I had a bit of a personal revelation on the day I made ice cream, earlier this week. It wasn’t exactly an a-ha moment, but a one of pause.
I had made the rhubarb pie, and wanted ice cream to go on top. Normal people would go to the store and buy a container of ice cream.
I stood in my kitchen, contemplating what that would entail: getting in my car, potentially losing my spot, driving to the grocery store, spending money, limited flavor options, idiot drivers, lots of traffic lights.
I decided instead to sniff the heavy cream I had bought and never used. Discovering that it still smelled like cream, I decided, out of sheer laziness to make my own ice cream.
I’ve always known I was strange, but this was a real moment. To feel some sense of normalcy, I told myself that no supermarket would have cardamom ice cream, and so I would make that. You don’t have to have an ice cream maker, but it sure helps. I use the attachment for my KitchenAid Mixer.
Cardamom Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk
15 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Heat the cream, milk and cardamom pods in a sauce pan over medium heat until it starts to steam and bubbles form around the edges, stirring frequently. Cover, remove from the heat and allow to steep 20 minutes. Add the sugar and stir until completely dissolved.
Using a fine chinois (or a colander lined with cheesecloth) strain the base into a stainless steel bowl set in an ice bath.
Most recipes ask that you refrigerate the base overnight. I found that using the ice bath worked just fine and drastically cut down on the wait time.
Stir in the vanilla and allow to cool until cold to the touch. Freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Serve alone, or with Rhubarb Pie and enjoy being strange.
*If you prefer something more visual, I have a video here that I made last year that you can watch.
