Pumpkin Ice Cream

Happy fall! Here is a recipe for pumpkin-ginger ice cream with spiced pumpkin seeds. I developed this recipe with some help from my new friend Michelle at whatscookingblog.com. She runs a company dedicated to teaching kids how to cook. The above picture was taken by Michelle. She used trader Joe's brand canned pumpkin. My version was the traditional orange color. Michelle made some modifications to my recipe. Check it out at her blog.

As an ice cream ingredient, pumpkin can be tricky. It contains a high amount of water. The secret is to extract some of it before adding it to the ice cream. I used a method from Cooks Illustrated recipe for pumpkin pie. Line a rimmed baking sheet with three layers of paper towels. Then spread the pumpkin across the towels in a thin layer. Place another three layers of paper towels on top of the pumpkin then press down with your hand. You will see the paper towels turn orange as the water is absorbed. When you are finished, remove the top layers of towels. Scrape the pumpkin off of the bottom layers.

Due to my hectic schedule I cheated this recipe a bit by using Libby's brand canned pumpkin and raw pepitos from Trader Joe's, but you really should do this from scratch. Be sure to buy pie pumpkins as opposed to the really large jack-o-lantern pumpkins found in most supermarkets. Cut the pumpkin, clean out the seeds and bake it or microwave it (with some water so it steams) until it is cooked. Scrape it out, then press out the excess water and you are good to go. Treat the raw pumpkin seeds the same as the peptios.


Pumpkin-Ginger Ice Cream with Spiced Pumpkin Seeds:

For the seeds:

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds or pepitos
1/3 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 2 minutes, turn the sheet 180 degrees and bake for 2 more minutes. The seeds should begin to pop. Remove the seeds and cool them to room temperature.


2. Mix the white sugar, cinnamon, cloves and allspice in a bowl and set aside.


3. In a small saucepan, combine the water, brown sugar, and butter. Heat over medium heat until all ingredients are incorporated. Add the cooled seeds. Stir so that the seeds are completely covered, there should be almost no liquid left in the saucepan after the seeds are mixed in.


4. Mix the wet seeds in the bowl with the sugar mixture. Toss so everything is well coated.


5. Spread the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet to cool until room temperature. Wrap the seeds in an airtight container once cool.

For the ice cream:

1.5 cups milk
1.5 cups heavy cream
7 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
15 oz canned or fresh pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with three layers of paper towels. Spread the pumpkin across the towels in a thin layer. Place another three layers of paper towels on top of the pumpkin and press down with your hands. You will see the paper towels turn orange as the water is absorbed. When you are finished, remove the top layers of towels. Scrape the pumpkin off of the bottom layers. You won't get all of the water, but the towels should be completely orange and wet.


2. Put the milk and cream and 1/2 cup of the sugar into a pot and bring to a slight simmer stirring occasionally.


3. As the milk and cream are heating, place the egg yolks and whole egg into a bowl with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, powdered ginger, and salt and beat until the ingredients are incorporated.


4. Once the milk/cream mixture is slightly simmering, remove it from the heat and temper the egg mixture by adding a small amount of the hot milk/cream and stirring thoroughly. Repeat this process a couple of more times to ensure that the eggs have warmed up. You should use about 1/3 of a cup of hot cream mixture in total. Then pour the complete egg mixture into the cream pot.


5. Return the pot to the heat and stir constantly until the custard reaches 175 degrees Fahrenheit.


6. Remove the cooked custard pot from the heat. Strain through a sieve into a large bowl.


7. Stir in the pumpkin and the vanilla. A whisk works well for this.


8. Cool to room temperature. Cover and chill overnight or at least 4 hours.


9. Freeze in your ice cream machine. Add the seeds during the last minute of freezing.

Jack and Ginger Ice Cream

The inspiration for this ice cream comes from Bluepoint Restaurant in Atlanta. I was excited to see it on the menu because I used to drink Jack Daniels and ginger ale when I lived in Greensboro, NC. Who doesn’t love to find a happy piece of their past in an unexpected place? I thought the pastry chef did a decent job, but it lacked true Jack and Ginger flavor. In fairness, the flavor was probably subdued because it just one component of an apple dessert.

In doing the research for this recipe I found a lot of conflicting information about how to make a ginger flavored base. One book, Frozen Desserts, insisted that ginger would curdle milk because it is too acidic. The author's recommendation was to make a 5:4 simple syrup and steep it with ginger. Pichet Ong echoed that sentiment in his book, The Sweet Spot, where he cooks the ginger in the simple syrup until it reduces and becomes sticky. In The Perfect Scoop, Dave Lebovitz suggests blanching the ginger before steeping it in the milk. And Emily Luchetti (A Passion for Ice Cream) and Bruce Weinstein (The Ultimate Ice Cream Book) simply put the ginger in the milk/cream. So many choices, what is a fellow to do?

