ginger's snap

so i made a little ice cream for my friend ginger. i sent it off to her for taste testing and although her testers were not all in agreement about it, ginger's vote is really the only one that counts, since it's her flavor.

it's intended to be primarily a maple ice cream with secondary flavors of apple and ginger. you might prefer less ginger in the recipe, or to use a lighter grade syrup, but it is what it is and here's an approximation of it that you can try for yourself. the maple i use is from ginger's farm. it's the good stuff.

ginger's snap

1 cup grade b maple syrup
2 cups apple cider
fresh ginger, a piece about the size of the end of your thumb, peeled and chopped
cinnamon and assorted spices to taste
3 or 4 egg yolks, whisked lightly
1 cup milk
1 cup light cream
1 cup heavy cream

in a saucepan, reduce the cider and syrup until you have about a cup of concentrated apple/maple syrup. this will take a while and you should add the fresh ginger ad any other spices you're using here. take your time with this. it's not hard, and your house will smell divine.

strain the syrup mixture.

combine the milk and light cream with the reduced syrup and adjust the spices to taste. remember that the spices will become more intense later on, so underdo it slightly unless you're making it for ginger, who says there isn't any such a thing as too much ginger.

when the light dairy/ syrup mixture is almost to a simmer, pour a little bit into the whisked egg yolks and then add the egg mixture back into the custard. this step keeps your yolks from cooking like egg drop soup when you add them to the hot milk mixture.

cook that on medium heat until it just starts to thicken. add the heavy cream and once it's mixed smoothly, talke the whole thing and pop it in the fridge until it's cold.

then do whatever it is you do with your ice cream maker. when it's at your desired consistency, put it in containers for additional freezing to firm it up.  i leave mine overnight. your results may vary.