A creamy vanilla ice cream with a fresh, earthy basil flavour, that’s not overpowering. And then top it with an easy chocolate magic shell sauce, and you’ve got a habit-forming ice cream! Basil is one of my favourite herbs, and as far as flavour combos go, Basil Vanilla Ice Cream might sound a little unusual at first, but once you try it, you’re never going back. You’re going to love it! Basil is a pretty versatile herb and it goes really well with vanilla. I first made this back in 2014, soon after I started this blog, and I loved the flavours so much that I made a second batch of this basil infused ice cream immediately. And quite a few batches since then. It’s been a really hot and muggy summer, with no respite in sight, and frozen desserts like this basil vanilla ice cream, classic vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, mint chocolate chip ice cream, fruit sorbet etc. have been my survival strategy. 🙂 This basil vanilla ice cream is also one of the first ice cream recipes that I made in my new ice cream machine, so I’ve got a soft spot for it because of that too. 🙂 Here I use a deeply basil infused milk to make the custard base. I use the leaves and stalks of the basil with about one and a half cups of milk and after heating it I leave it aside, covered, for at least half an hour to make sure that the milk has a strong, intriguing basil flavour, while still not being overpowering (that’s important!). There’s no mistaking the flavour in this basil infused ice cream, and the infused milk may even show a slight green hue with the addition of basil. This does disappear with the addition of cream and eggs, BUT I add an extra dose of fresh basil to the final custard which brings that slight green tinge back. This is an optional step, but one that makes the basil infusion more prominent and delicious. When the custard is done, let it chill in the fridge for a few hours, if you’re churning it in your ice cream machine. HOWEVER, if you don’t own an ice cream machine, you can pour the custard into a large flat dish (with a large surface area) and keep it in the freezer. Then just check on it every hour to whip the custard (and break down the hard bits) with a hand-held beater. This method works well, but obviously involves a bit more work. But at the end of it, you’re going to be treated to an amazingly creamy, cooling basil vanilla ice cream with that incredibly refreshing basil flavour. The basil adds an earthy freshness to the sweet and creamy vanilla base. Pair it with a satisfying savoury meal, and you’ll be in lurrrve!
More delicious ice cream recipes you will love
Classic vanilla ice cream Homemade chocolate ice cream Strawberry shortcake ice cream Date and tahini ice cream Ube ice cream (purple yam ice cream) Salted butterscotch cookie dough ice cream Creamy lemon ice cream Butterscotch pecan ice cream (with brown butter) Homemade cereal milk ice cream Mint chocolate chip ice cream No churn galaxy ice cream (mixed berry lemon ice cream) Rainbow ice cream slice Salted lime sherbet (margarita ice cream) Kahlua cherry ice cream Popcorn ice cream
If you’re feeling that extra bit fancy, go ahead and make an easy peasy chocolate magic shell sauce and drizzle it on top for a decadent, Stracciatella-like ice cream. Goes well with a creamy, herby ice cream. Honestly, anything will go well with this creamy, basil infused ice cream! So what would you pair this basil vanilla ice cream with? And what’s your favourite ice cream flavour? 🙂 If you liked this basil vanilla ice cream recipe, don’t forget to subscribe for new (and free) recipes by entering your email address on the side bar (and get all these recipes delivered straight to your inbox), so you don’t miss out on a thing. You can find me on FACEBOOK, TWITTER,INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, YOU TUBE and GOOGLE-PLUS too.
