This is such a lovely ice cream recipe. I’ve tried a handful of them since picking up an ice cream maker recently and while I love knowing what is going into my ice cream (no stabilizers, etc) homemade ice cream can sometimes be a little…eggy. This recipe was the first I’ve tried that uses whole eggs instead of just yolks and it is so creamy, not too sweet and the jasmine flavor is fresh but not super overpowering. I definitely recommend picking up some high-quality tea for this, I used a silver needle and it was perfect. You could definitely substitute any other tea you like.
This recipe was originally published in 1878 in a New York Times column called “The Household, Receipts for the Table” and was slightly altered by Amanda Hesser before publishing it in the New York Times cookbook. I made one change, I cooked the mixture after adding the eggs for just a couple of minutes.
I topped it with cacao nibs and raspberry sauce, but this would also be delicious with lemon curd or candied lemon peel and pistachios. I used this in a dark chocolate ice cream cake but it was so good I thought it was worth giving it its very own post.
- ¼ c high-quality tea leaves
- 4 c heavy cream
- 4 large eggs
- 1 c sugar
- pinch of salt
- ½ c cacao nibs, if desired
- Combine tea and 2 c heavy cream in a double boiler and scald the cream (heat it until steam rises and small bubbles form around edges). Remove from heat and allow to steep for 10 minutes.
- Strain the cream and gently press tea leaves to remove excess liquid. Discard tea leaves.
- Return to double boiler, add remaining 2 c cream and scald again. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale yellow and fluffy. Slowly whisk in the the hot cream, add a pinch of salt, and return mixture to double boiler. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture coats the back of a spoon.
- Strain again, allow to cool, then refrigerate until cold.
- Whisk the cream mixture and churn according to your manufacturer's instructions. If you are using cacao nibs, add 5 minutes before churning is complete.
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