Black Sesame & Orange Ice Cream

I recently unearthed a forgotten treasure in my mom's kitchen - an old, ancient looking Hamilton Beach 4-quart ice cream maker. It requires the use of ice and rock salt to freeze the cream and is the main reason why I've never really had the desire to make my own ice cream - it seems like such a waste. That is, until I made my first batch: Dulce de Leche. Here's where I swear that nothing beats a freshly churned batch of homemade ice cream, especially when you get the chance to play around with interesting flavors and textures that you don't normally encounter unless you're hitting up Fosselman's, Bi-Rite, Henry Slocombe, etc..

This recipe from Serious Eats is no exception - I never would have paired orange peel and black sesame together but the end result is pretty yummy. Ray disagrees about the orange but my family and I definitely enjoyed it at our Thanksgiving meal this year. I love the creaminess that condensed milk adds to the ice cream so I like to use it in place of the sugar. I also added whole black sesame seeds into the churning ice cream for extra texture and sesame flavor. I was a little skeptical of the salt and sesame oil at first since I've only used it in savory dishes but it was surprisingly delicious and imparts an added depth to the ice cream that you can't get with just sesame seeds alone.

Black Sesame & Orange Ice Cream
adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients
1/4 cup black sesame seeds
3 cups half-and-half (or 1 1/2 cups each cream and milk)
3/4 cup sugar or 3/4 can of condensed milk, to taste
6 egg yolks
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions
Toast sesame seeds in a small skillet, stirring frequently, until fragrant and nutty, then set aside to cool.

Transfer seeds to a blender and blend on high till seeds are crushed. Add two to three tablespoons half-and-half and blend till smooth. Add remaining half-and-half and blend on high till well combined, about two minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar or condensed milk and yolks until thickened and lighter in color. Combine yolk and dairy mixtures in a heavy-bottomed three quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly while custard thickens. Custard is done when it coats the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat and transfer to an air-tight container for overnight chill. Stir in sesame oil, orange zest, and salt until well combined. Chill completely in the refrigerator. Then churn according to manufacturer's instructions. Serve immediately for a whipped, soft-serve consistency, or return to container to set for two to three hours for firmer ice cream.



As a birthday present this year, I've been upgraded to a Cuisinart ice cream maker. The ice cream bowl is insulated with a layer of liquid and requires you to freeze the bowl for ~16 hours prior to making the ice cream. This eliminates the need for rock salt and ice. The downside is, you can't just make ice cream on demand. I've resorted to leaving the bowl in my freezer so I can make ice cream whenever I feel like it. Good thing we have extra room!