chocolate pudding cakes with no-churn basil ice cream

It was over a decade ago that I had my first taste of basil ice cream.

A good friend was moving out-of-state, and she insisted we go to Lucia's for her good-bye dinner. I had never been before, but had wanted to eat there for a long time. Little did I know I was in for the best dinning experience of my life.

I don't know if it was because it was Saturday night and I was wearing new clothes, or because the menu boasted of ingredients and flavor combinations that appealed to my inner foodie that still hadn't fully emerged, but everything ordered, everything brought to us, everything tasted was incredible. We gushed, and oohed, and ahhed, and sighed until we couldn't take another bite. Then the dessert menu was brought out. Scrolling down, our eyes lingered on 'basil ice cream' and we couldn't say no. Our server suggested pairing it with the chocolate pudding cake. Just like to everything else, we nodded our heads in agreement. 

So it's ten years later and I still think about that ice cream. I'll never forget the unique taste it brought to my mouth - it screamed of basil, yet was so sweet and refreshing. I finally got around to trying to recreate it; I decided it was about time. I don't know if I can do the original justice, but this no-churn version is a delicious substitute.

[And, those chocolate pudding cakes. I didn't forget about them, really, although they are slightly overshadowed by the ice cream. These little sweeties are so easy to make, and absolutely incredible. Deep, deep dark warm chocolate pouring onto your spoon. Need I say more?]

 
No-Churn Basil Ice Cream
adapted from Everyday Food

This ice cream is a teensy bit fussy. The basil is steeped in cream, and then must be blended in a blender to chop the basil into fine pieces. However, you must be careful not to over whip the cream.[Trust me. This is a disaster.] I found the cream took a bit longer to turn to peaks after being blended. Also, 1/4 cup basil made for a milder tasting ice cream - the basil flavor was present, but subtle. 1/3 cup boasted of basil, and was my personal preference.

1 can [14 ounces] sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4-1/3 cup basil
2 cups cold heavy cream

In a small saucepan, heat heavy cream and basil until just simmering. Take off heat and let basil steep for 30 minutes. Place the mixture in a blender and blend until basil is chopped, but make sure not to over whip the cream.

Fill a large bowl with ice and fill 1/3 full with water to create an ice bath. Place a smaller bowl inside the ice bath. Pour basil-cream mixture into the smaller bowl, let sit until cool, and then refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

In a medium bowl, stir together condensed milk and vanilla. In a large bowl of a standing mixer, beat the basil-cream on high until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. With a rubber spatula, gently fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into condensed milk mixture. Fold until fully combined. Gently fold in the rest of the whipped cream. Pour into a regular sized loaf pan, and freeze until firm, 6 hours [or, covered, up to 1 week]. 

Chocolate Pudding Cakes

A friend gave me this recipe years ago, and I don't know where it originally came from. 

I used the baby dutch oven/pots pictured for my pudding cakes. They are a bit larger than a typical ramekin, and I filled 4. However, even though they are small, this cake is rich and each person could only eat about half, so I would recommend a regular-sized ramekin.  You will be able to fill about 6. I have also baked this in a 9 inch pie pan, and it came out beautifully. And! I did make the batter earlier in the day, filled the ramekins and set them in the fridge until I was ready to bake them, and they came out great. If you do this, add a minute or two to the baking time.

5 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

3 large eggs

3 large egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

5 tablespoons flour

Preheat oven to 375. Melt chocolate and butter together, make sure chocolate is melted and smooth. In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat eggs, yolks and sugar at medium speed for 5 minutes. Add flour and blend completely. Add cooled chocolate and butter, and mix lightly. Fill ramekins halfway and bake 11-12 minutes. The edges should be starting to bake up, but the center should still look underdone. Serve alone or with basil ice cream.