Ponche Frozen Custard takes a childhood drink, or curse in my opinion, and turns it into a dessert you’ll be happy to eat. Think of it as an edible malted shake, and you have a general idea of what this classic recipe is all about.
You wouldn’t know it by looking at me today, but growing up, I was stick-thin. I had frequent nosebleeds and was fairly sickly as a kid. I always remember my mom plying me with ponche de malta (or malta and egg) mixed together with a little sugar. For most Hispanic kids, it was, and often still is, the go-to cure for anemia. I hate malta. I always have. Something about the taste of it just sets me to gag. Add raw egg yolk, and I’m just done.
What is Ponche Frozen Custard?
But, ponche frozen custard? Now, that’s something I can get on board with. If you love a malted milkshake or even one of those chocolate-covered malt candies, this is going to be your jam. Think of those old-timey malt shops that add the malt powder to your vanilla or chocolate milkshakes. That’s the flavor profile of this dessert.
Considering the basic ingredients for a ponche de malta– egg yolk, malta, and sugar- all work exceptionally well in ice cream, this recipe was practically begging me to develop it.
Where does Ponche come from?
This ponche is Puerto Rican. To clarify, there are two types of ponche- well, 3 really- in Puerto Rico: ponche de malta, ponche de uva, and ponche de coco. You may know the latter as Coquito. Adding eggs to coquito, according to a vast majority of Puerto Ricans, makes it ponche. When you take grape juice, usually Welch’s, and add the egg yolk and sugar, it is ponche de uva. To me, that’s even more ungodly than the malta version. My absolute favorite way to make and drink ponche is the coconut and rum version. I mean, besides eating it in this frozen custard.
Ponche is a protein/iron booster for people who suffer from a vitamin B deficiency (like those with anemia). Hector said his Abuela would give every kid that lingered around the house a dose regularly. She especially made it for him because, like me, he’s was too thin. Ponche is also great for fattening people up. It is a very big part of most of our lives growing up, kind of like Ovaltine or Flinstones vitamins.
What’s the difference between Ponche from Puerto Rico and other Ponche drinks?
Many other Latin American countries have a drink they call ponche. Mexican ponche is a warm fruit drink, similar to wassail, but made with a stone fruit called tejocotes. They serve ponche Navideño during the holiday season, much like our ponche de coco. In the Dominican Republic, ponche is made with evaporated milk and eggs. Salvadoran, Peruvian, and Costa Rica all have their own versions of ponche (also called rompope), which are all similar to the Dominican version.
For the Puerto Rican versions, malta, grape juice, or coconut (and rum) are the most common versions.
What is Malta? Where can I find it?
Cervecera de Puerto Rico is the company that produces Malta India, which is a non-alcoholic, malted barley drink. Yes, it’s made much like stout beer is, except it is not given the time to ferment to the point that the sugars (and yeast) in the drink produce alcohol. Malta has a sweet taste, similar to molasses or dark brown sugar. It’s most commonly served ice cold or poured over ice. Growing up, many kids drank it mixed with condensed milk or evaporated milk, making it sweeter still.
I stayed far from it. A funny little tale about malta in my family: since my mother loved it, we always had some in the house. Whenever she’d ask, “Can someone bring me a malta?” I’d preen before her, “Here I am, Mami!” Because my name, when pronounced with our PR dialect sounds like, “Malta.” Okay, that’s enough of the sappy stories. I have a hardcore rep to protect.
If you live near a large Spanish-speaking community, you should be able to find malta fairly easily. Even mainstream grocery stores sell it in their Hispanic food section. Malta India is the brand that everyone in my and Hector’s family drinks because, unlike its competitors, it’s brewed and packed in Puerto Rico and is sweetened naturally. African, European, and other West Indian countries all drink a version of malted beverages, so you can probably find it in markets belonging to any number of countries from those regions, as well.
Let’s make this recipe.
Why do I need to boil Malta?
Since water is the main ingredient in malta, it’s important to boil as much of it off as possible. Water, as you know, turns to ice when frozen. If you leave the malta as is, then add it to the custard base; the frozen custard will be icy and gritty instead of smooth and creamy. Instead, you boil down the malta for 40 minutes to reduce it by a little more than half.
Pour the malta into a 3-quart saucepan. Gently simmer the malta over medium-high heat for 40 minutes, occasionally stirring, until the water has mostly evaporated.
How far ahead can I make the Malta syrup for my Ponche Frozen Custard?
