Ice Cream
Ingredients
1 whole nutmeg
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (35%), divided
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup liquid honey
6 egg yolks or 4 whole eggs, see head note
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (35%), divided
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup liquid honey
6 egg yolks or 4 whole eggs, see head note
1/8 teaspoon salt
Grate 2 teaspoons of nutmeg into a
small skillet. Toast the ground nutmeg over medium heat until aromatic, around
2 minutes. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the
milk and 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Add the rest of the (whole) nutmeg to the pot
with the milk mixture and bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Remove from
heat and allow steeping for 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks
(or whole eggs, if using) with the sugar, honey and salt. Pouring in a thin,
steady stream, whisk in the hot milk mixture into the eggs. Transfer the
mixture back to the pan and cook, stirring, until thickened, 8-10 minutes. Pour
custard through a fine-meshed sieve into a clean bowl. Stir in the remaining 1
cup heavy cream and toasted nutmeg; cover custard lightly and chill.
Churn in an ice cream maker according
to manufacturer's direction then transfer to an airtight container and freeze
until set.
Makes 1 quart.
Notes: The type of honey used will greatly impact the ice
cream's flavor. A wildflower honey will be subtle and almost fresh, with the
cream coming through, while a more robust buckwheat will be far more prominent.
Chai Tea Ice Cream
Ingredients2 cups heavy cream, divided
2 cups whole milk
6 bags black tea (I will most likely use 6 bags of chai tea and skip the next few ingredients)
1-inch piece ginger, sliced into thin coins
3 cinnamon sticks, broken apart
4 star anise
1/4 tablespoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon cloves
1/2 cup sugar
A pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
Keep 1 cup of heavy cream in the
fridge until you're ready to use it. Combine the other 1 cup of heavy cream
with the milk, tea bags, ginger, chai spices, sugar, and salt in a medium
saucepan over medium-low heat.
Heat the mixture until it starts to
bubble around the edges, but do not let it boil. If it looks like it’s going to
boil, remove the saucepan from your stove and adjust the heat. Once you see
bubbles on the surface, lower your heat and steep for about 30 minutes until
the chai is well infused with the tea and spices.
Meanwhile, pour the remaining 1 cup
of cold heavy cream into a bowl, and place a fine mesh sieve over it. Remove
the chai from heat and strain the mixture into the bowl of heavy cream. Press
down on the tea bags with a spoon to really get all the flavor out. Stir.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg
yolks. Temper the yolks by pouring a small amount of chai into the bowl and
whisking it quickly so you don’t cook the yolks (and end up with scrambled
eggs).
Keep adding a small amount of chai at
a time and whisk until everything is smooth and well blended. You have now just
made your custard base!
Return the custard to your saucepan
and heat it through over low heat. Stir the custard until it thickens just
enough to coat a spoon, about 5 minutes.
Transfer the custard to a bowl and
bring it to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, or
overnight. Once the custard is nice and cold, churn it in your ice cream maker following
the manufacturer's instructions.
Makes 1 1/2 quarts
