GINGER ICE CREAM
Our ginger ice cream came to be as a result of a happy accident. Originally aiming for a Dark ’n’ Stormy flavor, we were finding that working with alcohol in ice cream was a pretty frustrating experience. The test batches either showed no signs of having rum in it or was far too soft and lacking any bite whatsoever. At some point, we decided to make ice cream flavored only with ginger, and were blown away by how good it tasted. We realized then and there that we had a hit on our hands, and included it as one of our original flavors.
It also happened to be the first Van Leeuwen ice cream flavor our coauthor, Olga, sampled when she first spotted our yellow truck in Battery Park in late June 2008. It was our very first trial run, before we officially launched, and we still marvel at the coincidence that our future coauthor happened to be at the very location where we were first scooping. The way Olga tells the story, she was immediately drawn to the beautiful yellow truck and the classic botanical drawings. Since she had never tasted ginger ice cream, the flavor immediately caught her eye. And with that first scoop, her love for Van Leeuwen ice cream was born. Clearly, this was fate working its magic.
MAKES ABOUT 1 QUART
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
Candy thermometer
FOR THE GINGER SIMPLE SYRUP
1 cup (200 grams) sugar, plus more for coating
1 3-inch knob fresh ginger, diced small (see Ben’s Note)
FOR THE GINGER ICE CREAM
2½ cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
8 large egg yolks
½ cup (100 grams) sugar
¼ cup fresh ginger juice (from about a 4-inch knob of ginger; see Ben's Notes here and in Lime, Ginger, and Lemongrass Sorbet)
1. To make the ginger simple syrup, in a saucepan, combine 1 cup of the sugar, the ginger, and ¼ cup water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Once the liquid reaches 225˚F, simmer for 10 minutes more. Remove from the heat, strain into a bowl, and let cool. You should have about ⅔ cup of syrup. Transfer the ginger pieces from the strainer to a bowl and toss them with additional sugar until coated. Set aside the syrup and candied ginger.
2. To make the ginger ice cream, pour the cream and milk into a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water). Whisk in the ginger syrup and warm the mixture until you see steam rising from the top.
3. Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath in a large bowl and set another bowl over it. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, with a kitchen towel underneath it to prevent slipping, whisk together the egg yolks with the sugar until uniform. While whisking, add a splash of the hot dairy mixture to the yolks. Continue to add the dairy mixture, whisking it in bit by bit, until you’ve added about half. Add the yolk mixture to the remaining dairy mixture in the double boiler. Set the heat under the double boiler to medium and cook the custard, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon and reducing the heat to medium-low as necessary, until steam begins to rise from the surface and the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Hold the spoon horizontally and run your finger through the custard. If the trail left by your finger stays separated, the custard is ready to be cooled.
5. Strain the custard into the bowl sitting over the prepared ice bath and stir for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the custard has cooled. Add in the ginger juice. Transfer the custard to a quart-size container, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or, preferably, overnight.
6. Pour the chilled custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Place the container in which you refrigerated the custard in the freezer so you can use it to store the finished ice cream. Churn the ice cream until the texture resembles “soft serve.” Transfer the ice cream to the chilled storage container and freeze until hardened to your desired consistency. Alternatively, you can serve it immediately—it will be the consistency of gelato. If you like, use the candied ginger as a garnish—otherwise, transfer it to an airtight container and reserve it for another use; it will keep for up to 1 week. The ice cream will keep, frozen, for up to 7 days.
ben’s note If you can find it, baby ginger is absolutely perfect here; it’s juicier and less stringy than the adult version. Organic markets often stock it. Look for smaller tubers—it’s a good sign the ginger will be less stringy or fibrous.