The secret is simple.
In a new book, the owners of Greenpoint-based Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Company dish up the sweet secrets of the company’s beloved ice cream. The book, which readers can sample at PowerHouse Arena in Dumbo on June 24, spills over with more than 100 recipes. And they can all be made with the simplest ingredients, said company co-founder Laura O’Neill.
“We use eggs in all of our classic ice creams, so it’s egg, cream, milk, and cane sugar,” said O’Neill.
After that, the dairy doyenne said that aspiring artisans just need to concentrate on finding the best ingredients they can get.
“In some cases, what people find will be even better than what we have in New York,” she said. “For instance something like passion fruit you can get really easily in California or Australia, but it would be like five dollars apiece in New York City. People should strive to get the best ingredients they can get and the recipes will come out great.”
The book includes a history of the company’s rise from a single ice cream truck to a multi-store enterprise. O’Neill founded the company with two brothers — Benjamin and Peter Van Leeuwen — none of whom had any prior culinary experience.
The ice cream makers soon became known for the quality of their ingredients and for creating short runs of unusual flavors. So the book scoops in recipes for cherry ice cream with Sichuan peppercorns and a vegan ice cream cold-brewed Earl Grey tea flavor, along with classics like chocolate and strawberry.
O’Neill said that there is no system to creating special flavors, aside from trying to make something delicious.
“We don’t ever want to do something that’s just for shock value,” she said. “We only want to make ice cream flavors that make sense, and to make sure that whatever we’re putting into the flavor is as pure as the base.”
The book will empower home cooks to experiment at home, said O’Neill.
“This is a very comprehensive guide to making ice cream,” she said. “Even if there are flavors that are not in the book that people want to experiment with, I think we’ve equipped them with the skills that they need to be able to do that.”
“Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream” at PowerHouse Arena [37 Main St. between Water and Front streets in Dumbo, (718) 666–3049, www.power
