If you like ice cream, and like to make your own ice cream, then you HAVE to make this Basil Vanilla Ice Cream! Try it anyway, even if you don’t like to make your own! It’s easy, and you’ll be amazed by how well this simple flavour combination works.
A creamy vanilla ice cream with a fresh, earthy basil flavour, that’s not overpowering. And then top it with an easy chocolate magic shell sauce, and you’ve got a habit-forming ice cream!
Basil is one of my favourite herbs, and as far as flavour combos go, Basil Vanilla Ice Cream might sound a little unusual at first, but once you try it, you’re never going back. You’re going to love it!
Basil is a pretty versatile herb and it goes really well with vanilla. I first made this back in 2014, soon after I started this blog, and I loved the flavours so much that I made a second batch of this basil infused ice cream immediately. And quite a few batches since then.
It’s been a really hot and muggy summer, with no respite in sight, and frozen desserts like this basil vanilla ice cream, classic vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, mint chocolate chip ice cream, fruit sorbet etc. have been my survival strategy. 🙂
This basil vanilla ice cream is also one of the first ice cream recipes that I made in my new ice cream machine, so I’ve got a soft spot for it because of that too. 🙂 Here I use a deeply basil infused milk to make the custard base. I use the leaves and stalks of the basil with about one and a half cups of milk and after heating it I leave it aside, covered, for at least half an hour to make sure that the milk has a strong, intriguing basil flavour, while still not being overpowering (that’s important!).
There’s no mistaking the flavour in this basil infused ice cream, and the infused milk may even show a slight green hue with the addition of basil.
This does disappear with the addition of cream and eggs, BUT I add an extra dose of fresh basil to the final custard which brings that slight green tinge back. This is an optional step, but one that makes the basil infusion more prominent and delicious.
When the custard is done, let it chill in the fridge for a few hours, if you’re churning it in your ice cream machine.
HOWEVER, if you don’t own an ice cream machine, you can pour the custard into a large flat dish (with a large surface area) and keep it in the freezer. Then just check on it every hour to whip the custard (and break down the hard bits) with a hand-held beater. This method works well, but obviously involves a bit more work.
But at the end of it, you’re going to be treated to an amazingly creamy, cooling basil vanilla ice cream with that incredibly refreshing basil flavour. The basil adds an earthy freshness to the sweet and creamy vanilla base. Pair it with a satisfying savoury meal, and you’ll be in lurrrve!
More delicious ice cream recipes you will love
Recipe
Basil Vanilla Ice Cream
US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results whenever available.
Common Measurement ConversionsIngredients:
- 1 ½ cups full cream milk
- 2½ cups Heavy cream 35% fat, chilled
- 5 egg yolks
- 25 g basil a combination of leaves and stalks is fine
- 10 large basil leaves
- 150 g sugar ¾ cup
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract or seeds from 1 vanilla pod
Instructions:
- Combine the sugar, milk and basil in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer.1 ½ cups full cream milk, 150 g sugar, 25 g basil
- Then remove it from the heat, cover, and set it aside for 30 minutes or up to one hour (to let the milk be infused with the basil flavour).
- Drain the milk from the basil (and squeeze any milk out of the basil leaves and stalks too) and leave it aside. Discard the basil.
- In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and add the basil infused milk, along with the vanilla. Return the milk to a saucepan and heat it gently while stirring, until the custard thickens slightly. If the custard is able to coat the back of a spoon and you can trace a clean path on it with your finger, then the custard is done. Alternatively, heat the custard until it registers 170 F.5 egg yolks, 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- Stir in the heavy cream with the custard. Place half of this mixture in a blender or food processor with the basil leaves. Pulse until the leaves are blended with the mix. You can also use a stick blender for this as well.2½ cups Heavy cream, 10 large basil leaves
- Return the basil mix back with the rest of theice cream base, and let this mix sit in the fridge to chill for at least a few hours or overnight (preferred)
- Churn according to your ice cream maker's instructions.
No churn option
- Transfer the ice cream base into ice cube trays, and place the tray on a flat pan and keep it in the freezer to freeze completely.
- Once the ice cream cubes are frozen, place the ice cubes in a high powered blender or food processor. Pulse to break up the ice, and then gradually increase the speed to blend the ice cream. Scrape the blender sides and bottom in between to ensure it all blends and is uniformly smooth.
- The ice cream should look like soft serve when it's done. Do not blend for too long as the ice cream will start to melt.
- Transfer to an ice cream container and freeze until it sets.
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
If you’re feeling that extra bit fancy, go ahead and make an easy peasy chocolate magic shell sauce and drizzle it on top for a decadent, Stracciatella-like ice cream. Goes well with a creamy, herby ice cream. Honestly, anything will go well with this creamy, basil infused ice cream!
So what would you pair this basil vanilla ice cream with? And what’s your favourite ice cream flavour? 🙂
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