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Fig leaf ice cream

Name: Fig leaf ice cream
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: Makes approx. 1.5 litres
Ingredients: 6 young fresh fig leaves; 450ml double cream; 450ml whole milk; 1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped; 6 medium free-range egg yolks; 100g caster sugar; You’ll also need; An ice cream machine

By: Louise Pickford

Published: 4 May 23
Updated: 25 Mar 24

Fig leaves are a wonderful ingredient, and they impart such a heady, aromatic figginess to this delicious ice cream. It can be served simply with fresh figs, but is even better with a slice of our fig and hazelnut cake – especially as you can utilise the unused egg whites.

You can make this recipe with no ice cream machine – see the Know How below.

Easy
April 2023

Test kitchen approved

Makes approx. 1.5 litres
Hands-on time 15 min, plus 20 min infusing, freezing time 4-6 hours

You can make this recipe with no ice cream machine – see the Know How below.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 297kcals
Fat: 26.3g (15.3g saturated)
Protein: 3.6g
Carbohydrates: 11.5g (11.5g sugars)
Fibre: Nil
Salt: 0.1g

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Ingredients

6 young fresh fig leaves
450ml double cream
450ml whole milk
1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped
6 medium free-range egg yolks
100g caster sugar

You’ll also need

An ice cream machine

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Method

Wash and dry the fig leaves. If you have a gas hob, use tongs to hold the leaves one at a time over the flame until they dry out and wilt, without letting them catch and burn. If you don’t, put them one at a time in a frying pan over a high heat for 2 minutes until they dry out and curl up. Cool then tear into pieces.
Heat the milk, cream, vanilla pod and seeds and fig leaves together in a saucepan over a medium heat. Once it begins to boil, remove from the heat and set aside for 20 minutes to infuse.
Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until pale, then strain the infused milk mixture into them through a fine sieve (discard the leaves but wash and dry the vanilla pod to use for flavouring sugar, etc.). Return the mixture to the pan and put over a low heat. Stir constantly, cooking until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Strain the custard into a bowl and leave to cool, then churn in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Recipe from April 2023 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 297kcals
Fat: 26.3g (15.3g saturated)
Protein: 3.6g
Carbohydrates: 11.5g (11.5g sugars)
Fibre: Nil
Salt: 0.1g

delicious. tips

No ice cream machine? Simply freeze the custard base for 4 hours, then beat with a fork to break up the ice crystals. Continue this process until the ice cream is fully frozen.