Gingerbread ice cream – Traditional Christmas style

Christmas gingerbread – few cookies have such a strong link to Christmas, at least in Scandinavia! And no wonder, since eating gingerbread cookies even is supposed to make you kind!  But if this kindness is linked to the sheer happiness and satisfaction brought about by savouring the cookies, friends of ice cream should look no further – this Gingerbread ice cream actually tastes more of traditional gingerbread than most cookies do! 

Avid readers may remember that I have posted recipes for gingerbread ice cream a few times before. And surely, one can never have too many recipes of this annual favourite! Today’s version is built on a custard base infused with all the right, traditional gingerbread-spices, and – I dare say – comes with a profound and  powerful flavour-punch that makes most gingerbread cookies pale in comparison!

If you are in a hurry, preparing a custard base does take a little time however, so those who instead prefer a really quick recipe for gingerbread ice cream ready in about 30 minutes –look here!

Traditional gingerbread cookies form an integral part of Christmas in Sweden and several other countries. But this ice cream recipe actually tastes even more of ‘gingerbread’ than most ordinary cookies!

This great recipe was handed to me by my friend Lena (who also introduced me to the wonderful world of sorbet spooms). The winning formula stems from the fact that it actually includes most of the ingredients normally going into a regular, traditional batch of gingerbread cookie dough (save for the flour). So thanks to this very genuine combination of gingerbread spices, baking soda/baking powder, and a fair amount of golden syrup, this ice cream is guaranteed to match and even exceed most expectations!

Fresh ginger, cinnamon, dried bitter orange peel, clove … our traditional gingerbread spices

How to do it

The procedure follows the standard way of preparing custard based ice cream, with the particular spices being infused into the base.

Depending on how strong flavour you would like, you could add the dried spices as they come, or – like me – crush them lightly with a mortar and pestle.

You might be a bit extra careful about not adding too much of the bitter orange peel. Here, just a little will go a long way so stick to the recipe; otherwise you might end up with a markedly ‘adult’ bitterness to the overall flavour. Mind you: most adults will likely accept (or even like) this, but your ice cream would probably not be very popular with children: Trust me – I speak from bitter personal experience, after inadvertedly having overdosed on the peel once …

The (lightly) crushed spices have already been added. Now, it is time for the golden syrup

As usual for custard bases, it is important to whisk well in order to avoid scrambled eggs and/or getting the base burnt. While the Spoon-test provides a good rule of thumb for knowing when the custard base is ready, the cautious may want to check the temperatures with a thermometer (I normally do). Another precaution may be to pass the custard base through a sieve when ready, which should take care of any unwanted “lumps” and – of course – any remaining pieces of the spices.

Sieving off remaining pieces of the spices is a necessity, at least at some point in time

Should you like to make the flavour infusion even stronger, feel free to leave the spices in the base during the whole cooling down/chilling down phase: this will add to the impact (as above, I would be extra cautious with regard to the bitter orange peel, though).

Personally, I felt that the spicy punch already was powerful enough as it was, and sieved off the spices right after taking the base from the stove.

Gingerbread ice cream in the making

When the ice cream base has been sieved and properly chilled (at least for a few hours and preferably over night), churn it in your ice cream machine.

If you have no ice cream machine, you could still-freeze the base in your freezer: given the relatively high amount of sugar and – particularly – golden syrup, this ice cream will turn out nicely even without an ice cream machine (I have tried!): just remember to do the “manual churning” during the freezing and keep in mind that the ice cream (due to the high sugar content) will require a few extra hours in the freezer in order to freeze properly (read all about how to best still-freeze without ice cream machine in this post).

The result

Gingerbread ice cream

I have savoured many different recipes for gingerbread ice cream, and most of them have been very nice. Still, this is probably the one which comes closest to emulating the powerful flavour sensation of eating gingerbread dough! Clearly, the traditional combination of gingerbread spices – cinnamon, ginger, clove and bitter orange – brings forward a most impressive flavour punch! The inclusion of golden syrup and baking soda are also part of many actual recipes for gingerbread cookies, and particularly the syrup ensures that the consistency and texture turns out to be extremely smooth, scopable and generally inviting. 

Merry Christmas!

Gingerbread ice cream