Berry Basil Ice Cream

B is for BASIL

 

Well this is the second post in my series “My Spice Rack from A-Z”.  This month, I had to choose a spice beginning with the letter B.  Not sure what is in your spice rack that would fit the bill.  But I had bay leaves and basil!  While I cook enough times with both spices, I’ve never created a dessert with either.  Inspired by a poem by Keats, I chose basil!

I searched online a bit, and most recipes matched basil with lemon, and usually in a panna cotta.  I decided to keep it simple and basic and I made some ice cream.  I made it a bit differently than I usually do.  And I wonder if those of you who make ice cream can tell me the difference……….

While I usually just use cream and whatever flavors I am working with, this time I decided to use an egg recipe. And I’m not sure I could really tell the difference the eggs made in the recipe.  Can anyone shed some light on this for me?  I think the ice cream turned out fabulous!  Adding basil to ice cream gives it an unusually good flavor.  It really brought out the intensity of the berries for me.  I used basil from my herb garden and fresh berries.  It just made it that much more special.  I hope you will like it, too!

 

 

Here’s what you need……

ICE CREAM:

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup granulated sugar

pinch of kosher salt

1 cup, tightly packed and roughly torn basil leaves

5 large egg yolks

FRUIT PUREE:

1/4 pound of fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/4 pound fresh blueberries

1/4 pound fresh raspberries

1/4 pound fresh blackberries

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Puree all the berries with 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a blender. (I also added about 6 torn basil leaves here in addition to having the basil infused in the cream!)  When it is liquified, pour through a strainer into a bowl and reserve.  (I suppose you don’t need to strain it if you want a more rustic ice cream with seeds in it, but even as I pushed it through a mesh sieve, some seeds still managed to get through!).

In a medium sauce pan, mix the milk, pinch of salt, sugar, and 1 cup of the cream.  Warm the cream mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves and small bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan (about 3 or 4 minutes.)  Stir in the torn basil leaves, cover and remove from heat.  Let this sit at least an hour or two.  Taste it and if you would like a stronger basil flavor, simply let it sit longer.  (Mine sat for 2 hours).

 

Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with several inches of ice water.  Set a metal bowl that will hold 1 1/2 quarts in the center of the ice water.  Pour the remaining 1 cup of cream into the inner bowl to start it chilling which will help the rest of the mixture cool faster when you pour it in later.  Have a fine strainer ready.  Whisk the 5 egg yolks.

Take the basil out of the cream mixture and rewarm for about 2-3 minutes.  In a steady stream pour half the warm cream into the egg yolks whisking constantly so the eggs don’t cook.  Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat stirring constantly, being sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with a heatproof, rubber spatula.  The custard should be thick enough to coat the back of the spatula and a line forms when you draw your finger through it.  This should take about 6-8 minutes.  Be sure not to overheat the custard or let it come to a boil or it will separate and curdle.  Immediately strain the custard into the cold cream in the ice bath.    Cool the custard to 70°F by stirring it in the ice bath.  When cooled, stir in the berry puree.

Refrigerate the custard until chilled, about 4 hours.  Then freeze  the custard in your ice cream maker according to your manufacturer’s instructions.  Store in an air tight container and freeze for about 4 hours.  The ice cream will keep up to 2 weeks in your freezer.

Enjoy while reading a stanza of a poem by one of my favorite English poets of the Romantic movement.  (I can’t help that I am a bit of a literature geek!)   It is worth reading the entire poem, to understand how love and death both stalk, and the significance of the basil to Isabella….

 

 

And she forgot the stars, the moon, and sun, And she forgot the blue above the trees, And she forgot the dells where waters run, And she forgot the chilly autumn breeze; She had no knowledge when the day was done, And the new morn she saw not: but in peace Hung over her sweet Basil evermore, And moistened it with tears unto the core.

John Keats
Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St.  Agnes and Other Poems, ‘Isabella; or, The Pot of Basil’, stanza 53.

 

Recipe adapted from Fine Cooking