I chose to make the simple syrup for a couple of reasons. First, this ice cream is modeled off of Jack Daniels and Ginger Ale. Ginger ale is basically flavored carbonated simple syrup. I didn’t want to have to mess with the carbonation so making the syrup myself seemed like the way to go. Also, by using the syrup, I can control how much ginger flavor I add to the ice cream. If I steep the ginger in the base, I could lose that control. I used a 1:1 water to sugar syrup because Ginger ale is sweet. The 5:4 water to sugar mentioned in Frozen Desserts is less sweet and what I would try if I wanted accent the ginger’s sharpness.

I ended up using all the syrup and still finding that it needed more ginger flavor. A pinch of salt didn’t help so that is why there is the addition of the powdered ginger. Now that I have the recipe figured out, it would be easier to incorporate the powdered ginger when you mix the eggs in step 4. Powdered ginger is similar to cinnamon and tends to clump (although not as badly). By mixing it with the eggs you won’t have that problem. The reason I did not write the recipe that way is to give you more control over the flavor. You may use a stronger powdered ginger or have different fresh ginger, which would affect the syrup’s taste. Adding the ginger components after the custard is heated allows you to adjust the taste to your palate.

You will notice that this recipe is different than most of my ice cream recipes. I increased the ratio of eggs to cow products but only made about half as much. As with all ice cream recipes, you can double this one without issue.

I really made this out of season. To serve I would suggest pairing it with apple, pecan, or pumpkin pie. All of which lend themselves to Thanksgiving more than the springtime. You may also want to think about caramel sauce. Incidentally, this recipe is very close to being a good eggnog ice cream. Simply replace the ginger with the spices you like in your eggnog.

Jack and Ginger Ice Cream:

1 cup water
1 ¼ cup + 2 TBL sugar
3 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and rough chopped
1 cup cream
1 cup milk
3 egg yolks
pinch of salt
½ tsp powdered ginger
2 TBL + 1 TSP Jack Daniels

1. Place the water, 1 cup of sugar, and the ginger in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for a couple of minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let steep for 20 minutes.
2. Pour the milk and cream and ¼ cup of the sugar into a pot and bring to a slight simmer stirring occasionally.
3. As the milk and cream are heating, place the egg yolks into a bowl with the remaining 2 TBL of sugar and salt and beat until the ingredients are incorporated.
4. Once the milk/cream mixture is slightly simmering, remove it from the heat and temper the egg mixture by adding a small amount of the hot milk/cream and stirring thoroughly. Repeat this process a couple of more times to ensure that the eggs have warmed up. You should use about 1/3 of a cup of hot cream mixture in total. Then pour the complete egg mixture into the cream pot.
5. Return the pot to the heat and stir constantly until the custard reaches 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Remove the cooked custard pot from the heat.
7. Strain the simple syrup to remove the ginger pieces
8. Stir the syrup, powdered ginger, and Jack Daniels into the custard.
9. Cool the custard to room temperature and then refrigerate overnight.
10. Freeze in your ice cream machine. Warning -- the alcohol and the fairly high concentration of sugar slows the freezing process. After 30 minutes or so in your ice cream machine you may find that it is still very soft. Ripen this one the freezer for at least 24 hours to get a better texture before serving.

Cumin Sorbet

Before the Ice Cream Fellow was the Ice Cream Fellow, he was the Sorbet Fellow. Ten years ago, I began my love affair with making frozen desserts. It all started with sorbets. Well actually they were granitas. I did not have an ice cream maker so I froze blocks of ice and scraped them into small cordial glasses.

Cumin was my first flavor. Bobby Flay on the Food Network originally inspired me. His flavors are Southwestern, big and bold loaded with chilies and spices. Great stuff, but the meal can leave ones palate overwhelmed before dessert. So I thought it would be great to have a palate cleanser that mimicked the flavors of the meal. This palate cleanser would also be just a little sweet to help transition you from that boldness of the spices to a sweet dessert.

This sorbet is adapted from that granita. It is a great palate cleanser, but it can work as an element of a dessert. For me a little of this goes a long way so I wouldn’t recommend eating a lot of it by its lonesome. Partner cumin sorbet with Latin or Asian flavors such as coconut, pineapple, limes, and mangos.

For this recipe I made 2:1 simple syrup – 2 cups water to 1 cup sugar. The recipe only calls for 1-½ cups of syrup.

Cumin Sorbet:

Juice of 2 oranges
Juice of 3 limes
Juice of 1 lemon
1-½ cups of 2:1 simple syrup
¾ tsp cumin

1. Strain the fruit juices to remove the pulp
2. Mix with the warm simple syrup.
3. Add the cumin and stir thoroughly to incorporate all the flavors.
4. Chill overnight, and then freeze.