This was my first batch of homemade ice cream on my latest trip to Thailand so I wanted to make something interesting and different with some local flavors. My Thai friends were a bit skeptical at first, mostly to the prospect of ice cream with chilli, but I think most of them were pleasantly surprised when the got to try it. I used this recipe but as I didn't have my ice cream machine with me, I converted it into a no churn recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of whipping cream
- 1/2 - 1 can (1 can = 395g/14oz) of sweetened condensed milk (depending on how sweet you like your ice cream)
- 1 chilli, finely chopped
- 2 thumb sized pieces of ginger, finely grated
- 2 stalks of lemongrass, finely chopped
Ready to get serious about your ice cream making?
The 'no churn' method is great for occasional batches but if you want to get serious about your ice cream making I suggest you invest in an ice cream maker designed for home use.
The two ice cream makers I recommend are the Cuisinart ICE-70 and the Breville BCI600 XL. Click the images below to read more about those two machines or check out my complete guide to ice cream makers to see all the options and read the pros and cons of each.
Method
- Prepare the spices - finely grate the ginger (2 thumbs) and finely chop the lemongrass (2 stalks) and chilli (1)
- Add the chopped and grated spices to the cream (2 cups) and heat on medium in a saucepan until just bubbling then remove from heat
- Steep for at least 3 hours to extract the flavors. Put in the fridge in the last hour to cool down before whipping
- Strain the cream to remove the spices. Press and agitate them in the strainer to extract as much of the soaked in cream as possible
- Whip the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form
- Run the mixer on low as you pour in the sweetened condensed milk (1/2 - 1 can depending on how sweet you want it. I used 3/4)
- Fold through to ensure sweetened condensed milk is mixed in and hasn't pooled at the bottom of the bowl
- Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for 6+ hours
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- As you can see in my photo, I didn't grate my ginger. This is because I didn't have a grater in my make-shift Thai hotel kitchen. This lead to the ginger flavor being pretty subtle and largely overpowered by the lemongrass on my palate, but Thai friends who tried it said they could taste the ginger
- The original (churn) recipe that I based this on instructs that the spices should be blended into the base which will extract more flavor. I also didn't have a blender on hand so I doubled the amount of spices in my recipe, left the chilli seeds in and added the steeping step
No Churn Lemongrass, Ginger & Chilli Ice Cream