Cardamom ice-cream
https://fannyzanotti.com/cardamom-ice-cream/Spring is very much on the way in Northern Sweden. Today my raised beds made an appearance for the first time in months - just last week they were coevred in over half a meter snow. Of course, spring only means one thing: rhubarb - although I must admit it won't grow up here until well into the month of May. In Sweden, rhubarb is almost always paired with cardamom, a combination that is so beloved it's alsmot become a tradition. This cardamom ice-cream is the perfect à la mode accompaniment for your favourite rhubarb cake or crumble.
Makes 1.4 L ice-cream base
Ingredients
- 500 g whole milk
- 500 g whipping cream
- 2 tsp cardamom seeds finely ground
- 1 tsp green cardamom pods coarsely crushed
- 200 g egg yolks
- 200 g golden caster sugar
- a pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Bring the milk, cream, and ground cardamom seeds and crushed pods to the boil. Cover and allow to infuse for one hour.
- Bring to the boil again.
- In the meantime, combine the egg yolks, sugar and salt in a bowl using a whisk. When the cream has boiled, pour it over the egg yolks, whisking as you do so; then return the egg yolk mixture back into the pan.
- Heat gently, mixing with a heatproof silicone spatula until the ice-cream base is 81°C - thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Pass through a coarse-sieve - you just want to remove the cardamom pods.
- Immediately transfer into a heat-proof container. Clingfilm to the touch and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
- Churn the ice-cream according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Notes
- I like to use both cardamom seeds and green cardamom pods when making cardamom ice-cream as I find it creates a more complex and layered flavour profile. By combining the two, a delicate balance between the warm pungency of the seeds and the sweet floral tones of the pods is achieved.
- I will always freshly grind the cardamom seeds - there is no comaprison between freshly ground and shop-bought-ground. You can easily do this using a mortar. I like to pass my ice-cream base through a sieve coarse enough to let the small ground seeds through but catch the cardamom pods.
- In case you couldn't get your hands on cardamom seeds, simply use a total of 1-2 tablespoons of cardamom pods, depending on how strong you want your ice-cream to be.