If you’re ready to make ice cream that’s anything but ordinary, start with my [Ice Cream Recipe Roundup below]—a collection of flavors from caramel popcorn and lemon poppy seed to peach elderflower, turmeric ginger honeycomb, rosemary star anise blood orange, mango kefir, jaggery bourbon, fig leaf buttermilk, strawberry buttermilk, black forest, and more.
And if you’re curious about the why behind perfect ice cream—how science, history, and technique come together for creamier scoops and better flavor—join my Substack newsletter. That’s where I share the tips, tricks, and fascinating food science that take frozen desserts from good to unforgettable.
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Double Chocolate Ice Cream with Chocolate Bourbon Fudge Sauce
Things I’ve learned about myself with each birthday cycle that passes, a lot of these involve age issues and insecurities, so please bear with me; I now prefer ice cream to cakes on my birthday. I love cakes but for some odd reason, I’ve morphed into ice creams. Ice cream cakes are a good compromise.
Sesame Rose Water Ice Cream with Peppered Broiled Figs
Last weekend, I finally got enough tomatillos off my plant to make a quart of salsa. It felt rewarding and thankful and also timely, since the plant now looks like it’s off to meet its maker. So there at least, I can say I got some salsa out of it. To be honest, unless you
Turmeric and Ginger Honeycomb Ice Cream
As a kid, haldi doodh, aka turmeric in milk with sugar, wasn’t my favorite thing to drink, and my parents quickly stopped peddling it to me for all cold recoveries once they realized I never finished it. Now as an adult, I’ve transformed that food memory into something enjoyable in the form of ice cream. I’ve also added fresh ginger to add some zing but also amp up the cold medicinal features 😉.
Lemon Poppy Seed Buttermilk Ice Cream
I LOVE tangy and tart ice creams; if it’s made with lemons or some citrus, sign me up! This ice cream is based on the classic combination of that bright, citrusy flavor of lemons sprinkled with dots of black poppy seeds and hints of yellow lemon zest. You could call this a lemon poundcake ice cream!
Rosemary and Star Anise-infused Blood Orange Ice Cream
Ice cream is something that should be eaten year-round, even in winter. When mixed with the sweet, warm flavors of star anise and rosemary, blood oranges produce a delightful wintery ice cream. This ice cream is extraordinary, and I love serving it during the holiday season when blood oranges start to show up. This ice cream also works with regular oranges, remember to pick your favorite!
Mango Kefir Ice Cream
This simple 4-ingredient mango ice cream relies on good ripe mangoes for the best flavor. Kefir and cream cheese give the ice cream a creamy note, while the cream cheese also helps create a softer frozen texture and eliminates the need for eggs.
Vanilla Bean, Jaggery and Bourbon Ice Cream
This ice cream falls into one of my pantry-clean-out desserts. It relies on jaggery (an unrefined form of sugar used in Indian and South Asian cooking), a good quality vanilla bean, and bourbon for flavor. Jaggery imparts an earthy sweetness to this dessert that stands out in this frozen treat. If you can get your hands on Parle-G biscuits/cookies, use them to make ice cream sandwiches.
Lemon Poppy Seed Buttermilk Ice Cream
I LOVE tangy and tart ice creams; if it’s made with lemons or some citrus, sign me up! This ice cream is based on the classic combination of that bright, citrusy flavor of lemons sprinkled with dots of black poppy seeds and hints of yellow lemon zest. You could call this a lemon poundcake ice cream!
Mango, Coconut, and Star Anise Ice Cream
Every summer involves a ritual of luscious mangoes dazzling in their sweetness and and tropical fruity aroma. After more than 5 years, I got the chance to taste Indian mangoes all the way in London on a vacation and there were so many varieties to choose from; the Kesar, the Alphonso, the Langara, and so many more that I’m now certain that if I can’t visit India in May, I might need to just take a trip back to the land of the Queen.
Fig Leaf Buttermilk Ice Cream and Spiced Pineapple Compote
I first learned how to use fig leaves and make syrup, and it was only a matter of time before I applied it to ice cream. This creamy, tangy buttermilk ice cream (that’s coincidentally egg-free) is infused with dried fig leaves and carries a delicious toasty coconut aroma. The ice cream is topped with a spiced concoction of diced pineapples and Chinese 5-spice that gives this frozen treat a beautiful tropical flair.
Black Forest ice cream
You’ll love this ice cream if you like Black Forest cakes, cherries, and chocolate. Labneh or creme kefir forms the base of the ice cream, and its mild tangy flavor shines with the sweet and sour notes of the cherries. Don’t dismiss frozen cherries here, they are cheaper and packed with good flavor, but in this recipe, they will also help you save some extra time. You can and should use it to make my Black Forest Ice Cream Cake.
Peach and Elderflower Ice Cream
This is my adult version of peach ice cream—the flavor of sweet ripe peaches and the delicate floral aroma of St. Germain pair excellently well together. This is one of my favorite summer ice creams, and it goes down very fast on a hot day.
Caramel Popcorn Ice Cream
What are your favorite movie snacks? I love popcorn and ice cream so much that I combined them! First, I make fresh popcorn milk for the ice cream base in my Breville the Smart Scoop. Then, I fold caramel popcorn and drizzle it with plenty of caramel sauce. It’s the ultimate movie treat that makes me so happy!
Diana Henry’s Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream
This marvelous and straightforward strawberry ice cream is bursting with flavor. With every scoop, you’ll get a bite of summer. Don’t skip the maceration step for the strawberries, it will help intensify the fragrance of the berries. It comes from Diana Henry’s How to Eat a Peach (2018).
2 Responses
I love that Auckland, NZ got a mention in the ice cream story 😊 and I hope some of our talented ice cream makers read this newsletter and start creating some of these incredible flavour combinations (copyrights withholding). Now that I understand the science behind it I’ll be licking with extra attention and mindfulness.
Auckland’s ice cream culture is next level and it’s my favorite place to visit in summer.