Gingerbread Massacre Ice Cream

Homemade ice cream might sound super difficult, but it's really not hard at all. The best part about it is that you can make so many wild and delicious concoctions! For this particular batch, I have substituted regular heavy whipping cream for Mimicreme's Almond and Cashew Cream (Note that, due to this difference, the cream will not "firm up" quite the way normal whipping cream does, but still yields a nice soft batch in the end), making this ice cream lactatded-friendly. :-)

Serves 6-8 (about 1 liter)
1/2 cup bakers sugar
5 egg yolks
3/4 cup thickened cream, beaten
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup molasses
Decorative candies (optional)

1) Beat the egg yolks with an electric beater for 5-10 minutes until they are thick, pale, and creamy. It should be doubled in volume as well by this point.

2) Combine the sugar with a 1/2 cup of water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, and stir consistently while boiling until the volume has reduced by about half. It will yellow slightly into a nice fluid syrup. Do not burn or overcook into a rock!!!

Set aside for a couple minutes to cool down. In the meantime...

3) Beat your cream until it begins to firm (about 3-5 minutes). Add your ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and molasses to the cream and beat for another 3-5 minutes.

4) Slowly pour in the hot sugar syrup into the YOLKS (not the cream!) and beat for 10 minutes, ensuring that the mixture is well aerated and cooled down.

5) Fold the spiced cream mixture into the sweet fluffy egg mixture. Fold in your decorative candies, if desired (I used red hearts, and various sprinkles).

Pour into a 1-liter rectangular glass or metal dish; cover, and freeze overnight.

That's it! Serve with actual gingerbread cookies and your favorite coffee or holiday drink for a delightfully gingery dessert. :-)