Ripples, Ribbons, and Fudge: Help me make better ice cream.

Pretty much everything in http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/158008219X/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ is actually perfect, especially the goat cheese ice cream, plum ice cream and sour cherry frozen yogurt. I don't remember if the buttermilk ice cream I made was from that book or not, but it was pretty fabulous, and you can probably imagine how you'd make something like that. If you don't want to buy another book, he sometimes also posts recipes on his http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2013/11/cinnamon-ice-cream-recipe/. I made his http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/11/pumpkin-ice-cream-recipe/ for Thanksgiving last year, and it was a huge hit.

The "Perfect Scoop" recipes use a custard base, while the Ben & Jerry's recipes do not; I believe the latter are referred to as Philadelphia Style. Anyway, I have both books and LOVE them. I will almost always make a B&J Sweet Cream Base but add ingredients from "Perfect Scoop" (like the malted milk ball ice cream: heaven!). Also, based on my time working at a Haagen-Dazs as a lad, and then making about a jillion batches at home since then, I have a theory: anything added to ice cream which is hard at room temperature becomes as tough as a sidewalk when frozen. As a result, you need to be mixing in what are essentially sauces at room temperature, which then stiffen up as the ice cream sits in your freezer after mixing. We used to sell peanut butter ice cream at Haagen-Dazs and making a cone of that stuff was like scooping concrete -- just the worst one in the case. That peanut butter, as far as I can remember, was still very stiff when thawed. Try the sauce recipes in the last chapter of "The Perfect Scoop" and see if they work well when folded into your ice cream after it's been chilled. And if all else fails, post to Lebovitz's blog or send him a begging email, but only after searching through the blog post of reader questions on http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/07/how-to-make-ice-cream/, as instructed in his blog's http://www.davidlebovitz.com/faq/#cooking-baking-and-recipes. Hey, lookee: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/01/how-to-make-the/!

Haven't tried ripples so can't help you there. However, my all time favorite homemade ice cream is from the book you're using-the Orange Cream dream. I wonder if you need to start with softer additions-chocolate syrup rather than all the way to fudge, for instance-caramel cooked to a lower point?

Are you using corn syrup to make the fudge and/or http://whatscookingamerica.net/Sauces_Condiments/CaramelSauce.htm? http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2013/06/13/toasted-almond-fudge-ice-cream-recipe/ has fudge with corn syrup (sub golden syrup), which is not the same as high fructose corn syrup, btw. Also the technique she uses is layer the ice cream, then the fudge, more ice cream, etc., then swirl it all with a butter knife before putting in the freezer. Scroll down to the bottom to read about it.

Seconding the Perfect Scoop. It's really the only ice cream book I've needed.

I just wanted to throw in a plug for http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1579654363/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ recipes. These are fantastic! I love this book. It's been a blast to try out some of these recipes, and a few of them involve swirling in fruits or jams.

I would try adding flavored extracts (vanilla etc) that contain alcohol and experiment my ratios of ingredients by freezing small portions of just the 'ripple' to see how it works. You might also try store-bought toppings (caramel, fudge, butterscotch) and see if those work...at the very least that might help you get a better picture of room temperature vs frozen consistency.

I make perfect caramel by boiling an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk for a couple of hours .

hortense, that's homemade dulche de leche, isn't it?