Black Sesame Ice Cream

Roughly three months ago, a friend was eating a bowl of half-melted black ice cream.

“My word, what is that?” I asked her.
“Black sesame,” she answered. “Want some?”

The ice cream was heavenly and tasted like Saturday dim sum in Chinatown. It was the perfect combination of dairy-sweet and exotic spice.

Of course, I couldn’t find the flavor again. Every time I passed a gelato or ice cream place, I’d duck inside and hopefully scan the menu. Finally, I decided to try and recreate the concoction myself.

Black Sesame Ice Cream

Basic ice cream base
Sesame oil
Black sesame seeds

Toast three or four tablespoons of black sesame seeds over medium heat. Grind the seeds into a fine powder. A logical person would use a coffee grinder or food processor. Having recently destroyed the blades on my grinder in the Great Kitchen Mishap of ’08, I ground the seeds by hand. I felt quite the pioneer woman. That is, until my arm started getting really, really tired.

While making the basic ice cream base, add five or six drops of sesame oil to the mixture. Stir in the black sesame powder before putting the base in your ice cream maker.

The finished ice cream should be a purpley-gray. The yuckiness of its appearance is in opposite proportion to the yumminess of the flavor.