Have you tried Japanese flavored ice cream such as Green Tea Ice Cream and Red Bean Ice Cream? I have another Japanese-flavored ice cream for you today, which is this mysterious Black Sesame Ice Cream.
I hope I was able to surprise some of you with this unusual ice cream flavor. For the Japanese and some Asians, black sesame flavor is commonly used in desserts. Popular desserts include black sesame macarons, purin (pudding), chiffon cake, mochi, bread, ice cream, and more. The Chinese has black sesame sweet soup and mochi dumpling with black sesame filling. Black sesame is unique in the way it changes the dynamic of a dessert completely. Ordinary looking dessert are transformed into a peculiar dark gray color, and it surprises you with unique nutty toasty flavor.
One of the key ingredients for this black sesame ice cream is the Asian black sesame paste, which is sold in jars at Japanese (or Chinese) grocery stores. The black sesame paste is different from black tahini because black sesame seeds are roasted before they are grounded.
Today I’m guest posting at Spicie Foodie. You might remember this blog when the blog owner Nancy interviewed me back in May. She’s celebrating her 3 year blog anniversary and she has kindly invited me to celebrate this big milestone with her. If you are new to food blogging and want great tips on food photography, make sure to check out her photography tutorial here. Please stop by Spicie Foodie to check out my guest post. Enjoy this black sesame dessert!
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- 2 Tbsp black sesame seeds (roasted/toasted)
- 400 ml whole milk (400 ml = roughly 1⅔ cup)
- 70 g sugar (70 g = 2.5 oz or roughly ⅓ cup)
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 3 Tbsp black sesame paste (See Notes for homemade recipe)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 200 ml heavy (whipping) cream (200 ml = Take away 2 Tbsp of 1 cup)
- Pinch salt (kosher or sea salt; use half if using table salt)
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Gather all the ingredients.
- If the black sesame seeds are not roasted yet, put the sesame in a (non-stick) fry pan over medium heat and stir until they start popping. They will start releasing a nutty aroma. Remove from the heat and cool.
- Grind black sesame seeds very finely.
- In a small pot, bring the milk to a simmer and remove from heat.
- Whisk sugar and egg yolk together until pale yellow.
- Add in honey, black sesame seeds, and black sesame paste and whisk until well combined.
- Add the milk into the sesame mixture in a slow stream.
- Pour the mixture into the small pot over medium-low heat. Stir until the custard thickens and reach around 80C (176F) degree. Don’t exceed 83C (181F) degree since egg yolk will get cooked.*
- Remove from heat and cool down the pot in a large bowl filled with iced water. Add vanilla.
- Clean the stand mixer bowl and now whisk together the heavy cream and a pinch of salt until peaks form.
- Add the whipped cream into the cooled sesame mixture.
- Fold in but do not over mix it. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for several hours (or overnight) until completely cold.
- Process the mixture in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions (usually about 25 minutes). Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze it for several hours before serving.
- If you are not going to use ice cream maker, then transfer the mixture to a container and put it in a freezer. Stir every few hours (3-4 times) to break up the ice crystals until it’s completely frozen.
Black sesame paste: Homemade recipe, click here.
Egg yolks: *To avoid salmonella, egg must be cooked for at least 1 minute over 75C (167F) degree.
Adapted from a Japanese blog bonappetit
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