Hojicha Ice Cream (Print Version)

A creamy dessert featuring roasted green tea with nutty, caramel notes and smooth texture

# What You'll Need:

→ Dairy

01 - 2 cups heavy cream
02 - 1 cup whole milk

→ Tea

03 - 3 tablespoons hojicha loose leaf tea or 4 hojicha tea bags

→ Egg Mixture

04 - 4 large egg yolks
05 - 2/3 cup granulated sugar
06 - Pinch of fine sea salt

# How to Make:

01 - In a saucepan, combine the milk and heavy cream. Heat over medium until steaming but not boiling.
02 - Add the hojicha tea. Reduce heat to low, cover, and steep for 10 minutes.
03 - Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, pressing the tea to extract maximum flavor. Return the infused milk to the saucepan.
04 - In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, and salt until pale and slightly thickened.
05 - Slowly pour about 1 cup of the warm hojicha mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly to temper.
06 - Pour the yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hojicha milk.
07 - Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon, approximately 170 to 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
08 - Strain the custard into a clean bowl. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until completely chilled.
09 - Churn the mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
10 - Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • Hojicha's naturally sweet, almost caramel-like character means you're not fighting against harsh tea bitterness, just coaxing out something genuinely elegant.
  • This custard-based method creates an ice cream so creamy it feels indulgent without being heavy, and the tea flavor actually deepens as it sits in your freezer.
  • It's sophisticated enough to impress at dinner parties but simple enough that even a second attempt will taste noticeably better than the first.
02 -
  • The custard mixture absolutely must be chilled completely before churning, I learned this the hard way by trying to churn warm custard and ending up with textured, icy ice cream instead of creamy, which then became a humbling lesson about trusting the process.
  • Hojicha powder and loose leaf tea are not interchangeable in the same amounts, powder is more concentrated so use only 2 tablespoons and whisk it directly into the warm milk rather than steeping it, otherwise you'll get a bitter, over-steeped flavor.
03 -
  • Use a candy or instant-read thermometer when cooking your custard, because the visual cues can be deceiving and hitting that 170 to 175 degree range ensures food safety while keeping the custard smooth and creamy.
  • If you're worried about the eggs, source them from somewhere you trust and know they're fresh, because that matters for this recipe, or use pasteurized eggs if your area has them available.
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