Ginger Pumpkin Custard Ice Cream
The best of pumpkin pie in a frozen custard, Ginger Pumpkin Custard Ice Cream will remind you of the best pumpkin pie you’ve ever had! A pumpkin custard base gets a flavor boost with fresh ginger paste, grated fresh nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Garnished with candied ginger, this flavor bomb may become your favorite fall dessert!
👩🏻🍳 Tamara Talks – Pumpkin Pie, Ice Cream, and Memories
Lots of memories went into creating Double (Fresh) Ginger Pumpkin Custard Ice Cream. My mom was adamant that cooked custard was the ONLY way to make ice cream. Confused about the difference between ice cream and frozen custard? It’s all in the eggs. See What’s the Difference Between Frozen Custard and Ice Cream for more…
Homemade ice cream was almost always on the agenda for our huge family gatherings in sunny southern California where I grew up. My mom’s family (at that time) all lived in the area, and when we all got together, we must have numbered close to 50… at least in my childish mind. 😍 Of course muscles were strengthened and much fun was had as the hand-crank freezers were passed around. I’m sure my momma’s frozen custard always disappeared first!
PIE. OMG! My mom was renowned for her pies, and her flaky pie crusts. She taught me her fool proof vegetable oil crust which I continue to make all these years later. It’s funny how my best memories of my momma always involve food!
Mom’s pumpkin pie was special. She knew just how to spice the pumpkin. Have you ever popped a bite of gorgeous pumpkin pie into your mouth only to be disappointed by the bland flavor? I’m convinced the “guilty party” with all those bland pumpkin pies is that little plastic container of “pumpkin pie spice” that has migrated to the rear of the spice cabinet and gets pulled out once a year until it’s gone… five or ten years? Just don’t! 😂
So, my goal with this fall ice cream was to create a frozen dessert reminiscent of fall and pumpkin pie, both in flavor and texture. What better way to accomplish that than with a custard (cooked egg) based pumpkin mixture flavored with fresh ginger and nutmeg, and plenty of cinnamon, allspice, and cloves from this year’s bottles?
If you like the idea of cooked custard ice creams, don’t miss my Red Bean Frozen Custard or my lucuma ice cream! Custard ice cream is a little more work, but definitely worth the effort IMHO…
Important Note About Spices!
I’m being a bit ornery here, but please get in the habit of using fragrant spices!
Tamara.
If you open a bottle/jar, and you can’t readily smell what you’re looking at, it’s time to toss it. I buy my spices in the smallest quantities possible unless it’s something like cumin that I use almost daily. I transfer the spices to small mason jars with tight screw caps.
Interested in making your own spice blends?
- As I mentioned above, stale pumpkin pie spice can ruin a beautiful pie. I include a recipe for pumpkin pie spice in my Pumpkin Spiced Pepitas post.
- Have you ever had tajín? It’s a simple blend of red chile powder, crystallized lime, and salt that is fantastic on everything from fruit to chicken breast. Check out my homemade low sodium tajín recipe.
- A flavorful Mexican spice blend elevates ground lamb tacos, and butternut squash and lamb stew. This Mexican mole spice blend includes red chile powder, cocoa, cinnamon, and cumin.
- buttermilk – I use low fat or nonfat buttermilk. The choice is yours. Make sure you give it a good shake before measuring it out!
- coconut creamer or half and half – I usually use coconut creamer (non-dairy creamer not canned coconut milk). It has the creamy mouth feel and body without the calories of half and half.
- fine sea salt
- brown sugar
- honey – Any variety is fine.
- ginger paste – Important Note: Ginger paste is a fine purée of ginger with water. I use a commercial ginger paste available in my local HEB grocery. It is also available at my Asian market. You can, of course, make your own. The smoother texture of paste is preferable to minced ginger. Ground ginger is NOT a good substitute.
- pumpkin purée – You can use fresh or canned, but it needs to be spice-free!
- eggs
- cinnamon – Ground cinnamon that is still fragrant!
- allspice – Ground allspice that is still fragrant!
- nutmeg – I use freshly ground nutmeg if I have whole nutmeg on hand.
- cloves – Ground cloves that is still fragrant!
- candied ginger (for garnish)
🔪 Pumpkin Custard Instructions
- Heat the liquids – To a medium saucepan, add the buttermilk, creamer or half and half, salt, brown sugar, honey, ginger paste, and pumpkin. Heat slowly over medium heat, stirring often.
