Yes, I know it’s Autumn now, but we are having a little bit of a warm spell—the temperature is supposed to hit 88º today, so it’s hard to think about cool-weather food. So, I’m back to making ice cream again.
As a lover of anise/licorice flavors, I’ve grown anise hyssop in my garden over the past two years. It’s easy to grow (in fact, it reseeds itself) and makes a delicious tea. I recently came across the idea of making ice cream from it and had to try it.
Infusions are an easy way to add herbal flavor to any edible liquid ingredient and work well here. The flavor is subtle but just enough, and the texture is super creamy. Love liquorice? Here’s one worth trying.
Anise Hyssop-Vanilla Ice Cream
Ingredients
- ¼ cup chopped anise hyssop leaves
- ¾ cups milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds removed
- 5 large egg yolks
- A pinch of salt
Heat the milk in a medium saucepan and add the chopped anise hyssop leaves. Allow the leaves to infuse the milk for at least 15 minutes or overnight, but longer is better. Strain out the leaves, then add the cream, sugar, eggs, salt, and vanilla seeds, stirring to combine all ingredients. You can keep the vanilla bean in the mixture to give it even more vanilla flavor and fish it out later.
Heat the pan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until it thickens—just don’t let it boil. You want it thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Once it has thickened, remove from heat and allow to cool. Fish out the vanilla bean.
Pour the mixture into a covered container and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. When you are ready to make ice cream, freeze it according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Remove the ice cream from the ice cream machine and freeze for at least 3 hours for soft-serve or longer for a firmer texture. It makes about 3 cups or 6 servings.
