Are you a fan of rich, creamy desserts but want to stay on the healthier side? Do you love the nutty flavour of peanut butter but want to switch things up? Well, get ready to be transported to Japan with this easy recipe. The flavour is irresistible!
75g (3oz/ ½ cup)Japanese black sesame paste (or whole black sesame seeds)available from Japanese speciality stores
500ml (18 fl oz/ 2¼ cups)whole milkfull-fat
5egg yolksorganic
110g (4oz/ ½ cup)sugar
100ml (3.5 fl oz/ ½ cup)whipping/heavy cream(30% fat)
pinchsalt Fleur de sel, Celtic sea salt
Instructions
Open Sesame (sorry, couldn't resist).
If using whole seeds, dry roast black sesame seeds in a non-stick frying pan for 4-5 minutes then grind in a coffee grinder (optional step but recommend doing this to bring out extra flavour). Otherwise use pre-packaged black sesame paste found in Japanese speciality stores.
Gently heat the milk in a heavy-based saucepan (do not boil). Meanwhile, in a large bowl with a lid, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until creamy. Add the black sesame powder and salt, whisking until smooth.
Pour about half of the hot milk on to the black sesame mixture, whisking until combined then transfer back to the saucepan. Whisk constantly to keep the mixture smooth and heat over a medium heat just until thickened then remove from the heat to avoid curdling the eggs. At this point, the mixture should smoothly coat a spoon to show that it's ready.
Add the cold cream, set aside to cool, then cover and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.
Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions, then freeze for at least an hour before serving.
Video
Notes
Black sesame: I recommend using pre-prepared Japanese black sesame paste, as it's already roasted. However, if you can't find it from speciality Japanese stores, it's also great using whole seeds: toast in a pan then blitz in a grinder.At my local Japanese store in Paris, I learned that black tahini paste is much lighter than the Japanese black sesame paste and just as good.Serving Ideas: this ice cream is good on its own but goes well with strawberries, raspberries or redcurrants or with crispy sesame tuiles (French tuiles are ideal as they use up the leftover egg whites).
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