In a saucepan, pour in the milk, sugar, and grated ginger and heat over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar has completely dissolved. Do not let the mixture come to a boil. Cover, turn off the heat and let it sit for one hour, allowing the ginger to infuse into the liquid.

After one hour, strain the ginger-milk mixture through a fine sieve to remove the bits of ginger and push down on the solids with a spoon to extract all the liquid from the ginger. Return the liquid to the saucepan and warm over a low heat. Whisk the egg yolks briefly and add in a bit of the warmed milk mixture. This will help temper the yolk and prevent it from poaching. Pour the egg yolks into the pan containing the milk. You now have custard!

Cook the custard over low heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon or spatula, until it has thickened enough to coat the spoon or spatula. It took about 10 minutes for my custard to thicken.

Take the heavy cream out of the fridge and pour it into a freezer-safe plastic or metal container. Add the custard, vanilla extract/essence, and the Scotch whisky and stir. Place the container in the fridge for an hour or preferably overnight to completely chill.

Transfer the custard mixture from the fridge to the freezer. After 45 minutes, check on the custard – it should have started to freeze so give it a good stir with a spoon, spatula or handheld mixer. I used an electric handheld mixer with the whisk attachment. Repeat every 45 minutes for the next 3 to 4 hours. Place the home-made ice cream into a covered container and allow it to completely freeze.

After all that hard work – it’s time to eat your home-made Ginger and Scotch Ice Cream! Top with crystallized ginger if you have any.