Mint and Lemongrass Green Tea Ice Cream

In case you forgot, it's St. Patrick's Day!

I was reminded when I was driving Sonny to school (not that I really forgot; I mean, who forgets a “holiday” centered around drinking beer?). Sonny also caught the radio DJ saying something about it. I heard his sad voice from the backseat, “You forgot to tell me to wear green and I will be the only one at school not wearing green.” He sounded so heartbroken, which in turn broke my heart. I assured him not everyone would be wearing green. Then I pointed out that his scarf has green and his pillow and blanket are green. But he didn’t look like he was really buying it, and it was too late to run back home. And sure enough, when we walked into class, everybody was wearing something green. Man, did I feel like a jerk. Luckily, one of the teachers saved the day by suggesting Sonny cut out a large green shamrock to pin to his shirt. But I still felt like a jerk. As soon as I got home, I started on a batch of mint and lemongrass green tea ice cream. Yes, I’m the type of mother who shows love through food. And yes, I know what current conventional parenting wisdom says about that, with childhood obesity and all, but I really don’t care.



The first time I tried making ice cream with my new ice cream maker, I used a recipe that made like 3 or 4 quarts. Not only was it a logistical nightmare because I only have one freezer bowl, but the texture was not smooth and creamy enough. Subsequent attempts with different recipes turned out alright flavorwise, but they left me searching for better texture. I think my search is finally over.

Now, about the ice cream: it’s basically a vanilla ice cream infused with tea. The vanilla ice cream comes from Maida Heatter’s Cakes. There are two things I like about this recipe: the texture is right on, and the final amount is about 1 ½ pints, which happens to be the perfect amount for 3 or 4 people. For the tea, you can choose any good cream and sugar tea. The tea I chose has a hint of lemongrass and mint. I used 5 tea bags so the ice cream is sufficiently flavored of green tea, but I only wish the lemongrass and mint were a little more prevalent. Next time I’ll trying infusing with an extra stalk of lemongrass and crushed, fresh mint. Still, an excellent result that was a hit all around.

Green Tea Ice Cream
makes about 1 1/2 pints

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 5 green tea bags (Thai tea also works very well)
• 4 egg yolks
• ½ granulated sugar
• seeds scraped from one vanilla pod (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

In a medium saucepan, heat 1 cup of the cream with the vanilla seeds just to a boil (if you’re using extract, add it at the end of cooking). Add the 5 tea bags, cover and remove from heat to steep for about 5 to 10 minutes.

In the meantime, in a large mixing bowl beat the egg yolks with an electric mixer until pale and thick, about 5 minutes or so. Gradually add in the sugar and beat for another 2 or 3 minutes on high, until the sugar is well incorporated into the egg. With all this beating, make sure to scrape down the sides occasionally to ensure everything is well incorporated and you don't lose half the stuff on the sides of the bowl.

Remove the tea bags from the cream and discard them. Be sure to squeeze out all the liquid from the bags. Slowly add the cream to the eggs while mixing vigorously. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and return to medium heat. Cook the custard until a candy thermometer reaches about 175˚. Make sure you are stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula, especially as it reaches the target. If you don’t have a thermometer, you’ll know it’s done when it gets thick and coats the back of your utensil without dripping off. (If the custard starts to stick to the bottom like it’s about to scramble, you’ve overshot, and it's definitely done. But don’t throw in the towel just yet. You may be able to salvage it if you haven’t grossly overshot.)

Once you remove the custard from the heat, add the remaining cup of cream (and vanilla extract, if using) while mixing well. Pour the mixture through a sieve into a large, clean bowl. Don’t press the debris through the sieve. Anything that doesn’t go through by gravity is not meant to go in the ice cream. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours (longer is better) before churning. I have a Cuisinart ice cream maker (model ICE-BC; thanks Bedstemor and Bedstefar!) and it took about 25 minutes to get it to be the consistency of soft serve. I froze it for an additional 3 hours before serving. Follow your manufacturer’s instructions for churning and freezing.

If this ice cream has piqued your interest, may I suggest trying Thai tea crème brulee? It’s delicious and creamy-smooth. I promise you’ll love it.

