Fresh Mint Ice Cream Recipes

FRESH MINT & CHOC CHIP ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Put the chocolate in a plastic bag, seal and freeze for at least 30 mins. Bash the frozen chocolate with a rolling pin until it shatters into small chunks inside the bag.
• Pour the milk and cream into a medium heavy-based pan, then add the vanilla pod, scraping the seeds into the mixture. Heat the creamy milk, stirring occasionally, until almost boiling. Add the mint leaves and stalks, cover with a lid, and leave for 15 mins.
• Strain the liquid, pressing the mint with a spatula to extract maximum flavour. Discard the leaves and stalks, and scoop out the vanilla pod.
• Whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar until thick and pale - about 5 mins if you are using an electric whisk. Return the minty cream to a clean pan and bring back to almost boiling.
• Pour half the hot liquid onto the egg and sugar mixture, whisking to combine everything before adding the remaining liquid. Return the custard to the rinsed-out pan and cook over a low heat, stirring all the time, until lightly thickened - about 3-4 mins. Take care it doesn't get too hot or it may curdle. Strain the custard into a bowl and leave to cool, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin forming. Chill the custard until really cold - it's a good idea to leave it overnight.
• Churn the custard in an ice-cream machine until frozen. Add the chocolate pieces just before it sets. If you don't have a machine, pour the custard into a chilled container and freeze for 2-3 hrs until the sides become icy. Whisk thoroughly to break up any crystals, then add the chocolate and freeze until solid. Leave to soften in the fridge for 20-30 mins, then serve in bowls or cones.

FRESH MINT ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Put the milk, salt, sugar and 1 cup of the heavy cream in a pot and heat over medium-low heat, stirring often, until everything combines. Add the mint leaves and stir to get them all wilted in the hot milk. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and let the milk return to room temperature. When it hits room temperature, chill overnight in the fridge.
• The next day, strain the mixture through a fine-meshed sieve. It's OK if a few tiny mint leaf specks get in there. Reheat the mixture over medium-low heat. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl. In another bowl, pour in the other cup of heavy cream and set the fine-meshed strainer over it.
• When the mint-cream mixture is hot, about 150°F, you are ready to temper your eggs. With one hand whisking the eggs, slowly pour in a ladle of the hot cream. Do this three times total, whisking and pouring the whole way. Then pour the egg-cream mixture into the pot and stir to combine.
• Cook the mixture slowly, stirring often, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 160°F. Pour it through the strainer into the bowl with the other cup of heavy cream; doing it this way cools the mixture quickly. Chill everything down and churn according to your ice cream maker's directions.

FRESH MINT ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Finely chop mint leaves; an easy way to do this is to add the milk and mint leaves together in a blender and allow the blender to do the work for you.
• Place milk and mint in a medium saucepan, bring to a simmer, then remove from heat and cover for 30 minutes.
• Mix the cream into the milk and mint mixture and set aside.
• Place egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl and whisk for 3 minutes.
• Gradually beat the milk mixture in with the eggs, and then transfer back into the saucepan.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens. Do not boil.
• Strain the custard into a clean bowl. Cover with saran wrap and place in refrigerator until cool.
• Once cold, transfer to an ice cream maker and follow your manufacturer's instructions. If you do not have an ice cream maker, you can place mixture in freezer. Then you must remove the mixture every 20 mins and beat well with a wooden spoon to break up any ice particles.
• Enjoy!

MINT ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Blend mint, milk, sugar, vanilla, and salt together on high speed until the mint leaf bits are tiny, about 1 minute. Add heavy cream and blend until uniform, about 15 seconds.
• Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions, about 20 minutes, adding chocolate chips during the last 5 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm, about 4 hours.

FRESH MINT ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine cream and milk. Add chopped mint leaves. Heat to a boil. Remove from heat. Cover. Let stand for about 15 minutes.
• In a bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy. Strain the cream mixture and heat to a boil again. Pour cream mixture over egg-sugar mixture. Place bowl in a pan of hot water. Whisk until mixture is thick and creamy, about 10 minutes.
• Optional: Add food coloring.
• Remove bowl from hot water.
• Freeze ice cream in an ice cream maker for about 25 minutes or until thick.
• Transfer ice cream to another bowl and keep in the freezer until ready to serve. Scoop out ice cream into individual serving bowls. Garnish with whipped cream, grated chocolate, and fresh mint leaves.

FRESH MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a blender blend cream, milk, and mint until mint is finely chopped. In a saucepan bring cream mixture just to a boil and cool 15 minutes. Whisk in eggs and sugar and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and a thermometer registers 170°F. (Do not let custard boil or it will curdle.) Pour custard through a fine sieve into a bowl. Chill custard, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 3 hours, and up to 1 day. Chop chocolate. Freeze custard in an ice-cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and stir in chocolate. Put ice cream in freezer to harden.

MINT ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In saucepan, simmer sugar with milks and mint on stove until sugar is melted and small bubbles appear. Mix yolks together (reserve whites for meringue!). Add ½ cup of hot milk to the yolk mix and mix quickly to avoid scrambling the eggs. Mix half of that mix in with the hot milk until incorporated, then mix in the rest. Refrigerate overnight. Strain out mint. Freeze in Cuisinart Ice Cream maker. Modified from the July 2011 Sunset magazine Mint Pot de Creme recipe.

FRESH MINT ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup (250 ml) of the cream, and salt in a small saucepan. Add the mint leaves and stir until they're immersed in the liquid. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Strain the mint-infused mixture through a mesh strainer into a medium saucepan. Press on the mint leaves to extract as much of the flavor as possible, then discard the mint leaves. Pour the remaining 1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream into a large bowl and set the strainer on top.
• Rewarm the mint-infused mixture. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mint liquid into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
• Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.
• Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Perfect Pairings
• Make Good Scout Ice Cream Sandwiches by using Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies (page 223) to surround scoops of Fresh Mint Ice Cream. You can also get that same chocolate-mint cookie effect by layering the just-churned ice cream with a swirl of Fudge Ripple (page 210), Stracciatella (page 210), or crumbled bits of Chewy-Dense Brownies (page 221).