Headfirst With Sesame Paste Dessert

Rivers of salted, maple syrup-infused sesame paste sing throughout this miso caramel ice cream base. Molten sugar bronzes the quick-simmered milk and cream first; then, the same cornstarch that coats stir-fries in glossy velvet suspension turns this yolkless ice cream thick and creamy and ready-to-sling, straight from the freezer.

The result: A perfect multitasking ice cream for this holiday season. It is as versatile as vanilla but a hundred times more glamorous. Spin a quart the night before a potluck and save yourself the mayhem of dreaming up a bottle or side dish that pairs well with everyone else’s contributions. Expect for it to become the sole topic of conversation when the time comes.

What better way to end the night, anyway, than to leave everyone marveling over your ice cream?

Bonus: If you have that one talented baker friend who usually occupies the dessert slot with their incredible cakes and pies, you will not be in competition with them. No. You will be in sweet, glorious cahoots. In four quarts’ worth of miso caramel ice cream thus far, I’ve had the delicious privilege of serving it as first mate alongside apple pie, banana cream pie, Japanese cheesecake with a pear compote, Hershey’s classic black magic chocolate cake—whatever my people baked inevitably ended up plated next to a scoop of this. It lifts up every dessert and tastes even better for the companionship, I’ve found, though this didn’t stop an additional four friends from devouring their precious pint portions whole. 

One friend in particular who eats for sheer pleasure-seeking sport called it my best ice cream yet. I’ve spun nearly two dozen flavors this year, so I’ll take the compliment.

Using Chinese Sesame Paste in Ice Cream

The inspiration for this ice cream was The Mala Market’s newly restocked Chinese Sesame Paste, a single-origin, USDA organic, stone-ground, 100% sesame seed paste with no additives, preservatives or additional ingredients. 

This is not tahini, which usually refers to raw sesame seed paste. Chinese sesame paste is darker and more intense due to toasting the seeds before grinding. So if you like tahini, you will love Chinese sesame paste.

In the process of making Wuhan’s famous reganmian, I learned the secret to the sauce is cutting the sesame paste with plenty of sesame oil. This keeps the paste runny and slurpable so that the noodles don’t clump together in a solid mess, without losing the high concentration of sesame flavor.

I wanted to turn this sesame paste into an ice cream swirl, which ranks higher for me in highlighting a flavor than simply making the whole ice cream out of it (where it would contend with the milk/cream instead of on its own—and, most importantly, require large, expensive portions to work). However, I didn’t want to fold an oily sesame suspension into the ice cream. In an instant, I knew the solution: maple syrup. Combined with just enough salt to draw out the sweet, savory notes of maple and sesame, the resulting sesame-maple drizzle is a blast of autumn in every bite.

The miso caramel was a happenstance combination. I often make a miso sweet cream base for fruity jam mix-ins, and originally thought to do the same. I don’t know what possessed me at the last second to pour the sugar into the pan to caramelize first, but I was thinking of many a Chinese hongtang/black sugar recipe which gets dry-caramelized before it ever meets a sauce. Many iterations with and without browned butter later, I’m happy to say this recipe is everything I dreamed of to spotlight this delicious toasted sesame flavor.

Making Miso Caramel Ice Cream

There is an order of operations to ice cream that must be followed! Prepare all the measured ingredients first and keep them close at hand.

The healthy probiotics in miso die once temperatures reach 115F/46C, so rather than cook the miso to death, I mix it in at the last moment before chilling. It’s hard to cut straight miso paste into a lot of liquid, too, so I make a slurry from a small amount of milk first. The cornstarch also requires a milk slurry. Lastly, because this recipe gets some of its body from cream cheese, which also can’t be cooked, I whip the miso slurry and cream cheese together in the chilling bowl.

Once all these small steps have been cleared, it’s time to dry-caramelize that sugar. To minimize the amount of dishwashing involved, I caramelize the sugar in the same pot I’ll be cooking the ice cream mix in (you’ll use the milk to stop the caramelization process when it’s ready).

In a heavy-bottom 2-3qt pot over low-medium heat, add the sugar in an even layer and let it heat slowly without disturbing the pot. When the sugar has melted at the edges and liquid gold begins seeping its way around the pan, gradually draw the melted sugar into the remaining sugar and watch as the pot melts down into sugary lumps. Keep gradually stirring until all the sugar has dissolved and the color changes from light brown to dark amber (like maple syrup). At the point it darkens into a glossy maple brown, just before it burns and turns bitter, take the pot off the heat and slowly pour in a bit of the warmed milk down the side walls. It will splutter and foam on contact with the caramelized sugar, so watch yourself and don’t pour in all the milk at once. Stirring while pouring helps dissipate the bubbling.

If the sugar seizes because the milk was not warm enough, simply wait until the milk heats up again and it will eventually melt back into a uniform mixture. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat to the lowest setting and simmer 4 minutes. Give the cornstarch slurry a good mix and whisk it into the pot off the heat. Boil and simmer for 1 more minute, stirring well.

Let the mixture cool off the heat for a couple minutes, then pour into the miso cream cheese mixture and whisk until smooth. Chill to your ice cream maker’s specifications. I usually do this step the night before I wish to spin the ice cream, and leave the mixture in the refrigerator overnight to chill. At this time, I also put the container I’d like to pack the ice cream in into the freezer. This helps the ice cream from melting as much while packing it.

When you’re ready to churn the ice cream, remove your ice cream maker’s frozen churning canister from the freezer. Assemble the machine and turn it on while empty. Then quickly pour the chilled ice cream base into the canister and spin until thick and creamy, usually about 22-25 minutes for me.

During this time, mix together the maple syrup, sesame paste and salt in an easily pourable vessel. A double shot glass will suffice.

Remove the frozen storage container from the freezer and pack it with the churned ice cream, one layer at a time. Before/after each layer, drizzle a portion of the maple sesame paste. After a few iterations, I like to err on the side of more drizzle, as this swirl is what delivers the concentrated flavor power of the sesame paste and sweet maple syrup throughout each bit and truly makes the ice cream special.

At the end, swirl a chopstick or knife through the mix to create an evenly distributed ripple effect throughout the ice cream. Press a sheet of parchment paper (or plastic wrap) directly against the surface and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours. Serve with any leftover drizzle—the best part! It’s quick enough to whip up extra when you want more, so don’t be shy when you’re packing the ice cream.

Warm like a hug, with sweet ripples of maple-sesame that won’t leave your palate over-sugared, this miso caramel ice cream is rich enough to satisfy me with just one spoonful after dinner. If you’re anything like my friends, though, one quart won’t last you long!

For more sweet desserts, check out Taylor’s Huajiao Ice Cream with Brown Sugar Sesame Swirl and my family’s classic Baked Niangao Sticky Rice Cake!