Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Even Though You Didn't Ask for It...Another Ice Cream Post!

I know I just posted an ice cream recipe. A green tea with lemongrass and mint ice cream, to be exact. Well, I’m doing it again. This time it’s Thai tea with coconut milk. I know, two similar recipes in two weeks. Is that a food blog faux pas? If it is, ya’ll better get used to it. I got me an ice cream maker, and there’s no stopping mama now!

As I was farting around the Internet looking for some ice cream inspiration, I came across this Thai tea ice cream. I would have gotten around to making some kind of Thai tea ice cream eventually, being Thai and all, but after running across it, I got a craving. Eventually became pronto. I was intrigued by the idea of using condensed milk, but I didn’t have any on hand. Instead of doing just straight cream, I used coconut milk. I used the guideline 2 egg yolks/cup dairy, and it worked out beautifully (thanks Mike!). What else can I say about this ice cream? Try it. You'll love it, and if you don't you're just plain crazy.



Thai Tea and Coconut Milk Ice Cream
makes about 2 pints
  • 6 egg yolks
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 oz loose Thai tea leaves*(see note) or 5 tea bags
*Note: Loose Thai teas tend to be very fine. It will go right through a strainer, tea infuser or even 5 layers of cheesecloth. I highly recommend using fillable teabags or a tea sock. I prefer the fillable teabags over the tea sock. No cleaning. The teabag can go right into the compost.

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream to just boiling. Add the teabags and allow to steep, covered, for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, in a large bowl, whip the egg yolks with an electric mixer until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar in increments, beating well after each addition for a total of about 3 minutes.

Remove the teabags from the cream, making sure to squeeze out excess liquid. Slowly add the liquid to the egg mixture while mixing with the electric mixer. Return the custard to the pot, and heat over medium-low heat, with frequent stirring, until it reaches about 175°F or until it coats the back of your spoon without running off. Strain the custard into a large bowl. Don’t push the debris through the strainer, unless you like soft scrambled eggs in your ice cream. At last, add the coconut milk and vanilla and mix well. Chill the custard, covered, until it’s cold, preferably overnight. Churn the chilled custard in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

If you like tea infused creamy concoctions, then this Thai tea creme brulee may pique your interest.

9 comments:

Manggy said...

That looks very silky and professionally made (I'd prefer condensed over coconut, though-- how predictable of me)! I'm gonna ask you the same thing I asked Jen about making ice cream-- how much did it set you back? I bought real European cream (we only get the crap 24% cream locally) and it cost me $5! Ouch! I might as well be buying factory ice cream. That's why I'm trying to make flavors that can't be found here :)

Mike of Mike's Table said...

There can never be too many ice cream posts (says the fellow food blogger who seems to ashamedly post about ice cream every other week ;-) )! I'm glad to hear the dairy/egg yolk ratio worked out for you and I really like this flavor. It sounds unique and like a really interesting combination.

Thistlemoon said...

SO COOL! I just bookmarked that Thai Tea ice cream recipe too! I love love love ice cream and I can not be stopped either! I can't wait to see what other ice cream concoctions you come up with as I am always looking for unique flavors!

Welcome to The Foodie Blogroll! :)

I will put my 2 cents in for Manggy - it usually costs me $3 to make a 2 quart batch. Mostly it is for the milk and cream - I usually try to use ingredients to flavor the ice cream that I have at home.

dp said...

Thanks all!

Mike: Your guideline has been very helpful. Armed with it, I feel like I have the confidence to experiment and not worry about messing up the texture.

manggy: the cost depends on where I buy the cream. If I do it at Costco, it costs less than 5 dollars for a half gallon of cream, which is enough to make at least a couple quarts of ice cream. If I buy the cream at my local grocery store, it will cost almost $5 for just a quart of cream. For me, it's not hte cream that costs a lot, but the eggs. We used to pay $1.50 for a dozen farm fresh eggs purchased from Hubby's coworker. Unfortunately they don't work together anymore. Now I pay almost $4.50 for a dozen eggs. I could get them cheaper, but I'm picky about eggs, so I just suck it up.

Anyhow, I understand it gets expensive if a batch gets messed up. But when everything goes right, it is worth every penny.

Jenn: Thanks! And I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Manggy said...

The $5 for 1.9 liters (er, half gallon, haha) sounds great!! A liter (quart) of President/ Arla/ Elle & Vire/ Anchor (all imported from France/ Australia) costs about $7.50. In theory a local creamery could make proper 35% cream but I think there is not much clamor for it, plus there's the logistics thing, with having to refrigerate it all the time, spoiling so easily, etc. I have a friend whose dad works for Nestle Philippines, but he's in the legal department and I don't think they'd take me seriously anyway :P

Unless you live on a farm or near one, free-range eggs are uncommon-- but still only about $3 for a dozen, I think. Standard price for a dozen battery eggs here is $1.50.

I made my first batch! 'Tis just firming up some more. I like mine hard enough to make those beautiful fissures on the surface when scooped. It feels like an eternity waiting for it!

dp said...

I hear a lot of people use half and half and/or whole milk. Maybe you could try that??

Yes, I've found the key to ice cream is patience. I remember it took forever for the bowl to freeze, then it seemed to take forever for the ice cream itself to free. Good luck!!

dp said...
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Wandering Chopsticks said...

OK, really weird. I could have sworn I left a compliment on your first ice cream post but couldn't find it. So I'll just compliment you again! :)

I love Thai ice cream. My local Thai restaurant offers Thai tea or coffee with a generous scoop of Thai ice cream. Oh so yummy.

dp said...

wandering chopsticks, thanks! I think Thai tea is the best in the world (but I'm biased ;-) so of course it makes the best tea ice cream!