There is something utterly fascinating about the thought of anise or liquorice ice cream. The basic bitter, instead of very sweet, ice cream leads to a disconcerting flavour profile in your mouth.
I saw this recipe first at Klikk.no. I adapted it slightly, but if I ever make it again, I will up the amount of star anise I use. It was simply too subtle for my palate, and I ended up putting liquorice sprinkles through the ice cream after churning/before freezing.
I think that this type of almost savoury ice cream is a nice contrast to the sweeter ice creams out there.
Could just be I am partial to the flavour, though. The recipe should be easy enough to halve if you’re just wanting a small portion of it.
Ingredients.
600 ml milk
400 ml cream
4 pieces of star anise (I would perhaps go with 5-6 if I was doing it again).
10 egg yolks
4 tbsp sugar
How to…
1. In a pot, heat the milk, cream and star anise until the liquid starts to bubble.
2. Remove the star anise and cool the mixture.
3. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a large bowl.
4. Pour the milk/cream mixture into the egg/sugar, while stirring constantly.
5. Add back to the pot, and put on the stove to heat it up.
6. Heat until it thickens somewhat, approaching a custard in texture.
7. Cool the mixture quickly by placing it over ice or running cold water.
8. Add to ice cream maker and let it churn according to the maker’s instructions. If not using ice cream maker, freeze, and stir the mixture often to avoid ice crystals forming.
9. Freeze.
