Carrot Cake Ice Cream

 

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What could be better than combining the forces of a good cake and its  slutty partner in crime ice cream? This recipe is adapted from the Babel Restaurant in South Africa, Babylonstoren, whose ‘cookbook-come-brochure’, is to die for. As a spicy ice cream, they suggest serving it with chilli grilled pineapple slices, but hey, whats wrong with serving it with a slice of carrot cake….?

  • 500ml double cream
  • 180ml milk
  • 180ml caster sugar
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 125g carrot, boiled and grated
  • 5ml ground cinnamon
  • 2ml ground nutmeg and ginger
  • 125g walnuts/pecans toasted and roughly chopped
  1. Start with the custard base. Heat the milk in a saucepan with 90ml of the sugar and the seeds from the vanilla pod until just coming to the boil.
  2. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl (a wide shallow bowl helps) with the remaining 90ml of sugar until combined.
  3. When the cream is hot, tip a third of it in a slow stream into the egg yolks whisking continuously and vigorously to prevent it scrambling. Make sure it is all combined then add the rest and whisk together for a few minutes.
  4. Tip the mixture back into the saucepan and place over a low heat stirring with a wooden spoon continually until the mixture begins to thicken and it coats the back of the spoon and leaves a mark when you run your finger through it. keep the heat low and keep stirring to prevent getting scrambled eggs….
  5. Strain through a sieve into another wide shallow bowl. Whisk in the ground spices.
  6. Peel about 2-3 carrots (depending on their size) and boil whole in water for about 5 minutes, until soft. Cool under cold water and then grate into the custard base and mix to distribute. Leave to cool and then place in the fridge.
  7. Meanwhile, toast the nut in a dry frying pan for a few minutes or in a hot oven for 5 minutes and leave to cool.
  8. When the custard is cool, churn in an ice cream maker for about 15-20 minutes until thick and beginning to freeze. Once it begins to thicken during churning, tip in the toasted nuts. Place in a container and freeze.