Fresh Mint Ice Cream

I am indebted to my friend David Lebovitz for the method in this ice cream. He is a master ice cream maker, and his trick for leaving aside a cup of cream to quickly cool the hot custard really works well.

Prep time: PT20M

Cook time: PT20M

Total time: PT40M

Rating

4.79 stars (23 reviews)

Keywords

ice cream, mint

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 packed cups of mint leaves
2 cups of heavy cream
4 egg yolks

Cuisine

American

Steps

Put the milk, salt, sugar and 1 cup of the heavy cream in a pot and heat over medium-low heat, stirring often, until everything combines. Add the mint leaves and stir to get them all wilted in the hot milk. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and let the milk return to room temperature. When it hits room temperature, chill overnight in the fridge.
The next day, strain the mixture through a fine-meshed sieve. It's OK if a few tiny mint leaf specks get in there. Reheat the mixture over medium-low heat. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl. In another bowl, pour in the other cup of heavy cream and set the fine-meshed strainer over it.
When the mint-cream mixture is hot, about 150°F, you are ready to temper your eggs. With one hand whisking the eggs, slowly pour in a ladle of the hot cream. Do this three times total, whisking and pouring the whole way. Then pour the egg-cream mixture into the pot and stir to combine.
Cook the mixture slowly, stirring often, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 160°F. Pour it through the strainer into the bowl with the other cup of heavy cream; doing it this way cools the mixture quickly. Chill everything down and churn according to your ice cream maker's directions.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 326 kcal
Carbohydrates: 22 g
Protein: 4 g
Fat: 25 g
Saturated Fat: 15 g
Cholesterol: 182 mg
Sodium: 40 mg
Sugar: 20 g

Reviews

Ed R. on 2026-06-29 (3 stars):
This was a lot of work! For one thing, you can't just take it out of the fridge on Day 2 and strain it. I had to reheat it (to thaw it) and add some milk before it would go through the fine strainer.
Faith Premo on 2026-06-28 (5 stars):
How much lavendar would you suggest for lavendar ice cream. Would the full 2 cups be too much? I love this recipe!
Faith on 2026-06-12 (5 stars):
I love this recipe! I’ve made it several times and the key to preparing this , in my opinion is to not rush the process. I prep it one day and let the leaves steep overnight and then the next day cook the custard and let that cool another night and then churn it and it turns out perfectly! I just tried it with lemon balm leaves and it turned out amazing! Thank you!!
SnL Mounts on 2026-05-26 (5 stars):
I've tried several mint ice cream recipes---hands down, by far, THIS IS THE BEST. Each time we had a serving, we were both floored at how delicious, creamy, and balanced the flavor is--thank you. Will be saving and making again. And again.