Roasted Garlic Ice Cream

 

Is Valentine’s Day over yet? Is everyone done smooching? Okay, quick—time to post ice cream that gives everyone garlic breath!

Roasted garlic is one of my favorite flavors in the whole wide world. I know I say that about a lot of flavors, but I promise I really mean it this time. Sweet, savory… what’s not to love? So when I first heard that garlic ice cream was a thing, I thought, “why not roasted garlic?”

The folks at Saveur beat me to the punch, and I ended up adapting a recipe from theirs. The main difference is that my recipe uses more roasted garlic. I was also originally going to omit the vanilla for a purer roasted garlic ice cream experience, but after a little experimentation, I decided to include the vanilla extract. Helps round out the flavor.

I know roasted garlic ice cream sounds like it should be illegal, and maybe it should—it’s so delicious it should be illegal. Opening the ice cream container, you might feel a little unnerved by the garlic smell coupled with an unassuming vanilla visage. Looks can be deceiving, but your nose won’t fail you!

The best way I can think of to describe the flavor of this roasted garlic ice cream recipe is that it’s like if buttery caramel was a little bit savory. My guess is that it would pair well with a drizzle of olive oil or roasted hazelnuts or anything else that lives in savoryland but has a summer home on sweet island. Unfortunately, I ate it too quickly to find out. Curse my lack of willpower.

This ice cream is super addictive and tasty all on its own. I didn’t bother straining out the little bits of unblended garlic, because why would I? Roasted garlic is simply the best.

I’ll probably make regular garlic ice cream someday, but until that day comes, I’m very, very happy with this one.

Also, one last thing before I get into the recipe: I know I promised to post more recipes specifically for the Ninja Creami, and I promise I will! If you want to make this roasted garlic ice cream recipe in the Ninja Creami, though, just make the ice cream base as directed, divide it between two pints, and churn it on the normal ice cream setting.

Roasted Garlic Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients

For the roasted garlic:

·       2 heads of garlic—heads, not cloves

·       about 2 teaspoons or so of olive oil

For the ice cream base:

·       ⅔ cup (142 g) sugar

·       ¼ teaspoon (1.54 g) salt

·       ¼ teaspoon (1.23 g) xanthan gum

·       4 egg yolks (66 g)

·       1 ½ cups (366 g) milk

·       ¼ cup (53 g) invert sugar

·       1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla paste (or extract)

·       1 ¼ cups (296 g) heavy cream

Directions

For the roasted garlic:

1.       Heat oven to 350 F (177 C). Slice garlic heads about a third of the way from the top—just enough to reveal the cloves inside. Drizzle the cut side with about 1 teaspoon of olive oil each, then put the sliced parts on top to cover it.

2.       Wrap each head of garlic with a piece of parchment paper (optional), then wrap each in tinfoil. Put on a baking tray, and bake for 60-90 minutes; start checking them at the 60 minute mark to see if they’re looking caramelized.

3.       Remove from oven and let cool. Once totally cool, squeeze garlic cloves into a blender, and set aside for now.

For the ice cream base:

1.       Mix sugar, salt, and xanthan gum together in a pot. Then, thoroughly mix in the eggs. After that, mix in the milk and invert sugar and set over medium heat.

2.       Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom, until the ice cream base is thick enough to coat a spoon (or until it reaches 165 F/74 C). Then, remove it from the heat and let it cool.

3.       Put about 1 cup of the cooled ice cream base into the blender, then blend with the roasted garlic. Don’t worry about there being a few unblended garlic pieces; they’re too delicious to strain out, so don’t bother. Add this back to the rest of the ice cream base along with the vanilla and cream and gently stir to combine. Cover and let rest in the fridge overnight or until cold. At this time, put a clean, empty ice cream container in the freezer.

4.       Once the ice cream base is cold, churn according to ice cream machine instructions. Once the ice cream has reached the texture of soft serve and the surface no longer looks shiny, quickly transfer the finished ice cream to the ice cream container and let it firm up in the freezer for a few hours before enjoying.

Q and A

Q: Does it actually taste good, or are you pulling my leg?

A: It does actually taste good, and I am not pulling your leg. However, if you don’t love garlic, you might not like it. Please don’t trick anyone into thinking it’s vanilla ice cream.

Q: What other unique flavors can be combined with roasted garlic ice cream?

A: Dark chocolate, hazelnuts, olive oil, balsamic, Parmesan…

Q: What are some creative ways to serve roasted garlic ice cream?

A: You know how people sometimes serve fruit sorbet in a piece of the fruit itself that has had its flesh scraped out? Well, it would be really funny to do that with garlic, but garlic’s shape isn’t exactly conducive to carving. Try it with an onion instead. It’s still in the allium family. Otherwise, you can just be lazy like I was and serve it in a storebought cone.