Toasted Black Sesame Ice Cream

I first decided to try making this ice cream because Bryan had tried it at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory in New York. I have since made this many times and it has always been very popular.

Note: Over all, I've found that the best way to make this ice cream is to make it over 2 days.

Day 1
Make the Cream Base

2 cups half & half
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks

Heat the half & half, heavy cream, and sugar in a pot on medium low heat until the sugar is dissolved. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks together. Slowly pour the egg yolk mixture into the hot cream mixture while continually stirring.

(Note - the stream in my picture is WAY too fast! I was having trouble holding the camera and pouring at the same time. If you do it, pour it much more slowly and thus you will have a thinner stream. Also, you would ideally be whisking while you are pouring, but alas, I only have 2 hands.

 Cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon (~8-10 minutes). Important! Don't let the mixture boil, otherwise it will curdle!

This step is optional. You can filter your mixture through a sieve to ensure super smooth ice cream. This is the first time I did that (partly because I had some egg solids due to my poor pouring & lack of mixing earlier!) If you did everything right, you shouldn't have too many egg solids.

Finally, let the mixture cool a bit and then put in the refrigerator, ideally overnight, but at least until cold (several hours?).

Day 2
Pour the cream mixture into the ice cream maker and make ice cream according to the manufacturer's instructions. I personally have a Lello Gelato Pro which I LOVE because it has its own condenser and thus I can make ice cream whenever I want on a whim.

While the ice cream maker is whirring away, toast 1/3 cup of black sesame seeds in the toaster oven. I spread them out in a thin layer and just pop them in the toaster oven. Don't worry if you hear some popping noises. It's just some of the seeds "exploding" open. Not to worry. The toasted sesame seeds should smell fragrant.

Grind up the sesame seeds in a spice grinder. I've found that it's important to freshly grind the seeds because the powder quickly loses flavor as it is exposed to the atmosphere. You should end up with a glorious, luxurious black powder.

Once the ice cream maker is done (around 40 minutes), stir in the sesame powder. The ice cream should still be soft enough that you can do this very easy.

Once it's completely incorporated, store in small containers. I find that the ice cream freezes much more quickly when you divide it up into a couple smaller containers.  After around 4 hours or so (but ideally overnight), you can serve! Bon appetit!