black sesame ice cream
Ingredients
3 cups lactose free half and half (or 1.5 cups whole milk + 1.5 cups heavy cream)
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup black sesame paste
2 tablespoon vodka (optional)
Instructions
Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and water. Place a medium mixing bowl fitted with a fine mesh strainer inside the ice bath.
Simmer half and half, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a small saucepan at medium heat until sugar has dissolved, stirring every few minutes. Remove from heat.
Whisk egg yolks in a separate bowl. Slowly add 1 cup of heated cream mixture into egg yolks, whisking constantly.
Pour the egg yolk mixture into the cream mixture and return to stove.
Cook at medium low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (about 170 F on an instant read thermometer). Do not allow custard to boil!
Remove from heat and immediately pour through fine mesh strainer into the bowl over the ice bath.
Add black sesame paste to custard and stir until combined.
Allow custard to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
Cover with a layer of plastic wrap pressed directly over the surface of your custard. Place custard in refrigerator and chill until cold (I leave mine overnight).
Make ice cream according to ice cream machine instructions. In the last few minutes of ice cream churning, add vodka through top of ice cream maker. This will prevent ice crystals from forming when you store the ice cream in the freezer.
Serve immediately as soft serve ice cream. For a firmer consistency, freeze for a few hours before serving.
About this recipe
Once upon a time, wifey and I decided to stop for lunch before a flight home from O'Hare. We pulled into a Japanese market and food court for sushi, and our lives were forever changed because they had black sesame soft serve ice cream. It was my first encounter with black sesame and I have been craving it ever since. I have found it difficult to find this ice cream flavor in the spaces I frequent, so I'm extra excited to have a delicious recipe of my own that I can make whenever I want.
You can find black sesame paste at your local Asian grocery store or online. You also can make your own paste at home.
