EYEBALL SUNDAE Black Sesame Gelato with Tapioca Pearls

Happy Halloween!

It's not a huge holiday here in Australia, but I couldn't resist the thought of a Halloween Gelato! I've been wanting to make a Black Sesame flavour for ages. My family eats it quite often at my Uncles restaurant at the end of an enormous Chinese Banquet.

This is my Eyeball Sundae, with roasted Black Sesame Gelato served with Tapioca Pearls and Eyeball Bubblegum. To make the Tapioca Pearls, soak 1/2 cup in 5 cups of boiling hot water and heat on stove (on medium) for about 5 minutes, until the pearls are soft and plump. Then remove from heat. I wouldn't mix in the pearls into the gelato, as they will go hard after awhile. You'll have to reheat them to re-soften the pearls, which doesn't work well with gelato!

I'm still setting up my kitchen and filling it up with goodies, but I don't have a lot of the tools needed to perfect this gelato. A mortar and pestle would have helped grind down those sesame seeds to fine granules, so mine was on the chunky side. And I'm desperate to buy a mixer, so my cream wasn't whipped like this recipe describes. However, my gelato still turned out well. 

So I thought I'd be extra generous and write up 2 recipes, because I know not all of you have ice cream makers. So I've put together a  cheat's guide to this gelato (read below) 

NO ICE CREAM MAKER REQUIRED! 

NO CHURN BLACK SESAME GELATO

Makes about 1 litre


Gelato Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. roasted black sesame seeds and 3 Tbsp of black sesame paste OR 5 Tbsp roasted black sesame seeds and 3 Tbsp honey (to make your own black sesame paste)
• 1L of plain vanilla ice cream
• Pinch of salt

Gelato Method:

• If the black sesame seeds are not roasted, put the sesame in a (non-stick) fry pan over medium heat and stir until they start popping and release a nutty aroma. Remove from the heat and cool.
• Grind black sesame seeds and salt very finely.
• Mix in honey if you are making your own black sesame paste. 
• Stir ingredients into vanilla ice cream thoroughly and serve.

BLACK SESAME GELATO
Recipe based on Just One Cookbook's Black Sesame Ice Cream

Makes about 1 litre


Gelato Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. roasted black sesame seeds
• 400 ml (roughly 1 2/3 cup) whole milk
• 70g (2.5oz, roughly 1/3 cup) sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 3 Tbsp. black sesame paste (or Homemade Black Sesame Paste)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 200 ml (Take away 2 Tbsp. of 1 cup) heavy cream
• Pinch of salt

Gelato Method:

• If the black sesame seeds are not roasted, put the sesame in a (non-stick) fry pan over medium heat and stir until they start popping and release a nutty aroma. Remove from the heat and cool.
• Grind black sesame seeds very finely with a mortar and pestle (or the end of a rolling pin).
• Whisk together the sugar and egg yolk until pale yellow. 
• Bring milk to a simmer, then remove from heat.
• Add to the sugar and egg mixture the honey, black sesame seeds, and black sesame paste and whisk until well combined. Then slowly add the milk and vanilla.
• Pour the mixture into a pot over medium-low heat. Stir until the custard thickens, then remove from heat and cool mixture down.
• Whisk together the heavy cream and a pinch of salt until peaks form.
• Add the whipped cream into the cooled sesame mixture.
• Fold in but be careful not to over mix. 
• Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for several hours (or overnight) until completely cold.
• Churn in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.