Banana Ginger ice cream

Banana Ginger ice cream pairs two fruit flavors used in many Southeast Asian sweets and Latin American desserts. I combined the two flavors on a whim, which paid off enormously. At Ice Cream Jubilee's most recent tasting party, guests repeatedly named Banana Ginger as their new favorite flavor.

I decided to start making ice cream after entering an ice cream contest in Brooklyn. The winning flavor, Banana Bourbon Caramel, has become one of my top selling flavors. Banana and bourbon were such a perfect pairing, I thought I would never top it. Never say never -- Banana Ginger is a definite winner!

Thai tea ice cream

I love Thai iced tea. One time after ordering in pad thai (and tea, naturally), I poured my tea into my ice cream maker as an experiment. Sadly, the ice and water made the end product too crunchy. For these two flavor variations, I steeped the tea in the warming milk and cream, the same way I make earl grey ice cream.


Thai tea (also known as Thai iced tea) or "cha-yen" (Thai: ชาเย็น) in Thailand, is a drink made from strongly-brewed black tea. Other ingredients may include added orange blossom water, star anise, crushed tamarind seed or red and yellow food coloring, and sometimes other spices as well.



I also like bubble tea and the texture of mini-tapioca balls. I made two batches of Thai tea ice cream: one with candied ginger, and one with tapioca. I love that the tapioca made each scoop of ice cream look like the translucent blue and white bowls used in some Chinese restaurants.


I learned that tapioca doesn't have a great frozen texture, but as the ice cream melts in your mouth, it is as fun to eat as it would be in any pudding or soup.

Chocolate Five Spice

This is a twist on Mexican Chocolate, which combines chocolate with cinnamon and spicy pepper.



I added ginger, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cayenne to a Ghirardelli dark chocolate base. It was a big hit at this weekend's barbecue. What I found interesting is that different people's taste palettes picked up on different flavors. Some people tasted mostly cinnamon, others tasted the nutmeg. But everyone experienced the chili heat at the end of each bite.

the first tasting party

Some friends came over to try new flavors and to try their hand at painting. White Strawberry Sangria with Clementines was the unexpected flavor of the day:



Pear Ginger was our ice cream tasters' favorite flavor:



It had the right amount of sweetness and spice. The lightness of the flavors help you forget that you're eating something unhealthy. And that's the trick to this whole ice cream thing: Eating well and staying light.