Black pepper ice cream tastes spicy and lively, as you probably can imagine. I like it as a contrast to sweet summer berries, or pears roasted with a swirl of dark honey in autumn. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, crack the peppercorns in a heavy-duty plastic bag with a hammer.
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 2 cups (500 ml)
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Warm the milk, sugar, peppercorns, salt, and 1/2 cup (125 ml) of the cream in a medium saucepan. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.
Step 2
Rewarm the peppercorn-infused mixture. Pour the remaining 1/2 cup (125 ml) cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
Step 3
Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer, pressing the peppercorns gently to extract as much flavor as possible. Discard the peppercorns and stir the custard into the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.
Step 4
Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Perfect Pairing
Step 5
Icy-cold Melon in Lime Syrup is the perfect accompaniment to Black Pepper Ice Cream. Zest 2 limes into a small saucepan. Add 1 cup (250 ml) water and 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar, bring the mixture to a boil, and cook until the syrup is reduced to 3/4 cup (180 ml). Remove from the heat, pour into a bowl, and chill thoroughly.
Step 6
Peel, seed, and cut a cantaloupe or honeydew melon into 1-inch (3-cm) chunks, and add them to the syrup. Chill for at least 1 hour, then serve the melon pieces with some of the syrup, alongside the Black Pepper Ice Cream. Garnish with a few grains of cracked pink peppercorns.
