Thursday, April 24, 2008

Green Tea Ice Cream




Since I'm a huge fan of desserts, it is not surprising when I tell you how much I adore ice cream. Very much a comfort food, ice cream calms the mind and soothes the tastebuds - at least to me it does. What better way to wind down after a long busy day than with a perfect scoop of cold and creamy ice cream.

Sounds like pure indulgence eh? I'm sure it is, but the point is not how much calories you consume but how it makes everything seem better. You can never go wrong ending the night or a meal with a sweet note.

Okay, okay I know I sound like I'm justifying my love for this creamy dessert that most remember better for its sinful fat content than its tempting sweetness. I can't help it! I'm pro-ice cream and I just want to make you realise (if you haven't already) how gorgeous ice cream can be. Especially home-made ones.

Sad to say I have yet to own one of those ice cream machines with a self-freezing unit. I can only dream. For now. Items like these remain a luxury especially since I have to watch my spending and pay off my university loan! So imagine my excitement when my fifth aunt passed me a uber retro-looking ice-cream churner. She found it at Cash Converters and paid only $8 for it. This machine looks more like a toy to me. I have to fill it up with my own ice and add salt to make sure the temperature dips low enough to chill the ice cream mixture as the motor churns the ice cream.

I've been using the machine a couple of times and with each try I got more confident and finally I decided it was time to try making an ice cream that I really love and have been craving for - Green Tea Ice Cream or should I say, Matcha Ice Cream:



One thing I've learnt through making my own ice cream is how simple it really is. The best thing is of course the ability to add more of the things I want! And of course to cut down on the sugar. It might seem contradictory but I don't really like my desserts to be too sweet. I'm not saying it should be bland. All I want is for the said dessert to be sweetened with just the right amount of sugar so that the intended flavour still comes through. Too much sugar just kills it.

For this ice cream, I used David Lebovitz's recipe from Perfect Scoops. I am a fan of his and I thought that if I wanted to make a good ice cream I should of course consult his recipes first, especially since they're known to produce the best results. This recipe uses a custard base and instead of the 3/4 cup sugar it called for, I added only 1/4 cup.

The result was good. I added more matcha (green tea powder) of course. I really love the green hue. The recipe makes for a rather creamy version of green tea ice cream. Next time I make it I'll probably add less cream. I realised that in order for the green tea flavour to come through, it shouldn't be overtly creamy. Hmmm I'm not sure if I make such sense! I guess it's mostly because green tea is afterall a delicate flavour and putting too much cream would only mask the tea. Okay my analysis ends here. I'll leave it up to you to decide when you do try the recipe which you can find HERE.

Oh and before I forget, here's how the retro ice cream machine looks like:



Okay, it's more a toy than a machine I think! The dark yellow motor sits on top of the bucket and swivels the metal container (there's a paddle inside too) so the mixture gets chilled as it's churned. I think it's way cool. Haha I feel like I really did make the ice cream - all my blood and sweat! More satisfying I guess, than dumping the ingredients in a huge self-freezing power machine. Ah well this will do for now, until I save up enough to get a real solid one!

Next up, salted caramel ice cream! I hope. IF I have the guts to try. It just sounds so tricky! Well if you have any good ice cream recipe for it or any other flavour at all, you're welcomed to email it to me!

11 comments:

Sihan said...

hey there! i am going to get started on my mangue sorbet from david's book as well.. planning to sandwich it between lovely gingersnap cookies. think tt wld be the bomb!

lauriel said...

hello! I found your blog while surfing around... I used to food blog, but haven't had time to recently, so I just cook. But I wanted to comment because you're cooking the same exact things that I am! I LOVE green tea ice cream as well, and am enjoying using Harumi Kurihara's recipe (I can't remember which book it's in, offhand) for it. Very simple, very strong green tea without too much creaminess (less than Lebovitz's recipe, I believe). The one thing surprising about her recipe is that she doesn't "cook" the egg-cream mixture before cooling and churning. When I made it, I adapted it and cooked the mixture, and it turned out beautifully.

Also, I've tried the salted caramel ice cream, and while it's good (and SOOOOOO rich, almost too much so), make sure to churn the caramel ice cream longer than usual! I'm not sure why it needed it (the amount of cream? the salt?), but I churned mine for the usual 40 min. and it remained soft-servish, no matter how much I froze it. :( So, when making it, er on the side of over-churning. :) And then drop in the sugar shards only right at the very end. You barely want them to be mixed in and then that'll be enough. If you let it mix a few times, they break down and disappear. Good luck making it! :)

rokh said...

mmm... time to take out my ice cream maker again :D~

Anonymous said...

Hello there! I love your blog! and I love that it's so down-to earth and all about food which people love so much....especially green tea ice cream! really good stuff! the ice-cream maker is so cute. haha, wish I had one too!

Jill [KC girl-guides]

Anonymous said...

OMG! I have that exact ice cream maker at home too! We used to make milo ice cream! hehe

Anonymous said...

Argh, I need an ice cream maker! I love love love matcha ice cream, but have never had a good one since moving back to Australia! Yours looks beautifully creamy and green!

Anonymous said...

I Lurve Green Tea Ice Cream too!! Hey we could try this the next time we meet up ;p
& yes i totally dig your ice-cream maker - makes a great collector's item!

Anonymous said...

I have that retro ice cream maker in my storeroom!

Now I'm highly motivated to go dig it out and try the recipes you suggested. Thanks for the inspiration!

Dr.Gray said...

Thats a great color on the ice cream. I just love green tea ice cream. Do you think something like this would work weel for this recipe - green tea ice cream?

Anonymous said...

Good Job! :)

Sanjaya said...

Ehm , green unique ice cream which my family will love it,thanks for unique recipe

Pauls
Green Tea

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