The top line in the pot above indicates where my malta started cooking. You can see how much it’s reduced. The resulting liquid is a thick, malty syrup that’s just a bit thicker than maple syrup. This malta syrup is what’s going to flavor our frozen custard.
For now, leave it to cool completely. I often make this a couple of days ahead, so it’s very cold when I’m ready to use it. You can even make this malta syrup up to a week ahead. Store it in a mason jar or similar container with a tight-fitting lid and keep it in the fridge. The colder, the better, too. As it cools, it thickens, so I prefer to add it to the custard cold. That way, it won’t change the consistency of the base.
What are the rest of the ingredients for Ponche Frozen Custard?
The frozen custard base is made with whole milk, heavy cream, kosher salt, room temperature egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla. You fold in the cool malta syrup once the custard base is cool.
To start, bring the whole milk, heavy cream, and salt to a steaming point over medium heat. You can use the same size pot as when you simmered the malta.
How do I achieve a rich frozen custard?
While you’re waiting for the dairy to come up to steaming, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Room temp egg yolks will work best here since they love to whip faster than cold. Use a balloon whisk or an immersion blender to vigorously whip the egg yolks and sugar together for 2-3 minutes.
This whipping of the egg yolk mixture helps begin to dissolve the sugar in the mixture. It also reduces the “purity” (for lack of a better word) of the egg yolks, providing a buffer between them and the hot dairy when we start combining the two. The final product will be a very pale yellow color, and the sugar granules will mostly dissolve.
Set this aside for a few seconds, as by now, the dairy in the pot should be steaming.
What’s the difference between frozen custard and ice cream?
The egg yolk and the preparation of the custard are what make frozen custard different from ice cream. Ice cream is just a base of milk, sometimes mixed with heavy cream, that’s sweetened, flavored, and churned. Often, the milk is only heated when steeping in flavors like vanilla, herbs, or fruit peels. On the other hand, frozen custard contains egg yolks and is often churned slower to reduce the amount of air incorporated into the final product. Ice cream is lighter, whereas frozen custard is denser and richer. Ice milk is a whole other dessert. It’s an abomination, really.
Set your bowl of egg-sugar stuff over a damp kitchen towel. Because you will quickly whisk in the hot liquid to temper the eggs, you don’t want the bowl flung about while you’re working. The towel will keep the bowl in one spot. Turn off the stove, so you don’t scorch the milk or feel pressured to rush.
Scoop a ladleful of the hot milk mixture out of the pot and, while whisking constantly, drizzle the hot milk into the egg mixture. This gradually heats the eggs- tempering them- which keeps them from curdling. Repeat the adding of the milk with another ladleful.
Next, reverse the process. Slowly drizzle the tempered eggs into the pot of milk, whisking constantly. You’ve just tempered your eggs!
How long do I cook the custard base?
When all the tempered egg mixture is added to the pot, turn the stove to medium and slowly heat the custard base.
The base will be foamy on top because of the sugar. Just heat it slowly, frequently stirring to keep the custard from sticking to the sides and bottom of the pot. Use a rubber spatula to occasionally scrape the sides of the pot since the custard likes to congregate there.
Allow the custard to heat for 5-6 1/2 minutes. In this time, the foam will dissipate, and the final result will be a thick custard that should coat a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. If it doesn’t, continue cooking the base for another 3-4 minutes.
How do I fix my custard if the egg curdles?
If you got a little trigger-happy when adding the hot liquid, your eggs might curdle. You’ll know because your custard will have clumps of egg in it. If you have small lumps (smaller than cottage cheese curds), you only need to run the custard through a sieve to get rid of them. If they look like scrambled eggs, then you need to dump it and start over again.
After the custard is thickened, allow it to cool completely at room temperature. This will only take about 30 minutes. Once it’s room temperature, whisk in the cold malta syrup.
Why do I recommend aging the Ponche Frozen Custard?
Aging ice cream, gelato, and frozen custard bases is something I strongly recommend. Allowing the custard to hang out in the fridge for 12-24 hours gives the proteins in the milk and eggs time to bind with the water molecules and plump up. All that contributes to a mouthfeel that’s essential to a great custard. The absence of great mouthfeel is why I think ice milk is bleh.
Aging totally cools the custard base, as well, so no ice crystals form in the mix as it churns. If you were to churn semi-warm or even room temp custard base, you’d incorporate water molecules, which would turn into ice. Ice feels like gritty yuckiness instead of creamy smoothness. All of this is why making your custard base ahead is important and highly advised.
So, transfer the mixed ponche custard base to a bowl, cover it and refrigerate it overnight.
