Basil and Candied Pine Nut Ice Cream

I got a new ice cream cookbook that uses a non-custard base. No custard means no pain in the derrière slow cooking and tempering eggs and curdled batches (yes, I've had scrambled egg custard more than once). Of course it also means a corn syrup and cream mixture that, while delicious, doesn't quite have the depth of a custard based ice cream. Still with fun flavors, like this one, it's a nice base and it is easier to make.


So anyway, about the flavor. As I've said before, mint and basil are related and, as much as mint is neglected in savory cooking, basil is more neglected in sweet cooking. This sweet base with the hint of herbal basil was lovely. What really made the ice cream was the caramel pine nuts. The flavor was sweet with a hint of savory, just like the base. Like I said I wouldn't necessarily use this base all the time, but the flavors are interesting and, clearly, well thought out. I'm very happy with this cookbook so far, that's for sure. Heck, even my aunt, who generally doesn't like sweet and savory to be mixed, loved this ice cream.