- Add the eggs – To a medium-sized bowl, add the eggs, and whisk vigorously until creamy and smooth. When the pumpkin mixture is very hot (not boiling), use a ladle to add a little at a time of the hot liquid to the eggs, whisking to incorporate. When the tempered eggs are warm, whisk them into the pan on the stove.
- Add the spices – cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves. Continue cooking the custard – stirring constantly – until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This process will take about 6 to 8 minutes.
- Chill the custard – Pour the custard into a sealable container. Chill thoroughly. (See notes).
- Freeze the custard – When the mixture is cold, proceed with freezing your ice cream according the instructions on your specific freezer. My counter top Cuisinart requires 20-25 minutes depending how cold it is when it starts.
- Serve – When the ice cream is frozen, scoop into individual dishes and garnish with slivered candied ginger, or scoop into a freezer container for later. Enjoy!
- Active time is about 20 minutes on this recipe. The mixture must be chilled before freezing, and the length of time in the freezer varies according to your appliance.
- The custard needs to be chilled before going into the ice cream freezer. This is especially important if you have a small counter top freezer that uses a frozen bowl. If I’m in a hurry, I do chill the mixture in the freezer, but don’t freeze it! You just want it cold.
- The ice cream may be served immediately after freezing, or scooped into a freezer container for later use.
- As I mentioned in the post, I use ginger paste (widely available in ethnic food sections and in tubes in the produce department). It’s a purée rather than a mince made from fresh ginger and water. You can make ginger paste at home.
- Start with pumpkin purée, either fresh or canned is fine. DO NOT USE PUMPKIN PIE FILLING!
- I strongly recommend grating nutmeg. The flavor is just so superior. You can substitute ground if necessary. Just remember the importance of fresh, quality ingredients in achieving the best results.
- What is the “custard base?” Don’t be intimidated by the custard base. By definition, custard is milk or cream cooked with eggs.
Do you have homemade ice cream memories? Mark and I enjoyed reminiscing about childhood gatherings, and hand-cranked ice cream. We also enjoyed dessert before dinner the evening I shot these photos. LOL. That’s the life of a food blogger! I’m guessing my momma in heaven had a thing or two to say about “spoiling” my dinner with dessert!
Pumpkin Custard Ice Cream
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Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- 1 ½ cups coconut creamer or half and half - *see notes
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ cup brown sugar - packed
- 3 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp ginger paste - *see notes
- ½ cup pumpkin puree - fresh or canned (w/out spices)
- 3 whole eggs
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp nutmeg - fresh grated if possible!
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- candied ginger - slivered (for garnish)
Instructions
- To a medium saucepan, add the buttermilk, creamer or half and half, salt, brown sugar, honey, ginger paste, and pumpkin. Heat slowly over medium heat, stirring often.
- To a medium-sized bowl, add the eggs, and whisk vigorously until creamy and smooth.
- When the pumpkin mixture is very hot (not boiling), use a ladle to add a little at a time of the hot liquid to the eggs, whisking to incorporate. When the tempered eggs are warm, whisk them into the pan on the stove.
- Add the spices – cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves. Continue cooking the custard – stirring constantly – until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This process will take about 6 to 8 minutes.
- Pour the custard into a sealable container. Chill thoroughly. (See notes).
- When the mixture is cold, proceed with freezing your ice cream according the instructions on your specific freezer. My counter top Cuisinart requires 20-25 minutes depending how cold it is when it starts.
- When the ice cream is frozen, scoop into individual dishes and garnish with slivered candied ginger, or scoop into a freezer container for later. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
NOTE: Macronutrients are an approximation only using unbranded ingredients and MyFitnessPal.com. Please do your own research with the products you’re using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Want More Frozen Desserts?
Rose Water and Strawberry Buttermilk Sherbet
A light, fruity frozen treat with just a hint of exotic rose water. Rose Water and Strawberry Buttermilk Sherbet gets its tang and body from buttermilk... A perfectly lovely chilly dessert on a hot summer's day!
This is one of those recipes that doesn’t want to let go of summer, but knows that fall is already here. Custard ice creams are so rich and I just love that addition of the pumpkin as well as the use of buttermilk. Makes me want hot weather to return.
Come down to McAllen, MJ! It’s definitely still hot enough for ice cream!