I don’t think there’s much in this world that beats a golden hour walk into town to get some ice cream. This was a staple of my childhood summer vacation and even today when we’re visiting my grandparents we all make the walk into town to get ice cream after dinner.

While I was visiting them for the Fourth of July we followed our usual routine of a walk around the corner to the locally owned ice cream shop. In recent years this shop has taken on new owners and has started creating some really fun flavors that aren’t your ‘run of the mill’ rocky road or mint chocolate chip (don’t get me wrong I love me some mint chocolate chip ice cream, but sometimes you just want something different). On this visit though, there was a new flavor that I couldn’t say no to: beet with orange and ginger.

Sure, I was wary of this flavor. After all, beets can be so earthy that it could end up making dirt flavored ice cream which was the main complaint made by anyone that I told about the ice cream that didn’t like beets.

Thankfully, the brightness of the orange zest and spice of the ginger helps to cut the earthiness of the beets and instead highlights their sweetness instead.

This is a traditional custard ice cream base and even if it’s your first time making custard it’s surprisingly easy to make. This recipe just has the extra step of making the beet syrup and the beet puree which you can do a few days in advance if you’d like!

One note on the beet syrup, once you have strained the beets from the syrup be sure to reduce the syrup before you place it into the ice cream base. If you don’t do this it runs the risk of making the ice cream crystallize due to having too much water in the custard.

Here’s what you’ll need:

For the Beet Syrup:

5 small beets, peeled

2 cups sugar

Place beets and sugar into a small sauce pan. Add enough water to cover the beets and sugar, stir to ensure all of the sugar gets mixed into the water. Simmer for 45 minutes until the beets are tender. Strain the beets from the syrup. Place the syrup back in the pan and reduce by 1/3.  Set the syrup aside to cool.

 

For the beet puree:

Take three of the beets from the beet syrup and place them into a blender. Add 1/4 cup of beet syrup and blend until completely smooth.

Add additional syrup if needed to help break up the beet. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and set puree aside.

For the Ice Cream:

2  cups heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

2 oranges, zested

1″ piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped

5 large egg yolks

1/2 cup pureed beets

1/2 cup beet syrup

Combine cream, milk, orange zest, and ginger in a medium saucepan. Bring the ingredients to a simmer over medium heat.

Place egg yolks in a large bowl. Whisk vigorously for 2-3 minutes until the yolks become lighter in color and more aerated.

 

Once the cream is simmering, slowly add 1/2 cup of the cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking continually to prevent the egg yolks from scrambling. This is called tempering the egg yolks. Continue to add in the remainder of the cream into the egg yolk mixture continuing to whisk while you combine the ingredients. This is the basis for a custard.

Once the custard has been completely incorporated with the egg yolks return it back to the sauce pan and place the pan back on the stove on medium heat. Continue to cook, stirring constantly to ensure the custard is being cooked evenly.

Once the custard has thickened to the point where it coats the back of a spoon without running off remove the pan from the stove and pour in the beet syrup and puree. Strain custard through a fine mesh strainer to catch any pieces of egg yolk that may have scrambled while combining the cream and yolks.

Place the custard into an ice bath. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the custard while it cools, this will help to prevent a skin from forming on the custard which will impact the texture once it is churned. Allow the custard to chill in the ice bath for 40 minutes and then transfer into the refrigerator and let the custard cool overnight.

After letting the custard fully cool overnight, transfer to an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s directions. I used my kitchenaid attachment and churned the ice cream for 40 minutes.

Place the ice cream into an airtight container and let the ice cream chill for another 4 hours.

 

For the Beet Syrup:

5 small beets, peeled

2 cups sugar

Place beets and sugar into a small sauce pan. Add enough water to cover the beets and sugar, stir to ensure all of the sugar gets mixed into the water. Simmer for 45 minutes until the beets are tender. Strain the beets from the syrup. Place the syrup back in the pan and reduce by 1/3.  Set the syrup aside to cool.

For the beet puree:

Take three of the beets from the beet syrup and place them into a blender. Add 1/4 cup of beet syrup and blend until completely smooth. Add additional syrup if needed to help break up the beet. Set puree aside.

For the Ice Cream:

2  cups heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

2 oranges, zested

1″ piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped

5 large egg yolks

1/2 cup pureed beets

1/2 cup beet syrup

Combine cream, milk, orange zest, and ginger in a medium saucepan. Bring the ingredients to a simmer over medium heat.

Place egg yolks in a large bowl. Whisk vigorously for 2-3 minutes until the yolks become lighter in color and more aerated.

Once the cream is simmering, slowly add 1/2 cup of the cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking continually to prevent the egg yolks from scrambling. This is called tempering the egg yolks. Continue to add in the remainder of the cream into the egg yolk mixture continuing to whisk while you combine the ingredients. This is the base for a custard.

Once the custard has been completely incorporated with the egg yolks return it back to the sauce pan and place the pan back on the stove on medium heat. Continue to cook, stirring constantly to ensure the custard is being cooked evenly. Once the custard has thickened to the point where it coats the back of a spoon without running off remove the pan from the stove and add in the beet puree and syrup. Stir to combine. Strain the custard through a fine mesh strainer to catch any bits of egg yolk that may have scrambled while combining the cream and yolk.  Pour the custard into an ice bath. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the custard while it cools, this will help to prevent a skin from forming on the custard which will impact the texture once it is churned. Allow the custard to chill in the ice bath for 40 minutes and then transfer into the refrigerator and let the custard cool overnight.

After letting the custard fully cool overnight, transfer to an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s directions. I used my kitchenaid attachment and churned the ice cream for 40 minutes. Place the ice cream into an airtight container and let the ice cream chill for another 4 hours.