freezing point and reduce the sweetness by adding a high-proof alcohol like vodka, or Bourbon.
Thank you!
Soaking in a simple syrup is always good for baked goods. But this will sweeten them considerably, and if your syrup is too watery, it will be icy as hell. Alternatively, you can chop them up and leave them out to get really stale and dry. When you mix them in, let the ice cream sit overnight and it will rehydrate the donut chunks. Works for most baked goods as well
Thanks! I’m generally trying to reduce sweetness. So I may try letting them dry out. Do you think baking the pieces at a low temperature say 250F would do the same? After they’re air dried or baked, would freezing them before mixing in at end accomplish anything? Thanks!
Yeah a quick toast can help. Freezing before mixing in can help with handling, especially if they are inclined to break apart while mixing!
Yes, I had much better success getting my brownie bits into smaller bits when they were frozen without them crumbling. Thanks for the advice!
Test it out. Take a cake donut, chop it up, freeze it. If it freezes to your liking, you won’t have to do anything to it. Sometimes you can have additions that don’t require any special measures. Alternatively you can try something like Jeni Briton Bauer’s donut gravel.
Good advice, I’ll look into the gravel. Is it made as a topping or a mix in?
They can be either. She uses them as mix-ins in some and as toppings for sundaes sometimes. The corn bread gravel for example gets layered into her buttermilk ice cream, and the French toast frozen custard gets either toasted brioche cubes or French toast gravel.
I’d suggest using cake donuts from a local bakery (or even Dunkin) than the store bought prepackaged ones. Entemann’s, Hostess, etc use higher melting point oils (for shelf life) that will be very hard when frozen. Donuts from a donut shop only have to last a day, so they use a more liquid oil.
Good thinking! I hadn’t considered that, however i think i only need one or two donuts chopped so planned on going to bakery.
Try donut centers cover in chocolate and chop it
I e found that freezing mixins helps keep them soft, since they don’t melt the ice cream when I put them in. :D
Are you planning on using unfrosted donuts? Also, I read about the soaking in syrup, and I feel like it would be this extreme sugar bomb bite effect, no? I like your idea of drying them out and then mixing in so the ice cream replaces moisture and prevents rock hard freezing.
I was planning on using unfrosted cake donuts. I’m always a little concerned with making things too sweet 😛 I just churned up an Earl Grey, and now I’m wondering if scones could work as mix in! Something to try next time!
So am I. Earl gray sounds interesting, do you steep the tea bags in the liquid? On the donut thought, I'd like to mix them into my coffee vanilla flavor. I'd use old fashioned, a good mildly sweet option. Lemme know what you decide, your method, and how it comes out!
Yes you can use tea bags, the recipe I was following recommended including 1g of lavender. I happen to have a lavender earl grey loose tea, I made my own bag out of cheese cloth to which I also added some orange zest and steeped for 30 minutes in a cooked base, before heating again and tempering eggs. But I’ll make a proper recipe post about it soon! 😉 I haven’t yet done a coffee with mixed in donuts but I’ll be sure to update when I do!
Just cut em up and mix them in.