Essential Ice Cream Base

Whisk about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to form a smooth slurry.

Whisk together the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl, until smooth.

Combine the remaining milk, the heavy cream, sugar and corn syrup in a large (4-quart) saucepan, over medium-high heat. Bring to a rolling boil, reducing the heat as needed to make sure the mixture does not boil over; cook for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat just long enough to gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry; return the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for about 1 minute, stirring with a spatula until slightly thickened, with a consistency a little thicker than heavy cream. Remove from the heat.

Gradually whisk the hot-milk mixture into the salted cream cheese, until smooth. (At this point, you can whisk in flavor add-ins, such as fruit purees or brewed tea.) Cover the bowl; refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least overnight.

When you are ready to churn, assemble your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s directions and turn it on. Pour in the chilled ice cream base and spin until it’s thick and creamy — about the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.

Pack the ice cream into a storage container, alternating it with layers of your add-ins of choice, if using; do not stir (to retain the layering). Press a sheet of parchment paper directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.