Cardamom

Carrot Halwa Ice Cream

August 20, 2012
4.7
3 Ratings
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

Inspired by a traditional Indian dessert, this is a deliciously creamy cardamom-scented ice cream, swirled with sweetened carrots, whole roasted pistachios and a hint of saffron on the finish. —Varsha Seetharam

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Carrot Halwa
  • 3 cups Shredded Carrots
  • 2 cups Whole Milk
  • 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter or Ghee (clarified butter)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cardamom
  • one pinch Saffron (generous pinch)
  • 0.25 cups Condensed Milk
  • 0.5 pounds Raw Pistachios
  • 1/4 cup Sugar (white)
  • For the ice cream
  • 2 cups Whole Milk
  • 1.25 tablespoons Cornstarch
  • 1.5 ounces Cream Cheese
  • 1/8 teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 1.25 cups heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons Light Corn Syrup
  • 1/2 cup Sugar (white)
  • 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cardamom
Directions
  1. Carrot Halwa
  2. Dry roast the shelled pistachios at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes (or used roasted, unsalted pistachios).
  3. Heat 2 tbsp unsalted butter or ghee and add shredded carrots. Cook 5-7 minutes, till carrots are softer and tender.
  4. Add milk, sugar, condensed milk, cardamom and saffron and reduce to medium heat, stirring frequently so milk does not burn. Cook till most of the moisture has evaporated and consistency of a thick pudding, stirring frequently, ~20 minutes. Allow to cool while preparing ice cream base.
  1. For the ice cream
  2. Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.
  3. Whisk the cream cheese, cardamom and salt in a medium bowl until smooth and set aside.
  4. Fill a large bowl with ice and water and set aside.
  5. Combine remaining milk, the cream, sugar and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
  6. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture until smooth. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon zipper freezer bag, seal and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until mixture is cold, about 30 minutes.
  7. Combine the ice cream mixture with carrot mixture and add to ice cream maker. Process according to manufacturer’s instructions, adding in the roasted pistachios during the last 5 minutes of churning.
  8. Freeze at least four hours. Ice cream based on Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream.
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5 Reviews

Roger C. May 7, 2017
I just reread the recipe and I see that Jenis is specifically mentioned. I am very sorry for the negative comment.
 
Roger C. May 7, 2017
I had the basic dessert in India and loved it; glad to see an ice cream variation of it. BUT I cannot endorse the recipe. You have copied, word for word, the basic ice cream recipe from Jeni's Ice Cream Cookbook. In the U.S this is called plagiarism or a violation of copyright. Not good.
 
Varsha S. May 7, 2017
I actually submitted this recipe for a Jeni's challenge where the winner would get their ice cream made by Jeni's in limited batches. The intent was to use their ice cream base. I have also credited Jeni's in the recipe itself. Think that precludes it from any plagiarism or copyright violations....
 
Roger C. May 7, 2017
I am very happy to read this. And I apologize for the negative inference. I have been scouring the web for different recipes to make my own version. Do you make ice cream often? If so I encourage you to look up icecreamscience.com. His recipe is the first one that is better than Jenis. Cheers!
 
Varsha S. May 7, 2017
No worries, wanted to make sure you didn't think I plagiarized her recipe! If you click on the contest I submitted the recipe for-- "your best ice cream"--you'll see many other great recipes, including the ones that won (I didn't unfortunately.). They all use Jeni's base, but are really great and creative. I will have to check out icecreamscience.com next! Thanks for the tip :)