Murphy's Dingle Gin Ice Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 cardamom pod
• 15 Juniper berries
• Lemon and orange zest to taste
• 130g Sugar
• 4 Egg yolks
• 240ml Cream
• 200ml Milk
• 60ml Dingle Gin

1. Add the cardamom, juniper, lemon and orange zest to the gin and allow to sit for at least 4 hours.
2. Beat the sugar and egg yolks together until thick and pale yellow.
3. Bring milk to a low simmer
4. Slowly add the milk to the egg/sugar mixture with the mixer running.
5. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook, stirring continuously, on low heat until it reaches 65 C. It should coat the back of a spoon.
6. Refrigerate until cold.
7. Whip the cream until it has doubled in volume (you should have soft peaks – don’t over-whip).
8. Freeze using a domestic ice cream machine, or cover and place in the freezer, stirring every few hours to break up the ice crystals.
9. If you’re using a domestic ice cream machine, transfer to a freezer-proof covered container when the ice cream has achieved a semi-solid consistency (around 15 minutes).
10. Add the gin after about 20 minutes, once the ice cream has begun to solidify.
11. Place it in the freezer, and continue to freeze until it is solid.

Yield: 8 servings.

Note:

1. To pasteurise the eggs, heat the custard to 73C and maintain that temperature for at least 5 minutes. Use a cooking thermometer, though, and keep stirring! If the custard goes any higher than 76C, the eggs will scramble. Immediately cover and place in the freezer until cool.