Pooja's Coffee Cardamom Ice Cream

Photo by:

Morgan Ione Yeager

From Malai: Frozen Desserts Inspired by South Asian Flavors by Pooja Bavishi. Copyright © 2025 by Pooja Bavishi. Reprinted courtesy of Weldon Owen, an imprint of Insight Edition. Photography by Morgan Ione Yeager.

Some pairings are meant to go together: peanut butter and bananas; saffron and pistachios; and of course coffee and cardamom. These two ingredients play off of each other especially well, with bitterness and acidity of the coffee and the bright floral qualities of cardamom heightening each other. One of the first flavors that I created for Malai, this ice cream quickly became one of our most popular and is now one of our most readily available pints. Top a scoop with chocolate sauce for a mocha note.

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ teaspoon Surya Salt
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
⅓ cup granulated cane sugar
⅓ cup Madhur Jaggery or dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon ground Baraka Cardamom

Methods

In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch to make a slurry. Whisk the cream cheese and salt into the slurry until smooth. Set aside.
In a saucepan, combine the remaining milk, the cream, granulated and brown sugars, honey, espresso powder, and cardamom and bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly to dissolve the sugars. Continue to boil, whisking constantly, until everything is well incorporated, about 3 minutes. reduce the heat to low and whisk in the cornstarch slurry, mixing well. raise the heat to medium, bring to a boil, and boil, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. remove from the heat and transfer to a heatproof container.
Let the base cool to room temperature, then cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. (If you have the time, letting it sit in the refrigerator overnight is ideal.)
Remove the chilled base from the refrigerator and stir to recombine. Transfer the base to your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Serve the soft ice cream right away, or place in the freezer to freeze completely.