Homemade Lemon Balm (or Mint) Ice Cream

Name: Homemade Lemon Balm (or Mint) Ice Cream
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1 cup fresh lemon balm or mint (I just packed a glass full of leaves from the garden); 160 g sugar or to taste; 600 ml whipping cream (30-35% fat); 300 ml milk; 2 pinches salt; 6 egg yolks

Felice @morinoko

Connecticut, United States

No ice cream maker or machine needed! Makes about 1 liter (1 quart) of ice cream. This recipe makes a pretty creamy and rich ice cream since there is a good amount of cream and egg yolks in it.

I made this for my aunt in Germany because she loves ice cream and had a whole bush full of lemon balm in her garden :) I got some help from New York Times' recipe for homemade ice cream for the ratios, but they use a machine which you don't really need.

TIPS: You can try using more milk than cream or 2-3 less egg yolks. You can also adjust the sugar to make it little less (or more) sweet, though sugar helps resist freezing too much. Basil would be good for this too!

No ice cream maker or machine needed! Makes about 1 liter (1 quart) of ice cream. This recipe makes a pretty creamy and rich ice cream since there is a good amount of cream and egg yolks in it.

Felice @morinoko

Connecticut, United States

No ice cream maker or machine needed! Makes about 1 liter (1 quart) of ice cream. This recipe makes a pretty creamy and rich ice cream since there is a good amount of cream and egg yolks in it.

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Ingredients

8 servings

1 cupfresh lemon balm or mint (I just packed a glass full of leaves from the garden)
160 gsugar or to taste
600 mlwhipping cream (30-35% fat)
300 mlmilk
2 pinchessalt
6egg yolks

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Steps

1

Blend the sugar and the fresh lemon balm/mint together until bright green using a food processor or hand mixer.
2

Add cream, milk, salt and the sugar mixture to a medium pot. Heat and simmer on medium-low until the sugar is completely dissolved (5-10 minutes).
3

Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks together in a bowl. Whisking constantly, gradually whisk in 1/3 of the hot cream mixture into the bowl with the eggs.
4

Then pour the contents of the bowl back into the pot with the rest of the cream and milk.
5

Heat again on medium-low and gently cook the mixture until it's thick enough to coat a back of the spoon (do not boil!). This will make a custard.
6

You'll know it's done if you run your finger through the custard on the back of the spoon, and it leaves a clean streak like in the photo. You can also measure by temperature - it should be around 170°F/77°C.
7

Remove from heat and cover with a lid. Let the lemon balm/mint steep in hot custard for 30 minutes.
8

After 30 minutes, strain the custard through a fine strainer to get out big chunks of the herbs and curdled eggs.
9

Let cool completely, then chill in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
10

After chilling, pour the custard into a container and place in freezer for 4-6 hours. Every hour whisk the ice cream with a fork or hand blender to break up the ice crystals that form when freezing. (Or use just use your ice cream maker from here.)
11

Here is my ice cream after an hour or two. It was still really liquidy so I just mixed with a fork.
12

After another couple of hours, it was close to getting frozen, so I used a hand blender to smooth it out more. You can just mix vigorously with a fork, too, though it might not be perfectly smooth.
13

After blending mine looked like this...
14

You can eat it soft like soft serve, or give it some more time to harden up :) If it's too hard, let it set out on the counter to soften a bit before scooping out.

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Felice @morinoko

on June 28, 2016 20:34

Connecticut, United States

I grew up in Southern Germany and Ohio, and spent 10 years in Japan. I love bread baking, #German food, and healthy, homestyle cooking in general inspired by my family and the seasons.Follow my cooking adventures on Instagram :)https://instagram.com/morinoko_