February 28, 2011

Hibiscus-Raspberry Ice Cream



A few months ago my husband purchased a Hibiscus-Raspberry Tisane from Coffees of Hawaii.  This was something new for me because I had never even heard of a tisane before.  A little internet research on Wikipedia revealed that a tisane is "a herbal infusion made from anything other than the leaves of the tea bush".


After trying the tisane I kept thinking that I wanted to somehow turn it into a dessert. The flavor was sweet but not overpowering, and absolutely delicious. I considered a few different options and decided that the combination of hibiscus-raspberry really sounded like a great flavor for ice cream.  After finding a decadent recipe for vanilla-bean ice cream on Epicurious I was ready to go.

Since the tisane has to infuse the ice cream base, you will need to allow time for this, before you can enjoy the ice cream. I started early in the morning and let the mixture sit in the refrigerator all day, before adding it to my ice cream maker.  Next time I might even let it sit all night just to get all of that wonderful flavor fully integrated into the base.



This is one of those ice creams that will leave people guessing.  They probably won't be able to pinpoint the exact flavor.  You get a hint of raspberry and a taste of sweetness, and of course that vanilla cream base.  All of it combines to make a deliciously-flavored ice cream.

The possibilities are endless for flavoring this ice cream.  I was thrilled to see that Coffees of Hawaii also have tisanes in the following flavors - Coffee Cherry, Papaya Leaf Vanilla, Mamaki Ginger, Jasmine Blossom,  and Lavender.   Even if one of these flavors did not grab your attention you could could certainly make up your own blend.



Hibiscus Raspberry Ice Cream©
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients
  • 2 cups heavy cream 
  • 1 cup whole milk 
  • 1/2 cup sugar 
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt 
  • 3 vanilla beans, split lengthwise (or 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste) 
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 teaspoons of Hibiscus Raspberry Tisane (or flavor of your choice)

Preparation
  1. Combine cream, milk, sugar, and salt in a heavy saucepan.
  2. Scrape seeds from vanilla beans with tip of a knife into cream mixture, then drop in pods.
  3. Heat cream mixture just to a boil.
  4. Whisk eggs in a large bowl, then add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking.
  5. Pour mixture into saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and registers 170°F on thermometer (do not let boil).
  6. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean metal bowl.
  7. Add tisane and mix thoroughly to combine, and then cool, stirring occasionally. 
  8. Chill, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.
  9. Freeze custard in an ice cream maker.
  10. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer.
Recipe adapted from Epicurious.

 

24 comments:

  1. Oh wow, that looks so amazing! I bet that is such a refreshing ice cream!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a brilliant use of this herbal tisane! Kudos!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm always so impressed with homemade ice cream. Your hibiscus sounds delicious and so elegant.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh beautiful! You are so creative...I love using yummy ingredients and turning them into something unexpected - great job!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This looks so good and can just imagine the flavours. I first discovered a hibiscus infusion in Egypt which is quite sharp in flavour and can imagine the sweet raspberry just balances this out perfectly. Great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a fun flavor of ice cream...I've never heard of tisane either. It looks perfectly wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This looks great. I love the use of the hibiscus

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a wonderful creation and clever combination of flavors!

    ReplyDelete
  9. That has got to be one very tasty ice cream! I love hibiscus, but I've never had it in ice cream... time to change that!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Very creative! I have a garden full of hibiscus!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I would have had to look up tisane too! I bet the ice cream tasted wonderful. I bet you could infuse cream with the tisane and use it in all sorts of recipes. Hope you have a great week.
    -Gina-

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow! That sounds like an awesome flavor combo!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh what a lovely idea using hibiscus! We are starting to get hibiscus flowers in syrup here too which would be interesting to try! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Beautiful ice cream and very creative using a tisane to infuse the custard. I had never hear do a tisans before either. I learn so much blogging! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a unique flavor combi, it sounds so delicious! I've never used hibiscus, but I can't wait to try it:)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wonderful idea, so refreshing and flavorful:)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sounds delicious! I love raspberries AND hibiscus so this sounds right up my alley!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh Felice that is one good looking and refreshing dessert! Thanks for information about it!
    Have a wonderful evening!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wow... That looks absolutely amazing!!! Sounds like a great combo of flavors!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Very creative ice cream flavor. Nom!

    ReplyDelete
  21. lovely flavours for ice cream
    delicious

    ReplyDelete
  22. Yum! That sounds sooo very good and it looks awesome too!

    ReplyDelete
  23. What a great ice-cream and the presentation is wonderful with that raspberry sitting on top! I love hibiscus, but I only brew it into ice-tea. Thank you for sharing and have a great weekend :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. I never though to use a tea to flavor ice cream that way! But it makes so much sense, since I've made lavender and vanilla ice creams before! I feel like slapping myself upside the head! Yay!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting my blog. I'd love to hear from you, so please leave a comment.