Outlet Beach on Sabbathday Lake looks like a lot of Maine swimming holes: crystal-clear water, a crescent-shaped strip of sand, picnic tables under tall pines, and parents watching their kids dive off the board on the little dock, or squiggle down the water slide.

And, of course, there’s ice cream.

But take a look at the chalkboard outside the slightly lopsided yellow ice cream shack at Bresca and the Honeybee at Outlet Beach. The flavors are anything but typical: blueberry panna cotta ice cream with brown butter streusel; pear shiso sorbet; salted licorice ice cream; nasturtium leaf ice cream with pink peppercorn ribbon; and black raspberry chip with chocolate sea salt shell, to name just a few.

Inside, owner and chef Krista Kern Desjarlais is busy transforming local cream, fruit, vegetables and herbs into a dazzling array of ice creams and sorbets. Making ice cream at the lake is not a summer side job for Kern Desjarlais. This is her full-time gig, and she is producing some of the richest, most innovative ice cream imaginable.

She first spotted the property in winter 2013. “My husband and I were driving home and took a shortcut,” she said. “We passed the lake and there was a ‘For Sale’ sign on the shack. I thought it was the cutest place I had ever seen.”

At 43, she had just had her daughter and was spending 18 hours a day running Bresca, her highly acclaimed restaurant in Portland. She had been nominated for James Beard Awards and had fielded offers for TV shows. “There I was in my early 40s achieving everything I had waited my whole life for,” she said.

But the stress was getting to her: “I’d come home exhausted and see my daughter sleeping and then wake up and do it again. I couldn’t find the balance. ... Once you have a child, you ask yourself, ‘What am I really doing?’ As a woman, I had to make the ultimate decision: family or career? And then this sign popped into my life.”

Kern Desjarlais first worked in the food industry at age 14, starting at a catering company in Connecticut, and then slinging burgers and scooping ice cream on summer jobs. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Southern Maine, she decided to get a master’s in medieval studies. She figured she would make a career teaching college and doing research.

But as a student needing extra money, she landed a job with a private chef and discovered a love of cooking. She found herself spending hours studying and then going to the grocery store roaming the aisles feeling “this deep comfort looking at different types of food and imagining what I might do with all these ingredients.”

She left the master’s program and spent the next few decades cooking in New York, Paris, Las Vegas and Aspen. She’s staged with such luminaries as pastry chef Jacques Torres, Guy Savoy and Richard Leach.

Once she decided to make the move into ice cream, things happened quickly: After a five-year run, she closed Bresca on May 13, 2013, and opened Bresca and the Honeybee less than two weeks later. (In 2016, she also opened Purple House, a tiny bakery/restaurant in nearby Yarmouth that has been “temporarily closed” since the beginning of the pandemic.)

In her “old life,” ice cream was just one element on a menu, something to pair with cake or a tart. But Kern Desjarlais’ love of frozen desserts has always been strong. “I’ve become consumed with the endless possibilities of ice creams and sorbets, granitas and cremolatas.”

So for Bresca and the Honeybee, she hunted down a local dairy to supply fresh cream, and connected with farmers and local suppliers to source the freshest eggs, seasonal fruit and herbs. At first, customers “only asked for the basics: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry,” she said. “But Krista the chef needed to do her thing.”

Those standard flavors earn trust with her customers. “If you make great chocolate or vanilla ice cream, people are then willing to try your olive oil ice cream or burnt honey and rosemary, or even Oxo Beer cherry ripple,” made with local craft beer, she said

In an ironic twist, after spending months developing ice cream flavors the year she opened Bresca and the Honeybee, Kern Desjarlais discovered she was dairy intolerant. Years later, after severe knee and joint pain, she learned she was also gluten intolerant. To taste her ice cream these days, Kern Desjarlais has to pop a Lactaid. All of Bresca and the Honeybee’s crumbles and ice cream toppings are now gluten free.

On a hot day in late May just before summer’s opening weekend, Kern Desjarlais was working with her sous chef, Sherry Lai, making Key lime creme fraiche ice cream. She warms the sugar, milk, vanilla bean and salt mixture and then lets it cool before folding in Vermont creme fraiche and Florida Key lime juice.

