Speculoos Ice Cream

Preparation

Step 1: Infuse the vanilla milk

Split the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds. Pour the whole milk into a saucepan, add the pod, the seeds and the ground cinnamon, then heat gently until it just reaches a simmer.

Remove from the heat, add the speculoos spread and whisk until it is completely dissolved in the hot milk. Let it infuse for 10 minutes, covered, so the cinnamon and biscuit aromas spread fully.

Step 2: Make the custard

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture turns pale and frothy. Pour the flavoured milk in a thin stream while whisking to temper the yolks without cooking them.

Pour everything back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard coats the back of a spoon (about 83 °C). It should be slightly thickened but definitely not boiling, or it will curdle.

Step 3: Add the cream and strain

Off the heat, pour the heavy cream into the custard and stir gently. Pass the mixture through a fine strainer to remove the vanilla pod and obtain a perfectly smooth base.

Taste the base: it should be intensely flavoured with speculoos and cinnamon. If needed, add a spoonful of speculoos spread and whisk to dissolve it.

Step 4: Chill the base

Let the mixture cool to room temperature, then cover with cling film pressed onto the surface and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight.

A well-chilled base is essential: churning will be quicker and the ice cream silkier. The speculoos spread makes the base naturally rich, so give it time to stabilise.

Step 5: Churn and scatter with biscuits

Pour the cold base into the ice cream maker and churn for 25 to 30 minutes, until you get a soft, creamy ice cream texture. Crush the speculoos biscuits into irregular pieces.

Add the biscuit pieces right at the end of churning so they stay crunchy, then transfer the ice cream into an airtight container. Freeze for at least 2 hours before serving, in scoops, topped with a whole speculoos biscuit for decoration.