Orange Blossom and Madagascar Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Orange blossom water is made of fragrant petals of orange blossoms, and has citrus and jasmine notes. It has been used in Middle Eastern and French cooking for centuries. I decided to use orange blossom water in my ice cream after tasting the yummy Orange Blossom Beignets (french donuts) at Piperade, a cute basque restaurant in San Francisco. Be careful ~ orange blossom water should be used sparingly or else it will taste like you are eating perfume!

The other key ingredient in this ice cream is whole Madagascar vanilla bean. Whole vanilla beans make a huge difference ~ pretty black flecks of vanilla and a natural, subtle taste of vanilla. You can also use Tahitian or any other kind of vanilla bean. If you don't have vanilla beans you can always use vanilla extract. 

You need an ice cream maker of course to make this ~ I love my ice cream maker! After you make your own ice cream you will never want to eat store-bought ice cream again, it tastes a million times better homemade. I got lucky and found my Cuisinart ice cream maker open-box at at TJ Maxx  for about $40, a little scratched up but works great. Unfortunately this isn't something they carry all the time, but you can still find it online Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker - 2 Qt.

As for finding orange blossom water and the vanilla beans: I like the Nielsen-Massey Orange Blossom Water - 2 oz , it's only about $8.  You can find vanilla beans at your local grocery store and I have also seen it at Trader Joe's for a reasonable price if you live near one. I buy my vanilla beans from The Spice House online for about $2 each.

INGREDIENTS:

* 4 large egg yolks

* 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoons sugar

* 1 tablespoon honey

* 2 cups whole milk

* 1/2 madagascar vanilla bean- slice open the pod and scrape out the grainy black paste inside (use
this part for the ice cream), discard the pod casing. (If you don't have vanilla beans you can substitute 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract)

* 1/2 cup heavy cream

* 3 teaspoons orange blossom water

* 1/2 teaspoon fresh Meyer lemon juice or regular lemon juice

* Zest of 1 orange

* Pinch of salt


DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the custard: In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the egg yolks with 3/4 cup of the sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy, 3 minutes.

2. In a saucepan, combine the milk with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar 1 tablespoon honey, and vanilla bean paste. Bring to a simmer.

3. Remove saucepan from heat and SLOWLY (first only add spoonfuls) beat the warm milk into the egg yolks at low speed, making a custard. The reason you have to do this slowly is because you don't want the hot milk to cook the eggs. Scrape the custard back into the saucepan. Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, about 5 minutes; don’t let the custard boil or it will turn into scrambled eggs!

4. Pour the custard into a bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water and whisk in the heavy cream, orange blossom water, lemon juice and salt. Let stand until chilled, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. (Can transfer to refrigerator if it’s not getting cold, just cover with plastic wrap touching surface of custard so it doesn’t form a skin while chilling).

5. Pour the custard and lemon zest into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions (Cuisinart requires 25-30 minutes). Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.