Gingerbread ice cream

Much has already been written on this blog about gingerbread – a cookie tradition with roots in medieval times, and during periods also believed to be good for both your health and for your personality (making you kinder), as well as being able to ward off evil powers! In other words – a perfect Christmas ice cream! This blog already has a number of gingerbread ice cream recipes in different styles (try “gingerbread” in the search-function!) but there is always room for more, right?

On gingerbread and Pernek

Much has already been written on this blog about gingerbread – a cookie tradition with roots in medieval times, and during periods also believed to be good for both your health and for your personality (making you kinder), as well as being able to ward off evil powers! In other words  – a perfect Christmas ice cream! This blog already has a number of gingerbread ice cream recipes  in different styles (try “gingerbread” in the search-function!) but there is always room for more, right?

The making of the ice cream – No cookies required, and a simplified custard base.

Much has already been written on this blog about gingerbread – a cookie tradition with roots in medieval times, and during periods also believed to be good for both your health and for your personality (making you kinder), as well as being able to ward off evil powers! In other words  – a perfect Christmas ice cream! This blog already has a number of gingerbread ice cream recipes  in different styles (try “gingerbread” in the search-function!) but there is always room for more, right?

The making of the ice cream – No cookies required, and a simplified custard base.

Take the chilled base and – if you don’t fancy solid remnants of the spices in your ice cream – pass it through a sieve. Then pour the base into your ice cream machine and churn! (No ice cream machine? – Use your ordinary household freezer and still-freeze the ice cream!)

Ingredients

400 ml (1¾ cups) cream

250 ml (1 cup) milk

50 ml (1/5 cup) sour cream

100 ml (1/2 cup) sugar

2 whole eggs

The spices:

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1½ teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cloves

2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon ground fennel

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons honey (about 25-30 ml: liquid is fine)

1 teaspoon lemon zest

(optional) 1-2 tablespoons rhum

Instructions

Put all the ice cream base ingredients (cream, milk, sour cream, sugar, honey, eggs and - possibly also the rhum) in a saucepan. Mix well and add the spices, the lemon zest and the baking soda.

While whisking, bring the mix to about 77-82º C/170-179º F.

Take off the ice cream base from the stove, optionally add the rhum if not already added, and let cool down.

Let the base chill in the fridge for a few hours or over night.

Churn in your ice cream machine (or still-freeze using your kitchen freezer)!

Notes

If using, the rhum could either be added together with all the other ingredients in the beginning (in which case most of the alcohol will evaporate during the cooking), OR be added to the finished base. I leave the choice to you, dear reader!