Lemon Basil Ice Cream with Cracked Pepper

Place 1 cup of cream in a metal bowl and place over ice.

In a medium saucepan, add remaining cream, milk, lemon zest, sugar, inverted sugar (or corn syrup), and salt. Cook over medium heat until combined well.

Add fresh basil (don’t chop the basil) and cook until mixture just begins to boil. Immediately take off heat and cover for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, strain mixture through a fine strainer, making sure to press on the basil and zest to extract all the flavor. Return mixture to saucepan and reheat on medium low.

In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks. Slowly add heated mixture. Note: While you are adding the mixture, make sure you are furiously whisking the mixture to prevent the eggs from cooking!

Once half the warmed mixture is mixed with the egg yolks, pour lemon basil and egg yolk mixture into the saucepan and continue to heat over medium low heat until it thickens enough to cover the back of a spoon and leave a trail when you run your finger through it.

Once custard is at the proper thickness, strain mixture into chilled cream in the ice bath to stop the cooking process. You may see some small curdles of cooked egg, but that is okay as long as you strain the mixture.

Add the pepper and stir mixture and wait for it to reach at least room temperature so that it is safe to put in the fridge. At that point, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate anywhere from 2 hours to overnight.

Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and allow to harden overnight.

Makes 1 quart.