Recipe Lemon and Basil Ice-Cream

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I've taken the recipes of a several different sites and modified them to the taste of this household and then made it dairy free. I haven't got all of the ingredients or the time to make it and taste test it (so the soya milk was a straight substitution for full cream milk and the coconut cream for double cream, but I reckon it should be OK. I do know that almond milk probably won't work for it because it will separate). I am able to purchase coconut milk, not tinned stuff but actually a milk replacement in a tetrapak, and so I would use that or the homemade coconut milk I have in the freezer.

Now depending on if you want green ice-cream or yellow ice-cream, you will either need to strain the milk infusion or liquidise it until smooth (also put through a sieve unless you are happy with small pieces of rind.)

Ingredients

• 500ml coconut milk - not the tinned stuff but the stuff out of a tetra pack or homemade, (or full fat cow's milk)
• 250ml coconut cream (or double cream)
• 1 1/2 cup packed basil leaves, shredded
• rind of 2 lemons
• Juice of 2-3 lemons
• 6 egg yolks
• 150g (golden or raw) caster sugar
• pinch of salt

Method

1. Bring the coconut milk (and cream if using cow's milk cream) to the boil and simmer (without scorching) for 5-6 minutes before adding the rind, salt and shredded/torn basil leaves to the milk. Stir and cover to infuse for a minimum of an hour, ideally longer. Don't add the lemon juice yet.
2. Now either add the coconut cream and liquidise the whole lot until green and smooth, or put the contents through a sieve (before adding the coconut cream) and use the back of a spoon pressing down on the leaves against the sieve to extract as much flavour from the basil as possible. (If you find it easier, you can use your washed hands to squeeze the basil leaves dry.)
   Personally I would settle for green ice-cream which I think looks cool! If you have opted for the latter sieve option, add the coconut milk now and mix well.
3. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until they are very light in colour and fluffy. Now slowly add the basil milk cream mixture. If the mixture is still warm, add them very slowly so as not to cook the egg yolks. You don't want lemon and basil scrambled eggs!
4. Return the custard mixture to the saucepan over a low heat and stir it constantly until it thickens to a custard, now simmer for roughly 5-6 minutes until it stops thickening.
5. Remove it from the heat and allow to cool before adding the lemon juice a little at a time. Stir well each time, and taste test.
6. Now, if you have an ice-cream maker, follow it's instructions, otherwise, pour it into a suitable container for the freezer and give it a good stir every half hour minimum until well frozen.

Now I have quite successfully made custard from whole eggs rather than just egg yolks, so it may be possible to do the same here. After all, it is essentially just a frozen custard and I can't see why it wouldn't work. That said I make homemade custard with almond milk but I am careful to purchase a variety that does not separate on heating, so it could also be possible to make this with almond milk as well...

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Basil and lemon in an ice cream. Wow! I've heard of using basil in an ice cream, and I'm trying to imagine how that would be a good thing. Basil is sometimes called sweet basil to distinguish it from other related plants (cilantro and Thai basil, I imagine, wouldn't work as well in this form).

I'm also intrigued by your insistence to not use the canned coconut milk, I've gotten in the habit of picking up 3 cans at a time of light coconut milk, just in case I feel like making coconut soup. The cans keep for a long time, and I like the results. But, in those cases, I have massive blasts of acid (rice vinegar) and heat (peppers) to smooth over any potential tin flavors. I'm going to start looking in the organic section (instead of the International section) for the cartons of coconut milk (despite the added cost). Not sure if I'll make this recipe with coconut milk - I love the effect of half-and-half - but I will definitely make it.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

There are now 2 products called coconut milk. This is using actual coconut milk that here is kept in the alternative milk section. It is drinkable. It's not that canned stuff we get that is a lighter version of coconut cream.
This stuff...

http://www.soy.com.au/product/coconut-milk-unsweetened/



It is not the same as the tinned stuff. Nothing like it. I could use this over my cereal in the morning.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

I made this last night, using half-and-half instead of coconut milk (I forgot to pick up some of the good stuff, so it was either that or canned coconut milk). I always use a sieve to strain out whatever debris remains after making the custard, and I'm glad I did this time, too: there was a lot of sludge that would have affected the texture of the final product.

Now, on to the final product. My first response is OH MY GOD, THERE'S A LOT OF BASIL IN THIS ICE CREAM!!

I mean, there's no getting around it. I made it with the juice and zest of 2 lemons, then decided to mix in the juice of a third lemon after it had mostly formed because I couldn't pick up much lemon flavor...note the meltyness in the picture. I still think there's either not enough lemon to give it a lemon flavor, or there's just SO MUCH BASIL!!

This isn't inherently a bad thing. I love basil in pasta sauces. Here, it's an acquired taste. I was planning to tell my family that this was a lemon-lime ice cream, and then reveal later what made it green after I established that they loved it. Now, it's clear that I have to be honest with them. I'm not saying I hate it...just that the ice cream and I need some time to become acquainted so I can understand it better.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

In fairness, other basil ice cream recipes use a similar proportion. I believe the idea is that you can really taste the basil. That's certainly the case.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I made this last night, using half-and-half instead of coconut milk (I forgot to pick up some of the good stuff, so it was either that or canned coconut milk). I always use a sieve to strain out whatever debris remains after making the custard, and I'm glad I did this time, too: there was a lot of sludge that would have affected the texture of the final product.

Now, on to the final product. My first response is OH MY GOD, THERE'S A LOT OF BASIL IN THIS ICE CREAM!!

I mean, there's no getting around it. I made it with the juice and zest of 2 lemons, then decided to mix in the juice of a third lemon after it had mostly formed because I couldn't pick up much lemon flavor...note the meltyness in the picture. I still think there's either not enough lemon to give it a lemon flavor, or there's just SO MUCH BASIL!!

This isn't inherently a bad thing. I love basil in pasta sauces. Here, it's an acquired taste. I was planning to tell my family that this was a lemon-lime ice cream, and then reveal later what made it green after I established that they loved it. Now, it's clear that I have to be honest with them. I'm not saying I hate it...just that the ice cream and I need some time to become acquainted so I can understand it better.

View attachment 7764

I forgot to get my husband to pick any basil up at the supermarket, so I will have to wait until later in the week for me to make it (by hand, we don't have an ice-cream maker, but at the moment the fridge is warm than outside, so perhaps I don't need one?)... anyhow, going by your review, I think I may half the basil - it is quite expensive here and I may have to wait a few days for my girls to lay a few more eggs. We are down to less than 2 dozen and have plans for most of these (1 dozen are bantam eggs which are about 1/2 the size of hens eggs weighing in with a shell at 30g max).
thank you. I'll also add extra lemon and zest to the recipe. I have plans to try the modified recipe for the creamy vegan lemon bars as well.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Update: this ice cream and I are now friends. But, I decided to add three additional lemons – including the zest - to the ice cream. I can still taste the basil, which isn't a bad thing. I just found with this month's recipe challenge how much I love lemons. Thank you for sharing this recipe. But, yeah, scale back the basil, and up the lemon.