Savannah Buttermint Ice Cream

Makes about 1 quart

-2 cups whole milk


-1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch


-1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened


-1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt


-1/8 teaspoon turmeric


-1 1/4 cups heavy cream


-2/3 cup sugar


-2 tablespoons light corn syrup


-3 ounces white chocolate, chopped


-8 drops natural butter flavor


-3 to 4 drops pure peppermint essential oil (or peppermint extract)

PREP
Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.

Whisk the cream cheese, salt, and turmeric in a medium bowl until smooth. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

COOK
Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

CHILL
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag, and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

FREEZE
When the ice cream is almost ready to be churned, melt the white chocolate in a double boiler; let cool slightly.

Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister and turn on the machine. Drop the butter flavoring and peppermint through the opening in the top of the machine. Slowly drizzle in the melted chocolate; it will form into flecks in the churning cream. Continue to spin the ice cream until thick and creamy.

Pack the ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.