Cardamom Ice Cream Recipe

Cardamom Ice Cream Notes

This recipe comes from one of the best spice books we've yet to find, Jill Norman's "Herbs & Spices: The Cook's Reference". Along with the beautiful photos and useful information, she includes a whole slew of recipes from around the world.

We used this particular recipe for our "Chicago, A Spicy Melting Pot" event in the Old Town shop, in conjunction with the city of Chicago's 2005 "Stirring Things Up in Chicago" summer events.

Ingredients

• 2 cups (scant) milk or light cream
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 8 whole green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

Serves / Yields

6 servings

Preparation Instructions

Put the milk, or light cream, vanilla bean and crushed cardamom pods into a heavy pan and bring slowly to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let infuse for 20 minutes. Take out the vanilla bean and scape the seeds into the liquid. Remove the crushed green cardamom pods.

Beat the egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale. Gently reheat the milk or cream and beat a little of it into the egg yolks. Pour the egg mixture into the cream and return the pan to a low heat. Stir until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon; it will take several minutes. Do not let it boil, or you'll get pieces of scrambled egg.

Remove the pan from the heat and continue to stir until it has almost cooled. Whip the whipping cream lightly and fold it into the custard. Add the 1/8 teaspoon of ground cardamom. Freeze in an ice cream maker following the manufacturer's instructions.

Helpful Hints

Be careful not to add too much cardamom to the recipe. Cardamom is a very strong flavor, and too much of it can cause a soapy taste.