Ginger Ice Cream (Philadelphia Style)

I love the simplicity of an egg-free ice cream base. I’ve tried dozens of them over the years, and this is one of the very best. A lot of these recipes rely on ingredients meant to produce that luxurious smoothness good ice cream should have—many use glucose or corn syrup (works pretty well), or cornstarch, or cream cheese (notably Jeni’s—not a fan), or assorted gums or lecithin, which can work well but aren’t always easy to find and are often overdone. This combo of milk powder and the tiniest bit of xanthan gum works great: no residual grit, and a boost of extra milky goodness, with nothing to dull the flavor the way custard bases often do.

I infused the milk with the fresh ginger for an hour as instructed. It smelled quite gingery—even after I added the cream and vanilla, I was concerned it would be a tad too strong or harsh. Not to worry, though. After ripening the base overnight and churning the ice cream, both of which mellow out strong flavors, the balance was perfect. This recipe has just the right proportions of dairy fat to spice—there was a fresh ginger tang, but no bite. Really lovely.

I liked this better without the crystallized ginger and cookies. Most of the time I prefer ice cream without bits of other stuff (except nuts or chocolate), but that’s truly just a personal preference—ice cream lovers who get their fix from Ben & Jerry’s or mix-in shops will love the additions.

I had company this past weekend, so I was able to get several additional opinions. There were many skeptics—as in, “Why would you put ginger in ice cream?” That questioner was about to pass on the tasting, but when the others started commenting, she took a spoonful and admitted it was way better than she expected.

The consensus was that the overall flavor and texture were spot on, and that this ice cream (in my opinion, without the add-ins) would make an excellent component of a composed dessert—or served alongside a warm slice of apple pie.

One additional comment on this ice cream base: I think it would be perfect for fruit-based flavors. Custard recipes are frequently used because fruit purées can make an eggless base icy—but that’s a serious trade-off, since they also blunt the fruit flavor. I plan to test my hypothesis the next time I get my hands on some really good, sweet strawberries.

This is a ginger lover’s delight! Let’s start with the texture—smooth with wonderful bits of crunch throughout. The crystallized ginger, which I chopped into very small pieces, was a fantastic addition. I used Trader Joe’s Triple Ginger Cookie Thins, a personal favorite that I usually have on hand. The contrast between the velvety ice cream and the intensity of the cookies and crystallized ginger is absolutely heavenly.

Because crystallized ginger can be somewhat sticky to chop, I let my mini-Cuisinart do the work. To prevent it from clumping into a sticky mass and to ensure the flavor spread evenly, I tossed the chopped ginger with the crumbled cookies before adding them to the churning ice cream. It worked like a charm!

This recipe was a hands-down winner. One of my tasters initially declined a bite because he doesn’t care for ginger, but decided to try just “a bit” and finished the entire portion with a grand review—apparently he liked this ginger after all.

The ice cream is smooth and creamy but light enough that the ginger really shines through. I couldn’t find ginger cookies, so I substituted Biscoff cookies, and I thought they worked perfectly. I also used more fresh ginger—80 grams. I was a little concerned it would have too much of a bite when I tasted the milk, but the finished product was perfectly balanced.

The mix-ins really were the icing on the cake for me—the little chews of candied ginger added another layer of ginger and texture, and the cookies put me in mind of an ice cream sandwich.

Note: Be sure to let it sit on the counter a bit before serving so it turns perfectly smooth and lush. I kept it in my deep freezer, which is much colder than my fridge, and I wasn’t patient enough. It was delicious, but after I moved it to the other freezer and let it sit out, it was exceptional.

I need to start by saying I love ginger—if you don’t, this might not be the recipe for you. Having said that, it’s full of ginger flavor in several forms but isn’t at all “hot” or biting. The key, I believe, is letting the fresh ginger steep for a sufficient amount of time.

The ice cream base is pretty simple to put together and uses ingredients you’re likely to have on hand. Homemade ice cream is a big deal in my family—in fact, my extended family has an ice cream–making competition every summer, and we even have a traveling trophy!

After making many varieties and tasting many more, I found the base of this recipe particularly smooth and creamy. For me, the crystallized ginger pieces were a great addition and really enhanced the overall flavor; my husband felt the ginger snap bits were the key. This will definitely go on my list of ice cream recipes.