Cinnamon Basil and Pine Nut Praline Ice Cream


Yield: 1 quart

Ingredients

For the ice cream
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 tbsp + 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 3 tbsp cream cheese, softened
  • ¼ tsp fine sea salt
  • 1¼ cups heavy cream
  • ⅔ cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp light corn syrup
  • large handful of fresh cinnamon basil leaves, torn into small pieces
  • ¼ cup Pine Nut Pralines (recipe below)
For the pine nut pralines
  • 1 cup pine nuts
  • 2 tbsp light brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • ¼ tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, mix together 2 tbsp of the milk with the cornstarch. Set aside. Whisk the cream cheese and the salt in a medium bowl until smooth and set aside. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.
  2. In a 4-quart saucepan, combine the remaining milk, heavy cream, sugar, and corn syrup. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 4 minutes, making sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t boil over. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
  3. Slowly whisk the hot milk into the cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the basil. Pour into a 1 gallon Ziploc bag, seal, and submerge in the ice bath. Let stand until cold, about 30 minutes.
  4. Strain the basil out of the custard. Pour the custard into a frozen ice cream maker canister and churn until thick and creamy, according to manufacturer’s instructions.
  5. Pack the ice cream into a cold storage container, folding in the pine nut pralines as you go. Store in the freezer in an airtight container.
For the pine nut pralines
  1. Heat oven to 350F.
  2. Combine the nuts, brown sugar, honey, butter, and sea salt in a bowl. Spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet in an even layer. Bake for 8 minutes. Stir and bake for another 5-6 minutes, stirring twice. Remove from the heat and let cool, stirring the nuts frequently to break them up.