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Birch ice cream with black bean pesto, spiced cream and milk skin
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Heinrich Schneider's stunning ice cream recipe might look more like an alien landscape than an Italian dessert, but rest assured this sophisticated dish delivers formidably on flavour, too. Milk skin adds soft texture, while the combination of birch ice cream, black bean pesto sweetened with honey and plum seed oil and a smooth disc of spiced sesame cream results in a striking colour palette for a memorable end to a dinner party menu.
First published in 2016
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Birch ice cream
- 3 birch branches, broken into small pieces with twigs reserved for serving
- 4l water
- 150ml of cream
- 150ml of milk
- 50g of forest honey
- 30g of glucose
- 70g of sugar
- 1 gelatine leaf, soaked in cold water to soften
Black bean pesto
- 130g of black beans
- 30g of sugar
- 10g of glucose
- 10 drops of plum seed oil
- 20g of forest honey
- water
Milk skin
- 1l whole milk
Spiced cream
- 100ml of milk
- 100ml of cream
- 1 vanilla pod
- 1 star anise
- 1 pinch of ground cardamom
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 1 tsp black sesame powder
- 60g of egg yolk
To serve
- cocoa powder
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- Pacojet
- Thermometer
- Blender
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
2
Begin by preparing the birch water for the ice cream the day before serving. Place the branches on a baking tray and allow to brown in the oven for 45 minutes
- 3 birch branches, broken into small pieces with twigs reserved for serving
3
Meanwhile, place the black beans in a deep bowl and pour over enough cold water to cover. Leave to rest in a cool, dark place and allow to soak overnight
- 130g of black beans
- water
4
Place the browned branches in a large saucepan with the water. Bring up to the boil and allow to simmer for 30 minutes, then pass the birch water through a sieve and discard the branches. Weigh out 340ml of the birch water and pour into a large, clean pan
- 4l water
5
Add the milk, cream, honey, glucose and sugar to the pan with the water and stir well. Gently bring the mixture up to the boil, then remove from the heat. Squeeze any excess water from the soaked gelatine and add to the pan, stirring until dissolved and incorporated. Pour into a Pacojet container and transfer to the freezer overnight
- 150ml of milk
- 150ml of cream
- 50g of forest honey
- 30g of glucose
- 70g of sugar
- 1 gelatine leaf, soaked in cold water to soften
6
On the day of serving, prepare the milk skin. Pour the milk into a large saucepan and gently heat until it reaches 80°C. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to rest until a thin layer of skin forms across the surface. Carefully remove the milk skin from the pan and lie across a silpat mat, leaving to air dry for 2 hours
- 1l whole milk
7
Preheat a steam oven to 80°C
8
For the spiced cream, combine the milk, cream, vanilla, cardamom, anise, thyme and black sesame powder in a pan and gently bring up to the boil. Remove from the heat and allow to rest for a few minutes to infuse, then pass the mixture through a sieve into a clean bowl
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 100ml of milk
- 100ml of cream
- 1 vanilla pod
- 1 star anise
- 1 pinch of ground cardamom
- 1 tsp black sesame powder
9
Add the egg yolks to the spiced cream mixture and whisk well until thoroughly combined. Pour the cream mixture into a small, deep baking tray and cover with cling film. Place in the steam oven for 2 hours, then remove and leave to cool
- 60g of egg yolk
10
Meanwhile, finish the black bean pesto. Gently heat the sugar in a medium saucepan until caramelised, then add the glucose, soaked beans and the soaking water to the pan and stir well. Increase the heat and allow the beans to boil until softened, then remove from the heat and transfer to a blender
- 30g of sugar
- 10g of glucose
11
Blitz the black bean mixture to form a thick paste with a pesto-like consistency. Adjust the sweetness to taste with the forest honey and stir through the plum seed oil, then set aside until ready to serve
- 20g of forest honey
- 10 drops of plum seed oil
12
Ahead of serving, remove the birch ice cream from the freezer and process in a Pacojet until smooth
13
To serve, drag a line of black bean pesto across each plate and spoon a little of the spiced cream on top. Place a quenelle of the birch ice cream on the other side of the plate and top with a piece of folded milk skin. To garnish, dust 6 birch twigs lightly with cocoa and divide between plates
- cocoa powder
First published in 2016
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