Author Notes
When I started thinking about making a fruity ice cream with a touch of tartness to it, I immediately thought of a pomegranate molasses and date combination. While the pomegranate molasses can be a little too tart by itself, it pairs really well with the sweet dates.
If you don't have the molasses at hand, don't worry! You can always reduce pomegranate juice on the stove until it gets to a syrupy consistency and you'll have fabulous pomegranate molasses!
The ice cream base is Jeni's recipe and this has become my go to recipe for all ice creams I make at home! —Madhuja
Ingredients
- Ice cream base
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1 cup
whole milk
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2 teaspoons
corn starch
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3/4 ounce
cream cheese, at room temperature
-
1 pinch
fine sea salt
-
5/8 cup
heavy cream (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp)
-
1/3 cup
white sugar
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1 tablespoon
light corn syrup
- Pomegranate molasses date sauce
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20
large mejdool dates, pitted
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1 cup
hot water
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2 tablespoons
pomegranate molasses
-
1/4 cup
honey
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1 pinch
fine sea salt
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2 tablespoons
corn starch
-
2 tablespoons
water
Directions
- Ice cream base
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In a small bowl, mix the corn starch with 1 tbsp of whole milk. Set aside. In another medium sized glass bowl, whisk the salt and cream cheese together. Set aside. In a big bowl, make an ice bath with lots of ice. Set aside.
-
In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the rest of the milk, heavy cream, white sugar and light corn syrup. Bring to a boil and remember to stir constantly! Let it boil for 4 minutes and then switch off the heat and add the corn starch slurry, whisking constantly.
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Transfer the hot milk and cream mixture to the cream cheese mixture, adding a little at a time and whisking thoroughly to get rid of any lumps. Once the mixture is completely smooth, nestle the glass bowl in the ice-bath and let it get cold.
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Pour the cold mixture into the ice cream machine and let it run for 25 minutes.
- Pomegranate molasses date sauce
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Place the pitted dates and the hot water in a food processor and blend until very, very smooth. Pass the mixture through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth to get rid of as much of the grit as possible.
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On medium heat, in a heavy bottomed deep sauce pan, add the date mixture, pomegranate molasses, honey and salt. Stir the mixture continuously for a couple of minutes, as the minute you stop stirring it is going to hiss and splutter!
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Add the corn starch and 2 tbsp of water together to form a smooth slurry. Add the slurry to the date mixture and continue to keep stirring constantly for a couple more minutes.
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Once most of the moisture has evaporated and it has thickened nicely, take it off the heat and chill in the fridge until it has cooled completely.
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Once the ice cream base has churned for 25 minutes, add the 1 cup of the cooled date mixture and let it churn for another 5 minutes. Reserve the rest of the sauce for garnish. Make sure that the sauce gets evenly distributed throughout the ice cream. Store in an airtight container and cover the surface with cling wrap. Let the ice cream ripen in the freezer over night.
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To serve, let the ice cream sit on the counter for about 5 minutes before doling it out in big scoops. Enjoy!
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