Basil Ice Cream Recipes

Steps:

• Place the half-and-half, basil, sugar, salt and egg yolks in a blender. Blend until completely smooth.
• Transfer the mixture to a double boiler, and heat, stirring constantly, until the eggs just begin to thicken and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl. Set the bowl in an ice water bath to rapidly chill.
• Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Freeze until ready to use.

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse together mint or basil leaves and sugar until pulverized and bright green.
• In a small pot, simmer heavy cream, milk, herb sugar and salt until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk yolks. Whisking constantly, slowly whisk about a third of the hot cream into the yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream.
• Return pot to medium-low heat and gently cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer). Remove from heat and allow custard to steep for 30 minutes.
• Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cool mixture to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Serve directly from the machine for soft serve, or store in freezer until needed.

Steps:

• Blanch the basil leaves in boiling salted water for 5 seconds, then place in an ice bath. Drain and wring the basil dry in a dish towel. Chop coarsely.
• In a food processor, puree the basil with salt, vitamin C and just enough softened ice cream to make a puree (about 3 tablespoons). You should have about 1 cup basil puree. Add the remaining ice cream and puree. Quickly take the finished pureed ice cream and transfer it from the processor back to the freezer container. Add chocolate and mix in thoroughly. Place container in freezer. Freeze for at least 1 hour.

Steps:

• Heat the milk just to the boiling point, then add the basil leaves and lemon rind. Take off the heat and leave to infuse for 1 hour.
• Beat the sugar and yolks together until pale and fluffy. Strain the milk, pressing the basil and lemon rind to extract any last bits of flavour. Stir this into the egg and sugar mixture.
• Put your bowl on top of a sauce pan of simmering water. Stir the liquid in the bowl constantly until it thickens slightly. If you scrape the back of a spoon through the mixture and it leaves a path, your custard is ready. Immediately pour it into another bowl and leave to cool.
• When cool, add the lemon juice to the custard. In a separate bowl, beat the cream lightly. When the cream has thickened, add to the custard mixture.
• Freeze in an ice cream maker, stopping three times during the freezing process to beat the mixture with an electric beater.

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, heat milk to 175°. Remove from the heat; add basil and cinnamon stick. Cover and steep 30 minutes. Strain, discarding basil and cinnamon stick., Return to the heat; stir in sugar until dissolved. Whisk a small amount of the hot mixture into egg yolks. Return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture is just thick enough to coat a metal spoon and a thermometer reads at least 160°, stirring constantly. Do not allow to boil. Remove from heat immediately., Quickly transfer to a large bowl; place bowl in a pan of ice water. Stir gently and occasionally until cool, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream and vanilla. Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard. Refrigerate several hours or overnight., Fill cylinder of ice cream maker no more than two-thirds full; freeze according to manufacturer's directions. (Refrigerate any remaining mixture until ready to freeze.) , Transfer ice cream to freezer containers, allowing headspace for expansion. Freeze until firm, 2-4 hours. , If desired, sprinkle with ground cinnamon.