Summer Fun: Basil Lemon Ice Cream

Lightening things up after my all too heavy and all too revealing last post. So, I bring you something that makes everyone happy – ICE CREAM!

I bought an ice cream maker few years ago. It was an upgrade after I traded in my Kitchen Aid Ice Cream Attachment for a dedicated machine because the dedicated machine just worked better. The ice cream maker lives in the darkest reaches of my hidden corner cabinet. It only makes an appearance a few times a year for some homemade ice cream. I decided I need to give my little appliance some time to bask in sunshine. So, this summer I will make an effort to make more homemade ice cream.

Now, I am an vanilla bean ice cream kind of person. I like my ice cream really creamy, not too sweet and light as air. I like to taste the quality of the base and feel the texture without the distraction of sugar and chunks. . . and, sadly, as is often the case, ice crystals. I prefer forego inclusions, but happily add toppings. I will make the exception for simple inclusions like chocolate chips or nuts.

Because I am a stickler for ice cream simplicity, I usually don’t bother making ice cream at home. There are some really good vanilla bean ice creams out there and, so far, I haven’t been able to compete with that at home. As a result, my ice cream maker leads its lonely existence in the back of my cupboard.

Given the high bar I’ve set for myself on the ice cream front, my decision to make more ice cream this year is a challenge. I’ve decided to meet that challenge by making simple, but unusual flavors of ice cream. I’ve also decided to dive into my herb garden for inspiration. Look forward to other herbal ice creams and maybe I will get brave down the road with some vegetable blends.

This week, I happened to have a large bunch of basil left over from teaching a fresh home made pasta cooking class, so I was ready to try it out. I also anticipate having six tree-like basil plants later this summer. We use DIY self-watering buckets for our basil, which have created these monstrous plants with huge leaves. I really can only make so much basil pesto, seriously. Although, it seems I never wrote a Basil Pesto Recipe here even though I took this fabulous photo (strange). In lieu of that, do check out my fennel frond pesto recipe cause I can make virtually anything into a pesto) Besides, I do like to write about basil as you can see from this fun fictional piece, so why not Basil Lemon Ice Cream?

For my herbal basil ice cream creation, I am starting with a basic cooked custard base. I use the scalded cream and milk for steeping vanilla beans with chopped herbs to extract all the plant oils. The herbs get blended into the dairy with an immersion blender. The hot liquid is strained and used to temper whisked sugar and yolks. Finally, the custard is gently cooked to thickened before being cooled and churned.

It is mesmerizing to watch ice cream churn, so have fun and meditate a bit.

A friend of mine who is decidedly on the opposite end of the ice cream spectrum from me. She’d just as soon feed plain old vanilla to her dog. Nay, she wouldn’t make her dog suffer through such a sad excuse for a dessert. Give her something super sweet, super dense and full of inclusions. So, when I told her about this idea, she was skeptical. I wish I could tell you I changed her mind with this batch, but I can’t.

I can’t because it was just too freaking good to waste on her.

As someone who prefers to be hit over the head with a dual sledge hammer of sweetness and strong flavors, she could not possibly appreciate what I made. She is too distracted by candies and sugar to appreciate the amazing melding of flavors in this Basil Lemon Ice Cream. It’s okay, she knows I am a flavor snob who despises overly sweet anything. We remain friends despite this. But this is not to say you shouldn’t try making this stuff.

I can’t explain why this works, so I looked it up in The Flavor Bible to get some inspirations. Basil is considered a ‘sweet’ herb. Basil plus vanilla plus lemon is considered a compatible flavor group or a “flavor affinity” combination. Finally, basil is often paired with fresh cheese like fresh mozzarella, ricotta or chevre. The bible says it is good, so why the heck wouldn’t a Basil Lemon Ice Cream be perfect.

For soft serve and instant gratification, spoon this right from the ice cream machine into your mouth. Or, if you are more civil and and refined and prefer a scoopable texture, freeze for few hours before diving in.

Basil Lemon Ice Cream

Ingredients

Base

1 cup light cream

2 cups whole milk

5 large egg yolks

1/2 – 2/3 cups granulated sugar (I prefer less)

1/2 teaspoon fine uniodized salt

Flavorings

2-3 cups fresh basil leaves

1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder (may substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or scrapings from one vanilla bean)

zest of one lemon

1/8 teaspoon lemon extract (optional)

Tools

Ice Cream Maker

Immersion or Upright Blender

Fine Mesh Sieve.

Directions

1. Make sure your ice cream maker is ready and the bowl is frozen as specified.
2. Measure the dairy into a medium sauce pan. Separate the egg yolks into a bowl and add sugar. Roughly chop the basil. Zest the lemon
3. Combine the cream and milk in a medium sauce pan. Add the basil leaves and fully submerge
4. Warm gently over medium-low to medium heat just until dairy starts to bubble near the wall of the pan (185-195°F)
   • Why 185-195°F? Here is a little info on scalding milk
5. While dairy warms, vigorously whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is light yellow and reaches the ribbon stage.
   • Ribbons are for hair, what is this about? Find out here.
6. Blend the warm dairy mixture with an immersion blender or in a blender until basil is well distributed. Let stand for 10 minutes to steep.
7. Use a fine mesh sieve to strain the dairy mixture. Discard the solids.
8. Temper the egg yolk mixture by adding a 1/4 cup of the warm dairy mixture to the egg yolk mixture then whisking. Repeat with 1/2 cup of dairy mixture.
   • “What the heck is tempering?” Keep scrambled eggs out ice cream and check out this piece on tempering eggs
9. Once tempered, add the egg yolk mixture to the sauce pan. Whisk to combine.
10. Add the vanilla and salt.
11. Return to the stove. Heat gently on medium-low to medium. Whisk frequently.
12. As the mixture reaches 180-185°F, it will thicken. Once it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove from heat immediately.
    • This temperature is important. Here is why. If the mixture boils, the ice cream will be grainy.
    • Whether a cheap one or an expensive one, a thermometer really helps for getting the right texture for ice cream and custards.
13. Pour the mixture into another bowl to cool.
    • Slow way: Allow mixture to cool in the fridge for a few hours.
    • Impatient way: Place the bowl on an ice pack and put two cleaned ice packs in the mixture. Stir periodically until cooled.
14. Pour into the cooled mixture into the bowl of the ice cream maker and churn according to the instruction.
15. For soft serve and instant gratification, eat immediately scooping it from the machine. For a harder texture, freeze for few hours before diving in.

Happy cooking and basiling!