Humble Hibiscus

1. 1

   In a small bowl, mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch to make a smooth slurry. In a medium bowl, add the salt and room-temperature cream cheese and whip all the bumps out. In a large bowl, make an ice bath (heavy on the ice) and set aside.

2. 2

   Pour the cream, sugar, corn syrup, and remaining milk alongwith hibiscus flowers into a 4-quart saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, set a timer for precisely 4 minutes and boil for exactly 4 minutes-the timing is critical. Remove from the heat and let the flowers steep for about 4 to 5 minutes and then strain the mixture and discard all the hibiscus flowers, gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Return the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

3. 3

   Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Do this a little bit at a time so that you can whip out any lumps of cream cheese. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag, seal, and submerge the bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until very cold, about 30 minutes.

4. 4

   Cut the corner off the bag, pour the chilled base into the frozen canister of your ice cream machine, press a sheet of parchment paper directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

5. 5

   The ice cream is finished at the exact moment when the machine isn't freezing the ice cream anymore; the ice cream will begin to pull away from the sides (about 25 minutes). If you stop too soon, there will be a thin layer of really dense ice cream on the sides of the canister.

6. 6

   When you remove the ice cream from the freezer, let it sit and relax for 5 to 10 minutes before you scoop and serve it-it doesn't need to melt, but it does need to thaw slightly. Ideally, serve and eat it while it's quite firm but pliable and you are able to easily roll it into a ball. Once you've scooped it, return any remaining ice cream to the freezer. If the ice cream has melted too much at room temperature, refreezing it will result in an ice cream that is too icy.

7. 7

   Finally , before serving it garnish it with Hibiscus flowers from syrup. The pretty pink color will surely melt your heart.

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.