Helado de Ajo Negro (Black Garlic Ice Cream)

Years back, Black Garlic seemed to be a secret amongst geeky pro chefs, and making it involved multi-day low temperature cooks. Now we're finding it in regular grocery stores for reasonable prices. It has a surprising and appealing sweet flavor, without the bite you might expect. I thought it might make an intriguing ice cream, and it turns out, lots of others are doing this too -- some with additions of vanilla, chocolate, honey, even 36 variations. I want my first version to be pure and direct, to showcase the ingredient; perhaps later, I'll add complementary flavors. 

Sidebar. The first Black Garlic we got here in Barcelona (from Mercadona) was in a plastic tub which contained peeled cloves with a great fruity flavor: a bit tart and a bit sweet, kinda like a like a date or tamarind, maybe a hint of balsamic vinegar. The 60 g jar we got from Consum was a surprise when I opened it for this project: it had a distinct note of garlic and not as much of the sweetness we had earlier, it might go well with chocolate, but it's too garicky for a solo tour. We went on a quest to find more sweet/tart ones and found it only in whole head form: at Ametller and Bon Preu (from the same producer and same 5€ price),  and 8€ at Fruiteries Borau (a different producer). All three contained 2 whole heads, and peeling them was not terribly easy: they were soft and sticky enough that they didn't pop out of the peels easily (I even tried freezing the heads first).  The whole heads had less overt garlicky smell and taste than the Consum jar, and I had a slight preference for the fruit of Ametller/Bon Preu brands. You might want to buy a couple different brands to find the most appealing flavor before you embark on this recipe, and get the peeled if you can; you can use less-fruity ones in savory dishes.

Most recipes I've seen mash the Garlic into a paste; this no-churn recipe just steeps then discards the cloves. Some use 1-2 Tablespoons of paste for 2.5-3 Cup of Milk and Cream; here, I'll use more for a pronounced flavor. I'll use the proportions of dairy and sugar that I use for my Saffron Ice Cream.

 70 g      Black Garlic cloves, peeled (from two peeled heads)

  3 whole  Eggs, whipped

300 ml     Milk

400 ml     Cream (35% fat UHT is what I used)

170 g      Sugar

  1 pinch  Salt

To give it some texture, mash two-thirds of the Black Garlic cloves to a paste;

slice the other half and reserve for adding at churn time.
Whisk the Black Garlic, Eggs, Milk, and Cream together in a large saucepan;

whisk in the Sugar and Salt.

Heat over medium, whisking frequently to prevent the milk from scalding, and watch the temperature.

Bring the temperature up to 78-80C / 175-180F, stirring constantly until thickened and a custard is formed, maybe 10 minutes; close to the final temperature, it will start to thicken quickly so be careful; the mixture should coat the back of a spoon. 

Transfer to a 1 Liter measuring cup with a spout and let cool.

Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the film onto the surface of the custard base to prevent a skin forming.

Chill overnight. 

If you have a frozen-canister ice cream churn (like this Duronic frozen-canister style I bought recently), freeze the canister overnight as well.

The next day, pour the base into a chilled churn; while churning, add the reserved sliced Black Garlic.

Churn for the recommended time, usually 20-30 minutes.

Distribute into freezer containers, cover the top of the ice cream directly with plastic film, cover with lids, and freeze overnight.

Before serving, check out the texture: you might want to let it thaw 15-30 minutes in the fridge to provide a scoop-able texture.

Small scoops served in pastry shells