| 1 cup | pure pumpkin purée (unsweetened) |
| 1 cup | whole milk |
| 1½ cup | heavy cream |
| 4 large | egg yolks |
| ⅓ cup | unrefined cane sugar |
| ½ cup | light brown sugar, well packed |
| 1½ tsp | pumpkin pie spice blend |
| 1 tsp | cinnamon (cassia), ground |
| ¼ tsp | salt |
| 2 tsp | pure vanilla extract |
| 2 cups | gingersnap cookies, or graham crackers, roughly chopped |
| 1 oz | bourbon whiskey (optional) |
Freeze your ice cream maker’s bowl for 24-48 hours until completely frozen.
Combine pumpkin purée, milk, heavy cream, spices, salt, and vanilla extract in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, until mixture just comes to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a separate medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk eggs and sugars vigorously until light and airy.
Slowly temper the eggs by drizzling half the hot cream mixture, one ladleful at a time, from the saucepan into the mixing bowl of eggs and sugar. Pour slowly and stir constantly to prevent the eggs from overheating and curdling. Once roughly half the hot mixture has been added to the eggs, reverse course and pour everything slowly back into the saucepan.
Heat the saucepan on low, stirring constantly until the custard thickens significantly. When the custard is at proper consistency it will coat the back of the spoon. Test this by running your finger across the spoon’s surface, if thick enough it will leave a streak.
Remove saucepan from heat and strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a mixing bowl to remove any clumps of egg that might have accidentally gotten cooked. Cover the surface of the mixture with plastic wrap, keeping air from the mixture to help prevent a skin from forming as it chills. Place mixing bowl into the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
Transfer custard into the well of your ice cream maker and freeze according to the maker’s instructions. If adding bourbon, do so near the end of the freezing process.
Serve immediately with a garnish of pumpkin pie spice and crushed ginger snaps or graham crackers. For firmer consistency, freeze the mixture for a couple more hours in an airtight container.
This ice cream is a French-style custard variety. It requires churning and a bit of cooking prior to freezing.
Fats and sugars in ice cream help disrupt the ability for large ice crystals to form. These two ingredients will make your ice cream smooth and rich—but be warned, too much fat and sugar and the ice cream won’t freeze at all!
