Tahini Ice Cream (for the Ninja Creami)

This tahini ice cream was so good it gave me memory loss, but don’t let that scare you.

I have a weird story to tell about this tahini ice cream.

Whenever I want to make an ice cream recipe, I create it using icecreamcalc (highly recommend!) and save it to the software’s “recipes” section. For tahini ice cream, I have two different recipes saved. …I don’t remember writing two recipes.

The first recipe has a note that says “too sweet and not enough tahini.” The second recipe has no notes.

The only thing I do remember is eating almost a full pint of tahini ice cream in one sitting because it was that good. If my “too sweet and not enough tahini” note is anything to go by, I think it’s safe to assume the second tahini ice cream is the one that was so good it made me black out and forget my first attempt.

This tahini ice cream is silky, sweet, just a little bit salty, and addictive. It’s also super easy to make.

Since this tahini ice cream was made during the egg shortage, I relied on a small amount of chocolate whey protein powder for its lecithin to act as the emulsifier. To be honest, I don’t know how much lecithin it really contributed. It can probably be omitted if you don’t have it.

Here’s the recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Tahini Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients

·       ¼ cup (53 g) sugar

·       ⅛ teaspoon (0.62 g) xanthan gum

·       1 teaspoon (5 g) chocolate whey protein powder (optional, for lecithin/emulsification)

·       ¼ teaspoon (1.54 g) salt

·       ¼ cup (59 g) tahini

·       2 tablespoons (27 g) invert sugar syrup

·       1 cup (244 g) milk

·       ⅓ cup (78 g) cream

Directions

1.      Mix together sugar, xanthan gum, protein powder, and salt until evenly dispersed.

2.      Mix together tahini, invert sugar syrup, milk, cream, and dry ingredients until homogenous.

3.      Freeze in a Ninja Creami pint on a flat surface in the freezer.

4.      Churn in the Ninja Creami using the ice cream setting. If it comes out powdery, respin until you get your desired texture.

Q and A

Q: What are some unique toppings for tahini ice cream?

A: Crumbled halvah, sesame seeds, cacao nibs, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, dates… pomegranate arils could be cute, too, for a little contrast.

Q: Can I replace tahini with a different nut or seed butter?

A: I haven’t tried this yet, but it would probably work.