In contrast to the jolt of sweetness that comes with most ice cream, what she’s after is balance. Is there enough salt to pop the flavors? Does the sorbet need more acid to make the fresh fruit and herbs sing? (Kern Desjarlais often adds fruit vinegars to her sorbets to add a subtle sour flavor.) And when she makes her ice cream and sorbet bases, she finds it’s important to refrigerate them overnight, then taste to adjust salt, acid or other flavorings before churning.

“When you’re making ice cream and sorbet bases, you want the flavors to be exaggerated because they always diminish when you freeze them,” she advised. “Add a pinch more salt. A touch more vanilla. A bit more fruit.”

In addition to being an ice cream chef, Kern Desjarlais is also something of a park ranger. Although the nearby Shaker community “owns” almost all the land on Sabbathday Lake, she is responsible for the upkeep on the nearly 4 acres of lakeside land she leases. On a typical summer day she can be seen picking up stray garbage, sweeping pine needles off picnic tables and making sure boats are safely launched.

Her 11-year-old daughter, Cortland (“like the apple”), hangs out on the dock with a friend, jumping into the water, catching baby frogs and water bugs, looking like a happy kid at summer camp.

Kern Desjarlais never stops experimenting. Her latest creation: artichoke ice cream. Basing her technique on a French recipe that dates back to 1825, she poaches fresh artichoke hearts in a sugar syrup with vanilla, and orange and lemon zest, then purees the mixture and folds it into a sweet cream base. After the ice cream is done, she tops it with candied grapefruit and toasted pistachio. This recipe seems to meld her interest in history, food and creating flavors that few have tasted before.

Life on a pristine summer lake in Maine seems to suit Kern Desjarlais.

“The world is moving so fast,” she says. “We are all connected all the time. But cell service here is not great, so people can’t be looking at their phones all day. When you’re at Sabbathday Lake you have to focus on where you are. This is a place you can come and forget about time. You can take a swim, stare at trees and cool off with an ice cream cone. Here you can just be.”

The mint flavor in this custard-based ice cream can be subtle or vibrant, but Krista Kern Desjarlais, chef-owner of Bresca and the Honeybee in New Gloucester, Maine, says you want to avoid a toothpaste-strong mint flavor. You can use fresh mint leaves (which yield a more subtle, very refreshing flavor) or mint extract. The custard needs to be refrigerated overnight before being churned in an ice cream machine and, to properly firm up, will require at least 4 hours of freezing time before serving.

⅔ cup granulated sugar 6 large egg yolks Pinch fine sea salt 2 ¼ cups heavy cream ¾ cup whole milk ¼ vanilla bean, scraped (or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract) 1 ½ teaspoons organic mint extract, plus more to taste (may substitute with 1 packed cup fresh mint leaves) ⅔ cup bittersweet chocolate chips (preferably 64 percent), finely chopped (may substitute with about 4 ounces finely chopped bittersweet chocolate bar)

In a large bowl or a large measuring cup with a spout, whisk together the sugar, egg yolks and a pinch of salt until thoroughly combined.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the cream, milk and vanilla until you see steam rising from the surface; do not bring the mixture to a boil. If using fresh mint leaves, add to the cream and milk; if using mint extract do not add at this stage. Remove from the heat and let it steep for 5 to 10 minutes.

Prepare a large bowl with ice water. Using a ladle in one hand and a whisk in another, slowly drizzle the liquid mixture into the sugar-yolks mixture and whisk to incorporate. Continue to whisk the liquid to the sugar-yolks mixture until you’ve added about half of the dairy, then pour the egg-dairy mixture into the saucepan with the remaining dairy.

Lower the heat to medium-low. Stir continuously with a heatproof spatula or a wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly and reaches 175 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes. Dip the spatula or spoon into the custard and hold it horizontally, then run a finger across the custard on the spatula — if the path stays open, your custard is ready. Remove from the heat and pass the custard through a fine-mesh strainer set over a large measuring cup. Place the measuring cup in the prepared ice bath, stirring until you can comfortably insert your pinkie in the mixture (the custard should register about 115 degrees on an instant-read thermometer), about 5 minutes. If using mint extract, add half and taste the custard. It should have a defined mint flavor but not be overwhelming. Add the remaining extract, if desired. Transfer the custard to a quart-size container, cover and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to churn the ice cream, pour the custard into an ice cream machine and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions until the ice cream is the consistency of soft serve. Depending on your ice cream maker, this could take 20 to 40 minutes, so start checking at 20 minutes and then every 5 minutes thereafter. Fold in the chocolate chips and churn until the ice cream has thickened slightly, an additional 5 to 10 minutes.

