Ginger ice cream made from fresh ginger makes such a refreshing dessert. Serve it after a heavy meal for an instant palate cleanser that will leave your taste buds dancing.
This ginger ice cream is crazy good–but unusual.
Just like a loud and proud lemon and cream pairing, fresh ginger infused syrup marries extremely well with dairy. We are talking simple, delightful zips of fill-your-whole-mouth ginger flavor.
Why You Need An Ice Cream Machine In Your Life
An $80 ice cream machine is a small investment to make when you consider how easy (and affordable) it is to stretch a few ingredients into multiple batches (and customizable flavors) of ice cream. Think roughly $3/gallon for homemade ice cream. I’m not even sure you could buy ginger ice cream at the store if you wanted to.
In this 7-ingredient recipe, you have egg yolks for a golden color and rich flavor and no carrageenan. Since ginger cannot be added directly to the ice cream due to its fibrous texture, you will learn how to diy your very own ginger syrup, so nothing artificial!
Since I have a few gluten sensitive eaters in my family, it was worth it to me to make homemade gluten free cones to pair with this naturally gluten-free ice cream. Gluten or no gluten, what matters here is homemade. Nothing beats a freshly waffled cone in terms of quality. Definitely recommend.
Serving Ideas for Ginger Ice Cream
You can serve this ginger ice cream with or without crystallized ginger, in a cup or in a homemade gluten-free cone; you can even serve it sandwiched between these molasses ginger cookies.
Ice Cream and Ginger Ale Float
On a hot summer day, you might want to try adding a scoop of ginger ice cream to some carbonated water. That’s right, you can make your very own ginger ale float! Creamy, thirst-quenching, and 100% natural ginger flavor.
Back to the ice cream recipe…Let’s go over all the ingredients you need for the ice creams (and pictured here are the cone ingredients, too).
Fresh Ginger Ice Cream Ingredients:
- sugar: evaporated cane sugar works well for making the syrup
- ginger peeled and grated: peel the ginger root and use a microplane to get a really fine pulp
- whole milk: be sure to use whole milk (reduced fat milk will not work)
- egg yolks: you will temper the egg yolks that give this custard a luxuriously rich flavor
- heavy cream: it’s important to use heavy, full fat cream to get a thick, creamy, and rich ice cream texture
- fresh lemon juice: compliments the flavor of the ginger
- candied ginger (optional): chewy, sweet, and spicy; used as a garnish
Ginger Ice Cream Recipe Step-by-Step
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. You can match these steps with the recipe card (below).
Step 1: Make simple syrup and infuse with fresh ginger.
An infusion is where you extract the ginger flavor into a heated syrup. You’ll strain the pulp at the end and you’ll be left with a golden, ginger syrup.
Step 2: Warm milk and steep with ginger.
Step 3: Beat egg yolks.
Step 4: Temper eggs to form the custard.
Step 5: Cool Quickly.
Ice Bath Method: You can quickly cool your dairy mixture by setting the bowl inside of a larger bowl with ice. Stir to cool. You don’t want to pour a really hot mixture into an ice cream machine because then it might not get cold enough to freeze and thicken properly.
Step 6: Churn Ice Cream
Ingredient Tip: Add chopped crystallized ginger when churning the ice cream, if you like. It will add little chewy bites.
Step 7: Freeze
If you’re wondering what I mean when I say “soft serve consistency,” look at the above picture. Your ice cream machine will produce something very soft. If you want to be able to scoop it, you have to freeze it longer (see below).
To get a nice scoop, you should spread the ice cream in a baking pan lined with parchment paper (also cover the top with parchment paper or plastic wrap to avoid freezer burn). Once the ice cream is hard, you will be able to scoop it. This can take anywhere from 4 to 8 hours of freeze time.
Ice Cream Storage Tips:
Ice cream is prone to forming ice crystals so it’s important to cover the surface of it with plastic wrap; just set the plastic right on top of the surface of the ice cream so there’s no air getting to it. You can also reduce the risk of ice crystals forming by adding 2 teaspoons of alcohol to the ice cream base. For example, you could add vodka, vanilla extract, or bourbon.
