Every time I make this ice cream, my house fills with the incredible aromas of spices. Serve this ice cream with poached pears, or omit the ice cream part and just make the gingerbread cookies on their own. The recipe makes 20–24 gingerbread men.

INGREDIENTS

250ml full-cream milk
160g light brown sugar
5 egg yolks, lightly whisked
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
375ml thickened cream
150g crumbled gingerbread biscuit, (recipe below)

GINGERBREAD BISCUIT

100g unsalted buƒtter, soft„ened
100g dark brown sugar
80g golden syrup
1 egg
1 egg yolk
300g plain flour
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

METHOD

To make the gingerbread biscuit, beat the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup using an electric mixer on high speed until light and creamy. Turn the speed to medium/low, add the egg and egg yolk and mix until well combined.

Sift the remaining dry ingredients into a bowl. Turn the speed on the electric mixer to low and, working in 3 batches, add the dry ingredients, mixing until combined. Gather the dough together and flatten into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour, or until it is firm enough to be rolled out.

Preheat the oven to 165°‚C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 3 mm thickness. Place the dough on the tray and bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly golden. Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack.

To make the ice cream, heat the milk and brown sugar in a saucepan until simmering, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour the hot milk in a steady stream into the egg yolks, whisking continuously so the eggs don’t curdle.

Add the ground ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and keep stirring over low heat until thickened. The mixture should be thick enough to coat the back of a spatula when it is ready. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Pour the cream into the mixture, stirring until combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Churn the mixture in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. It will take 1 hour for the ice cream to set. Stir the gingerbread crumbs into the ice cream, transfer into an ice-cream container and sprinkle more crumbs over the top. Cover and refrigerate to set before serving.

Recipe appears courtesy of Cooked.com.au.

From Have You Eaten by Billy Law.