Green tea ice-cream

Although green tea ice cream is now found all over Japan and in Japanese restaurants abroad, it only really became popular in the 1990s. It’s simple to make at home.

Credit: Steve Brown / Hachette

• makes

  1 litre

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 400 ml full-cream milk
• 300 ml pouring cream
• 6 egg yolks
• ½ cup caster sugar
• 20 g green tea powder (matcha; see Note)

Chilling time 5 hours

Instructions

Combine the milk and cream in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat.

Beat the egg yolks and caster sugar until pale and combined, then beat in the green tea powder. Slowly whisk the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture, then strain everything back into the saucepan and stir over medium heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.

Transfer to a bowl and cool first to room temperature, then in the fridge for about an hour until chilled.

Churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions, then set in the freezer for at least 2 hours.

Notes

• You can make ice cream without an ice cream machine – just place the mixture in the freezer and whisk it vigorously every 30 minutes until it sets too firmly to whisk. It will take about 4 hours to freeze.

• Green tea powder is available from the Japanese section of Asian grocerystores. Don’t try to substitute ordinary leaf green tea.

Recipe and images from Adam Liaw's Asian Cookery School (Hachette Australia, $49.99 hbk, $17.99 ebook).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.