Basil Ice Cream
A smooth basil ice cream with restrained sweetness, a fresh herbal flavor and a rich dairy finish, designed for small savory servings. This recipe pairs well with ripe tomatoes, mozzarella, chilled gazpacho or roasted vegetables.
- Prep
- 35 min
- Program
- ICE CREAM
- Level
- Easy
- Price
- €€
Prepare the base
Gently rinse the basil leaves and pat them completely dry.
Add the whole milk, heavy cream, granulated sugar and salt to a small saucepan. Warm over low heat, whisking until the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture is steaming but not boiling.
Remove from the heat, add the basil leaves, cover and leave to infuse for 20 minutes.
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing the leaves gently, then discard the basil.
Add the cream cheese in small pieces and blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
Leave the base to cool to room temperature.
Freeze and spin
Pour the mixture into a Ninja CREAMi pint, without exceeding the MAX FILL line.
Close with the storage lid and freeze flat for 24 hours.
Once fully frozen, run the ICE CREAM program.
If the texture is powdery or crumbly after the first cycle, run RE-SPIN.
Still not right after re-spinning? See how to fix the texture.
Serve
Serve a small scoop with ripe tomatoes, mozzarella, chilled gazpacho or roasted vegetables.
Enjoy!
Storing leftovers
Flatten any remaining ice cream to level the surface before returning the pint to the freezer. This will make the next spin easier and reduce unnecessary strain on the machine. Learn more about after-serving habits.
Tips
- The sugar is deliberately restrained, but it remains necessary for a workable frozen texture.
- The finished color will be naturally pale rather than vivid green because the basil is infused and strained.
Nutrition | 100 g | Pint |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 189 | 911 |
| Protein (g) | 3 | 14.5 |
| Carbs (g) | 11.1 | 53.5 |
| Fat (g) | 15.1 | 72.8 |