How long do I churn the Ponche Custard base?
Use your ice cream maker to churn the entire batch of custard according to the instruction booklet. The linked ice cream maker is the exact model I have. I use the gelato setting on this machine to churn the mix at a slower speed, again, to incorporate less air. Commercial frozen custard machines are similar to those ice cream machines at fast-food joints. Frozen custard is typically served soft-serve style, but I’m big on being able to scoop mine, so I treat it like ice cream or gelato after churning.
Before pouring the base into the machine, though, give it a vigorous whisk or stir to combine everything together again. Once the mixture looks homogenous, pour it into your machine and churn it for 20-25 minutes.
How long can I store frozen custard in the freezer?
After churning, the final product will resemble soft-serve ice cream. You can enjoy it straight from the machine, but I find it’s best to freeze it for 2 hours.
Spoon it out of the ice cream maker and into reusable freezer tubs or, as a last resort, a metal bread loaf pan. If you’re using the tubs, press the lid on and flip the tub upside to down freeze. This eliminates excess air, which can alter the taste of the ponche frozen custard. If you’re using the metal pan, press a sheet of wax paper onto the smoothed-out custard’s surface.
What’s the best way to store this Ponche Frozen Custard?
I avoid storing my frozen custard in metal pans because the metal freezes it extra hard. The scoop that I use to scoop out my ponche frozen custard also scratches my pan, which is a good way to get yelled at around here.
This recipe makes just a smidge over 1 quart of frozen custard. I call the leftover portion the ice cream maker’s cut. Spoon it right into your mouth after you’ve filled your tubs. Store your ponche frozen custard in plastic tubs, paper quart-size ice cream containers, or metal. Avoid glass containers at all costs. They can shatter or crack in the freezer or while you’re scooping the ice cream. Since glass is clear, it’s not easy to see shards of it, which is dangerous.
Store homemade frozen custard for 2 months in the freezer. No way it’ll last that long, but whatever.
Why does homemade ice cream/frozen custard melt so fast?
Always remember that homemade ice creams, frozen custards, and gelatos melt at a much faster rate than their commercial counterparts. Because they don’t contain stabilizers, they’re going to melt quicker. There’s not much to do about it, except enjoy your dessert quickly. If all else fails, at least you’ll have a better version of ponche ready to drink.
How do I make the regular Ponche drink?
Speaking of the regular ponche. If you want to try your hand at making the classic beverage, here’s my family recipe:
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar (or condensed milk)
- 7 ounces (207 milliliters) Malta India (or Welch’s grape juice)
- splash of vanilla extract, optional
- In a small pitcher or bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and sugar (or condensed milk) until foamy. Pour this into a tall glass filled with ice.
- Pour the malta (or grape juice) over the egg mixture and add the vanilla (if you’re using it).
- Use a straw to combine the malta with the egg mix and enjoy cold.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Actually, maybe I should try it again to see if I still hate it as much as I used to. Let me know what you think.
What desserts can I serve this Ponche Frozen Custard with?
The flavor of this Ponche Frozen Custard is malty and almost caramel-y. It goes great with most desserts, but here are a few I serve with it regularly:
Tres Leches Chocolate with Cajeta Drizzle
Apple-Cinnamon Pie with Lattice Crust
Of course, you can eat it on its own or whirl it into a milkshake. No matter how you enjoy it, I know it’s going to be tons better than what I was forced to drink as a kid. Let me know what you think down in the comments below. Don’t forget to share this recipe and pin it to your boards for later, too!
Ponche Frozen Custard (Mantecado de Ponche)
at Sense & EdibilityEquipment
- ice cream maker
- quart-size containers
Ingredients
- 2 24 ounce bottles (710 milliliters) Malta India (or similar malt beverage)
- 2 cups (500 milliliters) whole milk
- 1 cup (250 milliliters) heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 large egg yolks at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Prepare the Malta Syrup (Up to 1 Week Ahead)
- Pour the malta into a 3-quart saucepan. Bring the malta up to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat. Cook the malta for 40 minutes, occasionally stirring, until the water has mostly evaporated and the liquid has reduced by a little more than half.
- Remove the pot from the stove and allow it to cool completely at room temperature*. Once cool, store the malta syrup in the fridge until you're ready to use. The syrup can also be chilled quickly. Simply set the pot in a shallow pan of ice water to cool it faster.
Make the Ponche Custard Base
- In a 3 or 4-quart pot, stir together the whole milk, heavy cream, and salt. Slowly bring the mixture to a steaming point over medium heat.
