Black Sesame Ice Cream

Servings: 6-8 portions
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ready In: 1 hour 35 minutes
Make sure you have: Ice cream maker (optional), food processor (optional)

Ingredients:
Black sesame praline
½ cup black sesame seeds
1 cup granulated (caster) sugar
1 tsp water

Black sesame ice cream
1½ cup (350ml) heavy (double) cream
1½ cup (350ml) soy milk or (whole) full fat milk
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
¼ cup (80g) granulated (caster) sugar

Directions:
Black sesame praline
1. Heat up a heavy based pan with all the sugar on a low heat. Gradually melt the sugar by tilting the pan. Do not stir or mix and keep a close eye on your sugar until it has melted to a golden brown. If it burns it will not be usable.

2. When the last bit of sugar is about to melt, add the sesame seeds and tilt & shake the pan to make sure all the sesame seeds are well coated with caramel be careful not to taste the pralines at this stage as they will burn your lips and tongue).

3. Quickly spread out the sesame mixture evenly, no thicker than an …inch (3mm) on a sheet of foil placed on a cold surface, and allow to cool down completely.

Black sesame ice cream
1. Heat the double cream & milk in a sauce pan until hot, but not boiling. While heating up the cream mixture, whisk the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar in a large bowl.

2. Pour the hot cream & milk mixture into the egg mixture very slowly, while whisking vigorously to make sure that they are completely combined.

3. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and simmer on a low heat, mixing all the time with a wooden spatula until it thickens. Be very careful not to overcook the mixture as the egg will scramble. If this begins to happen, dip the pan in cold water and whisk.

4. To test whether the custard has reached optimum thickness, it should resemble the consistency of a light custard, and adhere to your wooden spatula without running or dripping. At this point the custard is ready to remove from the heat. Dip the saucepan in a sink of cold water and leave it to cool to room temperature.

5. Break up the cold sesame praline into small pieces and then crush them into a fine crumble texture in a pestle & mortar or a food processor. Once the custard cools down to room temperature, combine the praline with the custard and mix thoroughly.

6. Transfer the mixture to the freezer for 30 minutes and then transfer to the ice cream machine and churn for about 30 minutes. If you have a more sophisticated ice cream maker, which does not require pre-freezing, then the custard does not need to be placed into the freezer for the initial 30 minutes. Instead the machine should be allowed to churn for a little longer, around 45 minutes.