Transfer to a quart-size container, cover with a sheet of parchment or wax paper and cover with a lid. Freeze until firm, at least 6 hours.

When ready to serve, let the ice cream soften on the counter for a few minutes until scoopable, then scoop into bowls and serve.

Storage notes: The ice cream can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 1 month. It’s best to place a piece of parchment paper or wax paper directly on its surface to prevent freezer burn.

Nutrition per serving (½ cup), based on 8; 428 calories; 36 g total fat; 21 g saturated fat; 233 mg cholesterol; 71 mg sodium; 27 g carbohydrates; 2 g dietary fiber; 21 g sugar; 5 g protein.

This refreshing sorbet hits the spot on hot summer days. Plan on letting the sorbet mixture sit overnight in the refrigerator before you spin it in your ice cream machine, then at least 6 hours in the freezer after it’s churned. Depending on how tart you prefer your sorbet, you may want to add more lime juice, as the flavor will weaken once frozen. The sorbet mixture needs to be refrigerated overnight before being churned in an ice cream machine and, to properly firm up, will require at least 6 hours of freezing time before serving.

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar ½ cup cold water 2 tablespoons light corn syrup or tapioca syrup 2 limes, plus more to taste 4 cups watermelon chunks, seeds removed Pinch of fine sea salt, plus more to taste

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the sugar has completely dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool until lukewarm.

While the syrup is cooling, finely zest the limes and juice them; you should get about ¼ cup of lime juice.

In a blender or food processor, puree the cooled sugar syrup, watermelon and lime juice (reserve the zest) until smooth. Strain the mixture, pressing on solids with a silicone spatula, through a fine-mesh sieve set over a 4-cup measuring cup with a spout. Whisk in the lime zest and sea salt. Transfer to a quart-size jar with a lid and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to churn, taste the sorbet base, and add more lime juice (up to 2 tablespoons), zest and/or salt, if needed. (Keep in mind that once frozen, the lime flavor will weaken slightly, so if you prefer your sorbet more tart, add lime juice now.) Churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions for your ice cream maker until the sorbet reaches a consistency of Italian ice. Depending on your ice cream maker, this can take anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a lidded container and freeze to firm up, at least 6 hours.

To serve, remove the sorbet from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes, then scoop and serve.

Storage notes: Sorbet can be frozen in an airtight container, with a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap pressed against the surface of the sorbet to prevent freezer burn, for up to 1 week.

Nutrition per serving (½ cup), based on 8; 160 calories; 0 g total fat; 0 g saturated fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 42 mg sodium; 42 g carbohydrates; 0 g dietary fiber; 37 g sugar; 1 g protein.

This three-ingredient simple chocolate topping works well on any type of ice cream, hardening to a shell when it hits the ice cream. Bear in mind, this won’t be as crunchy as the commercially produced Magic Shell. Use a mild olive oil here for the best taste.

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil 8 ounces bittersweet chopped chocolate or chips (64 percent) ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt, or more to taste

In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil until shimmering but not boiling.

In a medium bowl, combine the chocolate with the hot oil and, using a silicone spatula or whisk, stir until smooth. Season with salt, taste, and season with more salt, if desired.

Storage notes: The topping can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. The sauce will harden when refrigerated; warm in a microwave-safe bowl in 5-second increments until pourable.

Nutrition per serving (2 tablespoons), based on 8; 281 calories; 27 g total fat; 10 g saturated fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 74 mg sodium; 13 g carbohydrates; 3 g dietary fiber; 7 g sugar; 2 g protein.

Recipes from Krista Kern Desjarlais, chef-owner of Bresca and the Honeybee in New Gloucester, Maine.

Copyright: Special To The Washington Post

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