This basil custard is surprisingly delicious. You might be thinking why is this called a custard and not just ice cream?! Well the reason is because the quantity of egg yolks used, which makes it thicker and richer in texture than a regular ice cream.
A friend of mine knew that I owned an ice cream machine and she invited to try this recipe that her neighbor made one day and she totally loved it. She said I have a bunch of basil, you bring the Ice cream machine and I will have all the ingredients ready! And I was like… wait… you said basil?! I just agreed honestly to have a night out with my friend and without my kids lol Seriously not in my wildest dreams I thought I would be a fan of this.
Of course I felt in love with this custard and have make it every summer since then… And here I’m posting my own version of this custard.
The first time I made this at my house I made pavlovas with the leftovers egg whites. The custard itself is amazing but if you don’t know what to do with the egg whites this is a great use, and it gives the dessert more texture and of course sweetness.
I also like adding crushed peanuts on top and it tastes like a Vietnamese dessert 🙂 for me is a winner combination.
The original recipe said that it was great pairing with a lemon strawberry sauce that I haven’t tried yet… and it sounds amazing in case you want to try it.
The original recipe didn’t have the pavlova or the peanuts, it said that a perfect pairing to the custard would be Strawberries in lemon syrup which also sounds amazing in case you want to try it!
Basil custard on Pavlova
Ingredients
Ice Cream
- 1 cup basil
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 5 eggs large
- 1 lemon
- pinch salt
Pavlova
- 5 egg whites
- 1 1/4 cup caster sugar
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla essence
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
- pinch salt
Garnish
- Basil leaves
- Chopped Peanuts
Instructions
Ice Cream
- Place the basil, sugar and half of the heavy cream in a blender or food processor, ground it until the leaves are as fine as possible.
- In a large bowl, place half of the mixture with the remaining cup of cream. And set a mesh on top of it to use it later.
- In another bowl mix the egg yolks and add the warm mix gradually and whisking constantly then put back in the saucepan. Keep whisking over medium heat with a spatula until the mixture get thicker. (When you pull out the spatula it should be cover with the mixture.)
- Remove from heat and pass it through the strainer on the other bowl. Zest the lemon and stir the custard. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator and follow your ice cream machine instructions.
Pavlova
- You can pair the ice cream with strawberry jam or use the leftovers egg whites to make a Pavlova:
- Using your stand mixer, beat egg whites on high speed 1 min until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, gradually add sugar and beat 10 min on high speed, or until stiff peaks form. It will be smooth and glossy.
- Pipe meringue into 3 to 3 1/2 inches wide nests onto the parchment paper using a Wilton 1M Tip. (if you don't have tip and bag to to pipe, use a Ziploc bag and open a 0.25 inch hole in one end. Pipe about 6-8 nest, and then you can make simple meringues with the leftovers or make more nests if you would like to have more pavlovas.
- Bake at 225˚ for 1 hr and 15 min then turn the oven off and without opening the door, let meringue in the hot oven another 30 min. Outsides will be dry and crisp to the tap and very pale cream-colored and insides will still be marshmallow soft.
- Transfer the pavlova with the parchment paper onto the counter. Store in an airtight container for 3-5 days at room temperature (in a low humidity place) until ready to use.
