Gingerbread Ice Cream

So I'm a little bit obsessed with gingerbread. Just a little warning this gingerbread ice cream is just the first of a number of gingerbread posts to come before Christmas, hopefully a new gingerbread house will be one of them. 

It seems people either go one way of the other with gingerbread, they either love it or they don't. I'm definitely in the 'love it' group and firmly believe this ice cream version is so good it might just convince others the same way.  It has the awesome flavours of gingerbread, the spices, the syrup all infused delicately into this deliciously cold and very creamy treat. In a climate as warm as ours anything in ice cream form would probably be pretty welcome. 

I had a few other ideas for this ice cream, maybe mixing through some crystallized ginger or some broken up cookies, maybe even making some ice cream sandwiches. After trying it I decided it was amazing enough just as it is. See all gone!

For the Gingerbread Ice Cream (picture free recipe at end of post)

1 1/2 cups full cream milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 decent sized piece of ginger (about 2 heaped tablespoons once peeled and chopped)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (Leave this out for more subtle flavour)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 vanilla bean (split with seeds scraped)
5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup golden syrup
1 1/2 cups thick cream

To make the Gingerbread Ice Cream- Add the milk, sugar, gingers, peppercorns, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla bean plus seeds to a medium saucepan, heat together until it begins to boil then remove from heat. Cover the pan and allow the flavours to infuse for at least one hour.

Rewarm the infused milk mixture, strain into a clean bowl and discard the solids.

Stir together cream and golden syrup in a separate large bowl. Set aside.

Add the egg yolks the the bowl of and electric mixer, using the whisk attachment quickly mix. Continue whisking while slowly adding the warm milk mixture, once combined return the whole mix to saucepan.

Put the saucepan back onto the stove and stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.

Strain the mixture into the bowl with the cream and syrup and stir together.

Place the mixture in the fridge till cool stirring occasionally.

Pour the cooled custard mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to your machines instructions.

Enjoy!!

Gingerbread Ice Cream (makes 1 litre)
1 1/2 cups full cream milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 decent sized piece of ginger (about 2 heaped tablespoons once peeled and chopped)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (Leave this out for more subtle flavour)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 vanilla bean (split with seeds scraped)
5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup golden syrup
1 1/2 cups thick cream

• Add the milk, sugar, gingers, peppercorns, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla bean plus seeds to medium saucepan, heat until begins to boil, remove from heat. 
• Cover pan,allow the flavours to infuse for at least one hour.
• Rewarm the infused milk, strain into clean bowl and discard solids.
• Stir together cream and golden syrup in a separate large bowl. Set aside.
• Whisk egg yolk in bowl on electric mixer. Continue whisking, slowly adding warm milk mixture, once combined return the whole mix to saucepan.
• Stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
• Strain the mixture into the bowl with the cream and syrup, stir together. 
• Place the mixture in the fridge till cool, stirring occasionally.
• Pour the cooled custard mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to your machines instructions.