- While you're waiting for the dairy to come up to steaming, in a mixing bowl, use a balloon whisk or an immersion blender to whip together the egg yolks and sugar for 2-3 minutes.By now, the dairy in the pot should be steaming. Turn off the stove, so you don't scorch the milk or feel pressured to rush the following step.
- Set the bowl of egg yolks over a damp kitchen towel. This will keep the bowl in one spot while you temper the egg yolks. Scoop a ladleful of the hot milk mixture out of the pot and, while whisking constantly, drizzle the hot milk into the egg mixture to gradually heat the eggs and keeps them from curdling. Repeat this step with another ladle of hot milk.
- Next, pour the tempered egg mixture back into the pot of milk the same way; slowly drizzle the tempered eggs into the pot of milk, whisking constantly. When the tempered egg mixture is added to the pot, turn the stove to medium and slowly heat the custard base.
- The base will develop a foam on top because of the sugar. Heat the custard slowly, frequently stirring to keep the custard from sticking to the sides and bottom of the pot. Use a rubber spatula to occasionally scrape the sides of the pot as well.
- Allow the custard to heat for 5-6 1/2 minutes. In this time, the foam will dissipate, and the final result will be a thick custard that should coat a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. If it doesn't thicken, continue cooking the base for another 3-4 minutes.
Cool, Age, then Churn the Custard
- After the custard has thickened, allow it to cool completely to room temperature. This should take about 30 minutes. Once it's reached room temperature, whisk in the cold malta syrup.
- Transfer the mixed ponche custard base to a bowl, cover the bowl and refrigerate the custard overnight.
- Before pouring the base into the machine, give it a vigorous whisk or stir to combine everything together again. Once the mixture looks homogenous, pour it into your ice cream machine.If your ice cream maker has a gelato setting, use that setting to churn the custard. If it doesn't, churn the ponche custard base for 20-25 minutes, or until it resembles soft-serve ice cream.
- Spoon the frozen custard from the ice cream maker and into reusable freezer tubs or a metal bread loaf pan. If you're using the tubs, press the lid on and flip the tub upside to down freeze. This eliminates excess air, which can alter the taste of the ponche frozen custard. If you're using the metal pan, press a sheet of wax paper onto the smoothed-out custard's surface.
- Store the Ponche Frozen Custard for 2 months in the freezer. Enjoy as desired.
Notes
*To prepare the Malta Syrup ahead:
- Reduce the malta to a syrup as instructed.
- Allow the syrup to cool completely.
- Pour the malta syrup into a mason jar (or a similar container with a tight-fitting lid) and store it in the refrigerator for up to one week.
- Use as instructed.
Troubleshooting, Tips, and Tricks:
- If you got a little trigger-happy when adding the hot liquid, your eggs might curdle. Strain custard with small lumps (smaller than cottage cheese curds), through a fine-mesh sieve. If the custard has clumps of egg that look like scrambled eggs, then you need to dump it and start over again.
- This recipe makes just a smidge over 1 quart of frozen custard (or 8 servings). Spoon the small amount of leftover soft-serve custard it right into your mouth after you've filled your tubs.
- Avoid storing any ice cream or frozen custard in glass containers. They can shatter or crack in the freezer or while you're scooping the ice cream. Since glass is clear, it's not easy to see shards of it, which is dangerous.
- Homemade ice creams, frozen custards, and gelatos melt at a much faster rate than their commercial counterparts because they don't contain stabilizers.
To Prepare Traditional Ponche (de Malta or Uva):
1 large egg yolk 1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar (or condensed milk) 7 ounces (207 milliliters) Malta India (or Welch's grape juice) splash of vanilla extract (optional)- In a small pitcher or bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and sugar (or condensed milk) until foamy. Pour this into a tall glass filled with ice.
- Pour the malta (or grape juice) over the egg mixture and add the vanilla (if you're using it).
- Use a straw to combine the malta with the egg mix and enjoy cold.
What a Fantastic Post!! Love your work.
Thanks so much!
Making this reminded me of Nigerian malt drinks, simply called “Malt” and the taste was very similar. I love the frozen custard much more, though!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Jazz!
I love anything to do with malt so this recipe was perfect for me. It was really refreshing and helped to cool me down.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Jen!
I grew up loving frozen custard and chocolate malts, and this recipe is the best of both flavors! I loved making it, and your instructions and tips made sure I didn’t mess up!
I’m so glad you found the instructions helpful, Chenee!