THE KING OF ICE CREAM
Ben Ungermann — runner-up in MasterChef Australia 2017 — was in SA as the guest of Capsicum Culinary Studio to share his secrets to making the perfect ice cream. Jenny Kay spoke to him
Ungermann, who was dubbed the King of Ice-Cream on the hit television show, has already opened his own ice-cream parlour, Ungermann Brothers, in Ipswich, Australia.
My idea to open an ice-cream shop, in partnership with my brother, derived from trying to turn my initial weakness for desserts into a strength. At the start of the MasterChef competition we were advised to work on our weaknesses and as a savoury cook I started working really hard on desserts.
I know a lot of people say their grandma taught them to cook but mine really did. I lived with my grandparents when I was at school and played a lot of football and would come home to these delicious meals cooked by my ouma and she started teaching me.
The honest truth about me going into the MasterChef competition was I had never made a dessert in my life. I started practising in the house and discovered that I quite enjoyed making desserts and especially ice cream.
When I started getting into desserts and practising more I discovered how much people loved them — and especially my ice cream.
I don’t use any stabilisers or preservatives in our ice cream and we sell wacky and different flavours including a delicious roast garlic scoop; strawberry balsamic; chocolate mandarin with candied zest; matcha white chocolate and even a maple pecan bacon.
All my ice cream is made with a chilled anglaise. Most other ice cream is made with cooked anglaise. The eggs and sugar are beaten really well to lighten them. Milk and cream are added then different flavours are incorporated. I only use natural ingredients. I love both sweet and savoury ice creams and I am especially pleased with my latest creation, carrot cake ice cream. Understanding flavour combinations and getting the right balance is the secret to good ice cream. BEN UNGERMANN
BEN’S COFFEE AND CARDAMOM ICE CREAM
Makes 1.5 litres
3 eggs
300g (1 ½ cups) caster sugar
30ml (2 tbsp) instant coffee powder
¾ tablespoon ground cardamom
375ml (1 ½cups) full-cream milk
750ml (3 cups) whipping cream
Place the eggs and sugar into an electric mixer and whip until the mixture is white and fluffy, like a dense meringue. This will take 15-20 minutes. Drop to a slow speed and add in the coffee and cardamom. Mix to combine. Add the milk and beat to incorporate. Add the cream and whip till thickened. Pour this into the icecream machine to churn. Spoon into a container and freeze until required.
When I started getting into desserts ... I discovered how much people loved them