One of the highlights of any summer French market is arriving in front of the biscuit sellers with their table of rose, violet, apricot, orange, lavender, almond and anise flavored cookies. We always buy five or six different flavors, which disappear within minutes from our market basket. These deliciously subtle flavor additions to basic butter cookies inspired us to experiment with combining a blend of savory and sweet spices like quatre épices to sugar cookies and then to ice cream. Traditionally a blend of cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and pepper, quatre épices can also include variations including (or substituting) allspice and cinnamon.
We were skeptical at first about adding a peppery blend like quatre épices (but together with the addition of brandy and rich vanilla bean flavor, the ice cream flavor turned out wonderfully smooth with a subtly spicy finish. Bring on seconds! The taste also inspired much conversation among our dinner guests trying to guess the secret ingredients.
Quatre Épices Ice Cream
Adapted from our favorite vanilla ice cream recipe in The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
Yield: approximately 1 quart
1 cup whole milk
A pinch of salt
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1 whole vanilla bean
2 tsp. quatre épices (click for ordering information)
2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp. French brandy
Start by heating the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Slice the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seed with a paring knife. Add the vanilla bean, scrapings, and the quatre épices into the milk mixture. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour.
Next, set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Strain the milk mixture into the bowl. Stir until cool.
In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk mixture. Temper the yolks by whisking a small amount of the warm milk to the egg yolks. Then add the yolk mixture back into the saucepan.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the custard thickens. Make sure to scrap the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula so that the custard doesn't stick to the pan.
Strain the custard into the heavy cream and stir over ice until cool. Add the vanilla extract and refrigerate to chill thoroughly. This can be left in the refrigerator for up to a couple of days.
Once ready, remove the vanilla bean, add the brandy, and mix thoroughly. Churn the custard in your ice cream maker per the manufacturer's instructions.
After churning, the mixture will be very soft. Place the ice cream into a container and freeze for at least 4 hours to allow it to reach the correct consistency.
Serve and enjoy!
Want to learn more about quatre épices?
- Quatre épices is believed to be a descendant of the spice blend used in pain d’épices, the ancient French spiced bread originating in the dukedom of Burgundy, a medieval center for the prestigious spice trade that extended from Dijon to the Flemish ports on the North Sea. Burgundian Dukes controlled the oriental spice trade and thus developed a taste for nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, anise and ginger. Pain d'épices remains a specialty of Dijon to this day. (Source: Country Cooking of France by Anne Willan; Pages 206 and 305)
- Pain d'épices recipe (from David Leibovitz's blog)
- Visit La maison Mulot & Petitjean Pain d'épice de Dijon founded in 1796 (Website in French).
Order from our online store French Market Spice.