2 1/4 cups milk
2 1/4 cups heavy cream
6 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp maccha green tea powder (see note below)*
9 tbsp hot water
Mix the hot water and green tea powder together and set aside.
Lightly whisk the egg yolks together in a pan. Add sugar to the yolks and mix well.
Gradually add milk to the pan and mix well. Put the pan on low heat and heat the mixture while stirring often.
When the mixture has thickened slightly, add the green tea mixture, and remove the pan from heat.
Soak the bottom of the pan in ice water. Once the mixture has cooled, add the heavy cream and stir.
Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When the ice cream maker is finished, you will have a soft-serve consistancy ice cream; you can serve it this way, or you can harden it by packing the ice cream in an airtight container and freezing for three hours or so.
Makes 10-12 servings.
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* Maccha is a powdered version of green tea, most famous for being used in the Japanese Tea Ceremony. It’s very good, but sometimes it can be hard to come by if you’re not in an area that has a lot of Asian immigrants. If you can’t find Maccha, I’ve found an acceptable alternative in Lipton’s Instant Green Tea. Increase the amount by a half a tablespoon and everything should be fine. Ice cream made with Lipton’s mix will be slightly sweeter, as the Lipton mix is essentially Maccha with sugar added.
