Ginger waffles with matcha ice-cream

Warm ginger-spiked waffles are the perfect foil for matcha ice-cream, creating the hot-cold sensation we all love. If you don’t have a waffle-maker, the pears and matcha ice-cream are excellent on their own, too. Start a day ahead to make the ice-cream and waffle dough.

Prep time 35 mins, cook 25 mins (plus chilling, freezing, proving)

Serves 6

125 ml (½ cup) lukewarm milk

1½ tsp dry yeast

1 egg, lightly beaten

320 gm plain flour

40 gm brown sugar

2 tsp ground ginger

125 gm softened butter, plus extra for greasing 50 gm pearl sugar (see note)

20 gm glacé or crystallised ginger, finely chopped

Vegetable oil, for brushing

Icing sugar, for dusting

Matcha ice-cream

6 egg yolks

170 gm caster sugar

400 ml pouring cream

150 ml milk

20 gm matcha powder, sieved

Caramelised pears

20 gm butter, diced

3 pears, quartered and cored 70 gm brown sugar

2 tsp finely grated ginger 1 tbsp lemon juice

1 For matcha ice-cream, whisk yolks and sugar in a bowl until very pale (5-6 minutes). Meanwhile, bring cream and milk just to a simmer, pour into yolk mixture, whisking continuously, then return to pan. Stir continuously until mixture thickly coats the spoon (5-6 minutes), then strain into a bowl and refrigerate until chilled (2-3 hours). Whisk matcha and 100ml warm water in a bowl until smooth, then whisk into custard to combine. Churn in an ice-cream machine, then freeze until required. Makes about 1.2 litres.

2 Combine milk and yeast in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, then stir in egg and a third of the flour. Scatter with remaining flour – don’t stir – and set aside until yeast mixture bubbles through flour (30 minutes). Knead in brown sugar, ground ginger and 1 tsp fine sea salt until a dough forms, then knead in butter a little at a time. Transfer to a buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until doubled in size (2 hours). Knock back dough, form into a ball, then return to bowl. Cover directly with plastic wrap, weight with a plate and refrigerate overnight for flavours to develop.

3 Knead pearl sugar and candied ginger into dough, divide into six equal balls and set aside on a tray lined with baking paper until doubled in size (30-45 minutes).

4 Meanwhile, for caramelised pears, melt butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add pears and cook, turning occasionally, until evenly caramelised (3-4 minutes). Stir in sugar, ginger and lemon juice and simmer, turning pears occasionally, until tender and pan juices reduce to a syrup (3-4 minutes). Remove from heat and keep warm.

5 Brush a heated waffle-maker with oil. Flatten dough balls slightly and cook in waffle-maker in batches until golden and cooked through

(5-6 minutes). Dust lightly with icing sugar and>