Black sesame ice cream

Back when in May I mentioned I had made some macarons (in April! haha...), it was because I was making black sesame ice cream. I had bought a small container of black sesame paste ages ago like maybe last year even, and I kept it and kept it and kept it. Then one day, I was like, oh yeah, it's April already. The paste expires in April. It was expensive and no way I would have let it gone to waste. The reason why I bought it was cos I wanted to make my own black sesame ice cream.

So, of course, that was what I did. (:

Black sesame ice cream

Black sesame paste; Creamy delights

I'm not too sure if I've kept it for too long, but when I opened the bottle of paste, the oil has formed a thick layer over the dry sesame layer, and I had to use a spoon to mix them all together for quite a bit before everything actually meshed together again. The above is after I've mixed everything together to make a smooth paste. It looks totally glossy and pretty hey? I used this recipe and doubled the portion cos I wanted to use up the whole bottle all at one go. I dumped slightly more than the required amount of paste into the custard (no such thing as too much of a good stuff rights?) and everything turned out okay still.

Oh my oh my oh my. Damn scrumptious can, the ice cream was thick, and really sesam-ish. Damn yums. I let my aunt tried and she loved it, so since I doubt we could finish the tub, I packed some for her to bring home. Hehe. Then after, I stuffed the ice cream towards my family members just so I wouldn't let this awesome thing stay too long in the fridge cos the longer it stays in the fridge, the more the flavour/texture will change. Homemade ice creams are best enjoyed within the first few days of making, but somehow, we'll end up keeping the cold concoctions for a few weeks at least. Or maybe next time I should just cut down on the quantity I make yeah. Hmmm. But this was definitely one of  the faster disappearing ice creams in the house so far. ;)

Black sesame ice cream (adapted from here)
60g black sesame paste
180ml milk
2 egg yolks
70g + 2tbsp sugar (measure separately)
120ml whipping cream
1 tbsp ground black sesame seeds

In a large bowl, whisk together 2 tbsp of sugar with the black sesame paste until smooth. In a separate large bowl, whisk together 70g sugar and the egg yolks until pale yellow.
Heat the milk in a small saucepan until just about to boil. Mix the yolks and the milk, adding the milk in small portions, whisking constantly as you pour.
Pour the mixture (the custard) back into the pan. Heat the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens - it should coat the back of a wooden spoon. Strain the custard. Mix the custard with the black sesame mixture, adding the custard in small portions (or the mixture will separate).
Place the bowl over an ice bath to cool, stirring occasionally. Chill the mixture until thoroughly cold. Mix the cream and ground sesame seeds into the cold ice cream mixture.
Churn the ice cream in an ice cream maker, for around 20 minutes (time may differ according to your machine). Transfer to an air tight container and chill until ice cream sets.

Click here to see the ice cream maker I have (links to amazon). I wouldn't recommend it though, because for some reason the lid doesn't fit on properly to the bottom canister, and the whole top bit wobbles when I switch the machine on.