Ginger

Ginger Ice Cream with Honey-Sesame Brittle

by:
August 27, 2012
4
1 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Makes 1 Quart
Author Notes

A bold, fresh ginger ice cream with crunchy bits of orange infused honey-sesame brittle. This recipe uses Jeni's ice cream base. I use tapioca starch in place of corn starch and golden syrup in place of corn syrup, but they are interchangeable. I use raw, unfiltered honey for the brittle and ice cream as I think it gives the best flavor.

The brittle recipe makes more than what is needed for the ice cream, just use your imagination for the unused portion. —Jef

Test Kitchen Notes

This is a delightful ice cream that packs a wollop of flavor. I let this ice cream chill for about 16 hours and I loved the nice, gingery punch. The toasty sesame brittle is excellent with the ice cream. Watch it closely when baking, as mine took less than 25 minutes. There's lots of brittle leftover, so I guess I'll have to make some more ice cream. —Stephanie Bourgeois

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Ginger Ice Cream
  • 3 1/2 ounces unpeeled ginger root
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon tapioca starch
  • 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 1/4 cups heavy cream (plus extra to mix with tapioca starch)
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons honey or golden syrup (I prefer honey)
  • Honey-Sesame Brittle
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1 1/2 cups sesame seeds
  • zest of one orange
Directions
  1. Cut ginger root into long strips and place in small saucepan. Add just enough water to cover the ginger and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Drain the water.
  2. Mix tapioca starch with just enough heavy cream to make a smooth slurry. Add the salt and mix. Set aside.
  3. Combine ginger, milk, cream, sugar, and honey (or golden syrup) in 4 qt saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil at medium high heat and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in tapioca starch slurry.
  4. Return mixture to a boil and cook, stirring until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
  5. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc bag or 1-quart container and store in fridge for a minimum of 12 hours, or overnight. If you like a stronger ginger flavor, let it sit longer.
  6. About an hour before churning your ice cream, make the brittle. Preheat oven to 350. LIne a baking sheet with silicone mat or parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray. Pour honey into a small saucepan and warm, just until liquid. Remove from heat. Add orange zest and stir. Add sesame seeds and mix together until seeds are well coated. Pour mixture into pan and spread to about 1/4 inch thick. Bake for about 20 minutes, checking after 15 minutes; you want the seeds to turn golden brown. Take care to not over cook or the bottom will be dark (and not taste as good). Let brittle cool. Break into small, pea-sized pieces while ice cream is churning, ready to add to ice cream. (I use about 3/4 cup for the ice cream, but use more or less depending on your preference.)
  7. When ready to churn ice cream, pull out the ice cream base and pour through a fine sieve to strain out any small flecks of ginger peel. Churn ice cream until thick and creamy. Add in small pieces of the brittle while putting finished ice cream into storage container. Freeze ice cream in the coldest part of your freezer for at least 4 hours.
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17 Reviews

Shortrib February 15, 2021
Very tasty ice cream, very gingery, and we liked the texture added by the brittle. Brittle was fussy to spread flat on the sheet since it's a crumbly, sticky mixture. And took only 10 mins in the oven, so watch your timing! I found the zip lock bag a palaver to "pour" into a fine sieve, since my chilled mixture was pretty thick. Plus it was not going easily through the sieve, so I spooned it out into a collander to finish the job. (My ginger strips remained intact and we did not notice small bits in the finished product.) I would go from a bowl to collander with a spatula next time and save on headache and clean up! But, yes, I'll make it again!
 
lgoldenhar August 19, 2018
I love the ginger ice cream. I probably could have done without the sesame brittle, but they do add a nice something extra.
 
Ann W. May 29, 2014
Question about the ginger. I cut the 'unpeeled' ginger into strips and boiled as directed, but I'm still confused about the ginger. The directions at the end say to 'strain' in order to remove and 'small flecks of ginger peel'. So do the ginger strips remain in the ice cream mixture or are they strained out?
I could see doing it either way, but if the slivered ginger is part of the ice cream, wouldn't it need to be peeled first? Sure would appreciate it is you or someone would set me straight on this. GRACIAS!
 
Jef May 29, 2014
Sorry for any confusion. After steeping you should remove the ginger from the base. If you want ginger in the ice cream, small chucks of candied ginger work great. Even without that you will have a nice ginger flavor though. Hope it works out well!
 
Steve K. September 22, 2013
Question on the Tapioca starch. I can't find any and the research I have done says starch and flour are the same. What I have found locally is Kraft Minute Tapioca. Guess I will try it to see how it works.
 
fearlessem September 22, 2013
I am pretty sure I made this using corn starch... I think two or three tablespoons...
 
Jef September 23, 2013
Corn starch can be used in it's place. Not sure right off-hand about the Minute Tapioca... I would be go for the corn starch option. Let me know how it works if you use the Minute Tapioca.
 
Steve K. October 6, 2013
Don't use the minute Tapioca. It definitely isn't the right stuff. Made a huge lump in my base. I am going to follow through with it and strain it thoroughly. Let you know the final results. Luckily, I still have enough Ginger and other stuff to do it again using corn starch.
 
LeBec F. August 23, 2013
this is a brilliant combination. You have me wondering about making a ginger ice cream with added toasted sesame oil.what do you think?
 
Jef August 26, 2013
Sounds great! Candied lemon or orange peel are also awesome with it.
 
witloof August 22, 2013
I am wondering about the absolutely stunning bowl and saucer.
 
Jef August 26, 2013
The photo with the saucer and bowl was taken by the Food52 people...
 
Nikki S. September 14, 2012
Oooh! This sounds so delicious!
 
Jef September 13, 2012
Thanks! It's nice to get good feedback from everyone.
 
AntoniaJames September 13, 2012
You had me at "ginger ice cream" but that orange honey sesame brittle totally seals the deal. Congrats on your CP, Jef!
 
fearlessem September 8, 2012
This was super super delicious! Not for the faint of heart though -- powerful ginger flavor. But it pairs so well with the sesame brittle, and the potency of it means that I don't need as much to be satisfied. My husband went nuts for it. One note is that I used cornstarch, and I'm pretty sure that 4 tsp is not enough -- it barely thickened with that amount. A David Lebovitz recipe that is cornstarch based used 3 Tbs...
 
Jef September 2, 2012
I realized I left something out in step 6 that makes things a little easier: line your pain with parchment and spray with cooking spray. THEN pour out the honey-sesame mixture into the pan and bake.