Ode to the Coconut: Vanilla Coconut Custard

I have something to admit, but I know if I admit it, people will think I'm strange: when it comes to chocolate, I could take it or leave it (except chocolate cake, and even that has to be a specific chocolate cake). Don’t misunderstand; I don’t hate chocolate. Not at all. But if you gave me a choice of something chocolate (even chocolate cake) or any Thai candy or dessert, I’d pick the Thai stuff every time.

I know, I know. I'm strange, right?

If you need to blame someone for my apathy towards chocolate, I would point the finger at my mom. She didn’t allow us to eat chocolate (or other sweets) very often. She never baked, so we didn’t get brownies or chocolate cake (unless it was our birthday). The only form of chocolate we got with any regularity was Ovaltine. So please don’t blame me, the victim.

Instead of chocolate sweets, I’m a big fan of sweets that contain coconut (milk, flakes, rum). Just about everyone who enjoys Thai food has tried sticky rice with mango in coconut sauce and liked it. However, most people haven’t tried the dozens of other Thai desserts containing coconut because they usually don't serve them at restaurants here in the US. To find them you need to frequent a Thai-Viet market. Many of these markets sell stuff made by women in their home kitchens local producers.

These are the types of sweets I grew up on. They contain coconut, sugar, and tapioca flour in some combination. The red one is dusted with finely shredded coconut and filled with something that tastes like mochi. The green and yellow one is a layered candy that tastes like coconut and is sticky and gummy. It was my favorite. The cake-like one also tastes like coconut and has a texture like a brownie.

Making my childhood sweets may be a little ambitious for me right now, but there are still dozens of desserts to be made using coconut. I’ve been wanting to try to make a coconut crème brulee-type dessert for a while. I tried once and it didn’t set. Then I thought I’d try using a regular crème brulee recipe and experimenting until I came up with something I liked. Luckily it took only one trial! Click here to see my inspiration recipe (FYI, you should download or print it now because they say it’s only going to be available for a limited time).

Coconut Crème Brulee
Serves 8

• 1 egg
• 5 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 ½ cups coconut milk (not lite)
• 1 ½ cups heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (use the pod for something else)
• 1 tbs fresh lime juice
• ¼ tsp kosher salt

In a large bowl or a KitchenAid mixer with a paddle attachment, mix the egg, egg yolks and sugar until combined.

In a saucepan, heat the coconut milk, cream and vanilla just to the boiling point. If there are extra large flecks of vanilla or some of the pod bark, strain the mixture through a mesh sieve. Then add the cream mixture to the egg mix, stirring (or paddling) slowly but thoroughly. Don’t add the cream too fast, or you may get scrambled eggs. I don’t recommend using a whisk because bubbles will form and when you bake the custard, the top won’t be smooth. After you have added all the cream mixture, add the lime juice and salt.

Pour or ladle the mixture into ramekins or other oven-safe glass/ceramic bowl (volume capacity about 1/3 to ½ cup). Bake the ramekins in a water bath in a 300° oven for 35 to 45 minutes. You’ll know the custard is done if you give the pan a little shake and the centers of the custards are set. ( Getting a sense for what “set” means takes a lot of practice. Since I don’t dabble in the sweet kitchen very often, it took me a long time to learn. Basically if the custard is somewhat giggly but not liquid, it’s set.) Take out of the oven and cool to room temperature before chilling in the fridge. I recommend chilling overnight, covered with plastic wrap.

To get a smooth top when you bake, don't use a whisk to mix the cream mixture with the eggs. If only I knew then...

Fill the pan with boiling water to about half way up the cups.

These custards should be served chilled. No need to embellish but sprinkling with a little toasted coconut or serving crème brulee-style, with burnt sugar on top, gives it a finished look. If you want to go the creme brulee route, I recommend putting the ramekins in the freezer for about 15 to 30 minute before torching. This will keep the custard chilled after you torch the top.

For creme brulee, I always use washed raw sugar, also known as turbinado sugar. I'm sure regular ol' granulated sugar works just fine.

If you go the creme brulee route, you'll get the best results with a kitchen torch. I used my broiler but I took it out a little early so as not to warm the custard too much. The custard should be chilled while the top barely warm and crackly.

Edited to add: I'm going to submit this to Sugar High Friday being hosted by Kochtopf. Why not?