Ginger Flower Ice Cream

Ice cream making is new to me but it is intriguing and seems simple enough to attempt without parting with cash for an ice cream maker.  Anyway I am not one for purchasing a gadget that serves only one function, will undoubtedly wear out its novelty and thereafter, simply occupies prime real estate in my burst-at-the-hinge cabinet.  


As mentioned in my previous post, the ginger flower ice cream I made was more like a sorbet.  I need to correct that.  The sorbet (store-bought) I have tasted are actually quite smooth.  There were large crunchy ice crystals in my ice cream although I did the manual whisking of the ice cream mixture a few times more that the 3 recommended in most recipes.  Yeah I know - super kiasu.


In an ice cream maker, the ice cream mixture is constantly churned as it freezes.  This churning prevents the formation of large ice crystals, and hence enables the ice cream to become smooth and creamy.  


Without an ice cream maker, once the ice cream mixture starts to freeze around the sides of the container, the mixture will have to be whisked to break up the ice crystals.  This step must be repeated about 3 times.  Another way to ensure creaminess and reduce the amount of ice crystal formation is to increase the amount of cream and cut down on the water content in the recipe.  I did this simply by using 2 cups of coconut milk instead of 1 cup coconut milk and 1 cup whole milk.  100 ml of coconut milk has about 20 g or more of fat compared to whole milk's 3.5 - 4.1 g.  


The other problem that needed fixing was the next to non-existent kaffir lime flavour.  Previously, I used kaffir lime leaves which were pureed together with the ginger flower.  Now I opted for the finely grated rind of 2 kaffir limes and used the kaffir lime leaf as a garnish instead.  Problem solved.  


I also increased the amount of food colouring for a pink hue reminiscent of a ginger flower.  It takes no more than a couple more toothpicks (tips only) dipped into the food colouring and then into the ice cream mixture.

This time the ice cream was creamy without the grainy ice crystals.  The ethereal flavour of the ginger flower hits you first, followed by the nuanced notes of the kaffir lime, with the coconut tying all these flavours together.  


Someone tasting this ice cream the first time would be hard put to nail the flavour.  My sister-in-law's initial reaction was, "Mmm... is it hae bee hiahm?"  Then when told that it was the rojak flower, she went "Oooh!" and ate it all up.


I am completely satisfied with the outcome of this ice cream which is given the thumbs up by all the ginger flower lovers in my family.  For the few who can't wrap their minds around this new Asian ce cream flavour, I can only say that it's their loss.