delvious

I was very skeptical the first time I encountered black sesame in an Asian dessert.  Sesame seeds belong on my bagels and possibly sprinkled on some orange chicken.  But black sesame filled glutinous rice balls floating in a warm, almond-scented soup?  For dessert?


My oh my, YES, for dessert.  After tasting the toasty semi-sweet flavor oozing out of those rice balls, I was hooked on this truly delvious substance that is somewhat reminiscent of peanut butter.  A few months later I went to get a crepe in San Francisco’s Japantown, only to learn that black sesame also comes in ice cream form.  Replicating the glutinous rice balls myself seemed too daunting, but I felt like the ice cream could be attempted at home.

Recipe

The Internet provided me with only a handful of black sesame ice cream recipes to choose from.  Some called for canned black sesame paste, others required toasting and grinding the seeds.  Unable to find the pre-made paste, I conceded that freshly toasted seeds would taste better anyway.  I decided to add extra seeds to my adaptation since I love the concentrated, intense flavor in the centers of those little rice balls.





Making ice cream at home will test your patience but is highly rewarding.  Here are some tips:

• Temper the eggs carefully with the warmed cream before very slowly adding the tempered eggs into the saucepan.  If you’re too hasty, you’ll get little bits of cooked egg.
• Strain the ice cream base no matter how careful you were. No one’s perfect, so chances are that some scrambled egg will show up regardless.
• Plan ahead so you can refrigerate the ice cream base overnight. The flavor will develop and a well-chilled base will result in more even freezing.  Don’t forget to cover the liquid’s surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from developing and tampering with your otherwise perfectly textured ice cream.
• Toast the seeds to bring out their depth of flavor.

Black Sesame Ice Cream

Adapted from Tiny Urban Kitchen

Estimated time: 35 minutes, overnight prep required

Makes about 1.5 quarts

Printable recipe

Ingredients

1 pint (2 cups) heavy whipping cream

1 pint (2 cups) half & half

3/4 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp black sesame seeds

Directions

1.  Combine cream, half & half  and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium low heat.  Stir often to prevent any scalding until mixture is warm, about 5 minutes.

2.  Whisk egg yolks in a small bowl.  Slowly add a ladle of the warm cream mixture to the egg to temper them.  Repeat with one or two more ladles of cream.

3.  Stirring continuously, slowly pour the tempered eggs into the saucepan with the rest of the cream.  Increase the heat to medium.  Continue stirring the mixture frequently until it has thickened and coats the back of the spoon (10-12 minutes).

4.  Pour the ice cream base into airtight containers and cover the surface of the cream with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate overnight.

5.  The next day, pour the ice cream base into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer instructions.  As the ice cream is churning, toast the black sesame seeds in a medium skillet over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until very fragrant, stirring often to prevent  burning.

6.  Reserve two tablespoons of the toasted seeds (to add texture), and process the rest in a food processor or spice grinder until it forms a paste.

7.  Once the ice cream is nearly frozen, add the sesame paste and whole seeds.  Continue churning until evenly incorporated.

8.  The ice cream will be soft, so transfer into airtight containers and freeze until desired texture is reached.

A cooking mistake may not be the end of the world

I have a confession to make: I didn’t read the recipe very carefully and added 4 WHOLE eggs as opposed to 4 egg YOLKS.  Oops.  However, I did not realize this until I was typing up the recipe – I would have told you the ice cream came out perfectly.  There are some cases where a mistake may be not be salvageable, but keep in mind that being flexible when you’re cooking might actually lead to something that is even more delicious than the original recipe.  I will have to re-make this recipe with just yolks to see how it affects the texture and flavor.


Whether you use whole eggs or yolks, you MUST make this. With just five ingredients, it’s quite simple and deceivingly flavorful.

In: Dessert, Ice cream | tags: Asian dessert, black sesame, sesame seed. | #