Open Sesame

With the holidays once again approaching, I wanted to make a special ice cream that I could bring over as a holiday treat to wow everyone. Unfortunately, many of the traditional holiday ice cream flavors, such as pumpkin pie, peppermint and coquito, I already made last year. Since I wanted to try something new, I decided to look at Bon Appetit for inspiration. I have always had good luck with their ice creams in the past, including some of their more unusual sounding flavors, such as honey and thyme, which has quickly grown to be a favorite in my house. This year I decided to make Sesame Ice Cream with Orange Blossom Caramel Sauce.

Sesame Ice Cream with Orange Blossom Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

Orange Blossom Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon kosher salt

6 tablespoons heavy cream

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon orange-flower water (note: I did not have orange-flower water, so I substituted orange blossom honey instead)

 

Sesame Ice Cream

3/4 cup sesame seeds

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup half-and-half

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1 cup sugar

Pinch of Salt

8 egg yolks

 

Preparation:

Orange-Blossom Caramel Sauce

Stir sugar, honey, salt and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and cook without stirring until mixture turns amber in color. Remove from heat; carefully stir in cream, then orange-flower water. Let cool. Cover and chill.

 

Sesame Ice Cream

Toast sesame seeds in a large heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add cream, half-and-half, and milk. Bring barely to a simmer, stirring often, over medium heat. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 30 minutes.

 

Strain through a sieve into a medium bowl. Return cream mixture to same pan; add 1/2 cup sugar and salt. Bring barely to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.

 

Whisk egg yolks with remaining 1/2 cup sugar in medium bowl. While whisking constantly, gradually add hot cream mixture to yolks, then return mixture to pan. Cook over medium-low-heat, stirring constantly, until custard is thick enough to just coat the back of a spoon, 3-5 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a medium bowl. Cover and chill overnight.

 

Process in a an ice cream maker.

 

Texture: The texture on this came out pretty well. It is smooth and creamy and scoops nicely. It almost has the texture of store bought ice cream. I think it may be because of all the egg yolks.

Flavor: The flavor is definitely an unusual one and I think requires an acquired taste. The sesame can leave a slightly bitter after taste in your mouth, though I think the caramel blossom syrup helps to cut through that. I thought this flavor was weird at first, but it has slowly grown on me. Now, I am craving a bowl of sesame ice cream with orange blossom caramel syrup every night.

Overall: Sesame ice cream is definitely an acquired taste. If you are an adventurous eater, this is a good flavor for you. Otherwise, stick to more traditional flavors.

Unfortunately, my husband has been sick this week, so he has been unable to try the ice cream. I am uncertain whether it is the best flavor to bring to Christmas dinner, as I am not sure the flavor has mass appeal. As my Mom usually makes the world's best chocolate cake for dessert on Christmas, I am thinking about making a cinnamon ice cream to accompany it.

Share your favorite holiday ice cream flavors.

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.