after lots of talk about ice cream and ginger, the time came to make ginger ice cream again! of course the last time i made it i didn't write it all down, so i had to reinvent the recipe from scratch. i started with a basic vanilla recipe, steeped some candied ginger in the cream, used a mix of brown & white sugar, and made a molasses ripple to blend through with some additional chopped candied ginger. it's a nice mix - the ice cream flavour is subtle, and the creaminess is a nice contrast to the intensity of the molasses and candied ginger.
note: one of the big reasons why it's best to use organic cream: it is actual cream, with no other ingredients (usually carageenan as a thickener).
ginger-molasses-ripple ice cream
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk
1/2 cup candied ginger
8 egg yolks
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
healthy pinch of salt
ripple:
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbs butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
combine the milk and cream in a medium saucepan. chop 1/4 cup of candied ginger coarsely, add to the milk and cream. heat over low and simmer for 10 minutes. turn off heat.
in a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, gradually adding the brown sugar and then the white sugar. whisk until the sugars are dissolved and the mixture is thick and pale.
add some of the hot cream to the eggs, whisking all the while. gradually add more cream while whisking constantly, until it is all incorporated. return the mixture to the saucepan and stir gently over low heat for 15 minutes. strain the mixture into a bowl, and place the bowl in a bath of cold water to chill it well before putting it into the ice cream maker.
to make the ripple, combine the cream, brown sugar, molasses, and butter in a small saucepan. bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. cool by placing the pot in a cold water bath.
now it's time for the fun part! put the cooled custard into your ice cream maker and freeze! follow whatever directions yours came with, but as a guide, our old-fashioned churn required about 5 kilos of ice, half a box of pickling salt, and an hour of turning.
meanwhile, chop the remaining 1/4 cup candied ginger finely. to assemble, scoop some ice cream (it's very soft when it comes out of the machine) into your container. then sprinkle some chopped ginger over, and finally drizzle with the ripple mix. repeat these layers three times.
give it a swirl with a spoon, then tuck it into the freezer to get solid!