Stored correctly, this ice cream will keep for months in the freezer.
FAQ Ice Cream Notes:
Alcohol vs. no-Alcohol:
You can add up to 1 tablespoon of alcohol to the ice cream base if you’d like to ensure an extra luxurious, creamy and ice crystal free texture. I almost always include alcohol in my homemade ice cream and encourage you to try it for yourself.
What if my cream develops a skin when heating?
Simply lift and remove the skin from the warmed cream mixture. No biggie. You want to avoid over-heating the milk because really scorched dairy doesn’t taste good.
Can I reduce the sugar? It seems sweet.
Nope. You should never reduce the sugar in an ice cream recipe because it will impact the consistency. An ice cream base should taste overly sweet. This is because the taste buds detect less sweetness once a food is frozen.
I left my ice cream in the freezer and it’s rock hard and full of ice crystals. Is it still good?
Ice cream, especially homemade, is prone to ice crystals which can take on the freezer flavor. If your ice cream looks freezer burned, you can leave it on the counter to defrost for 15 minutes then taste it. If it tastes ok, then it’s still edible and can be enjoyed. If it tastes off, it’s really up to you. I find that forgotten ice cream isn’t worth eating if it tastes like the freezer. Next time, you can cover the surface of your ice cream with plastic wrap and try to enjoy it within a 3 week timeframe.
My ice cream didn’t thicken. What do I do?
Your ice cream quart base must be frozen solid for 24-hours according to your ice cream manufacturer’s instructions. If your ice cream base did not thicken, this is the culprit. You will need to store your ice cream base refrigerated and re-freeze your base for a minimum of 24 hours. Proceed with the churning process and it will thicken.
The Frayed Apron is committed to developing high quality, tested recipes that work for you at home. From the test kitchen:
“I am in love with this ice cream. The flavour was incredible, the ice cream was so smooth and creamy. We ate the entire batch in 1 day. The gluten free cone actually worked pretty well, it wasn’t crunchy right away but improved as it sat. Held it’s shape well, peeled off the iron easily, didn’t tear, I made a double batch and there were zero failures they all worked. I did keep a little extra liquid on hand to loosen up the batter for the final few. As the batter sat it started to form up a bit but was easily fixed by remixing with some liquid.”
Adam Rahman, food photographer and recipe tester
Fresh Ginger Ice Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar of choice preferably evaporated cane sugar
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 ounce ginger peeled and grated
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons candied ginger optional
Instructions
- Make simple syrup and infuse with fresh ginger. Combine ¼ cup of the sugar with the water in a small saucepan and bring to a rapid boil. Add the grated ginger and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, remove from the heat, and strain the syrup into a small bowl. Reserve the cooked ginger (still in the strainer) in a separate bowl.
- Warm milk and steep with ginger. Over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan, combine the milk with 2 tablespoons sugar and reserved cooked ginger. When the milk comes to a boil, remove from the heat, and pour in the ginger syrup. Set aside and allow the milk to steep for 30 minutes.
- Beat egg yolks. Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining ¼ cup of sugar until the yolks turn pale yellow.
- Temper eggs to form the custard. Heat the ginger-infused milk once again, on low heat until hot. Pour the hot milk in a steady stream into the beaten egg yolks, whisking the whole time to avoid any lumps or scrambling of the eggs. Pour the custard mix back into the saucepan and cook on low heat, stirring continuously for about 6 to 8 minutes, until the custard thickens to coat a spoon.
- Cool quickly. Put a handful of ice cubes and a cup or two of water in a large bowl. Place a medium bowl in this ice bath. Remove the custard from the heat and strain it into the medium bowl. This cools the custard quickly. With a wooden spoon, press down on the ginger in the strainer to get any juices into the custard.
- Churn ice cream. When the custard has cooled through, stir in the heavy cream and the lemon juice. Pour into an ice-cream maker and add the candied ginger. Freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Freeze. Most budget ice cream machines will produce a soft serve consistency. If you would like to be able to scoop your ice cream, I recommend pouring into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Top with parchment paper and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze for 4 hours. At this point, the ice cream will harden and you can scoop.
Video
Nutrition
Photography by Adam Rahman
