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Posts from the ‘Ice Cream and other frozen treats’ Category

Jun 26

22 Comments

The Basics: Vanilla Ice Cream And The HIGH Cost Of Vanilla Products

 

When you look in the frozen food aisle of the supermarket there are hundreds of different flavors of ice cream, same when you go to the ice cream shop. How many of you ever order vanilla? Not very many I imagine and I also have to admit that I rarely if ever order vanilla ice cream when I go to out for a scoop. However, at home you will always find vanilla ice cream in my freezer. I love the versatility, on pie or cake, a black and white ice cream soda or shake, vanilla ice cream will always be my flavor of choice. My preference after trying many brands is Haagen Daz if not making my own. It’s simple to make ice cream but to be perfectly honest when you can get good ice cream at the store why make it yourself? Well, here is why, the flavor of homemade ice cream in my opinion is far superior to anything store bought, it’s definitely worth the effort and highly recommend giving it a try. I use an ice cream maker but you don’t have to, no churn ice cream is just as creamy and delicious.

 

I am appalled at the price of vanilla extract. Truth be told a friend told me that vanilla would be going up in price because of a problem with the crop, weather related I think almost 2 years ago,  I stocked up at that time but have used all of my reserve including homemade extract (2 bottles) I am now plowing through vanilla paste and after that I will have to break down and buy some. Vanilla is crucial in baking, you can’t not have vanilla in your pantry. I have to check Costco, I hate going there, the lines are horrible  and everything is so big, maybe their vanilla is less expensive and if so I will brave a trip there. Has anyone bought recently from them, do you know how much it is?

The recipe I used is custard base (uses eggs) but you can make without eggs using corn starch to slightly thicken the milk/cream it also  has a small amount of cream cheese in it and is delicious. This custard or ice cream base can be adapted or made into many other flavors. Add a ripple or swirl, use some brown sugar along with the white to add depth and a caramel flavor, add fresh fruit, strawberries or peaches. You can add cream cheese for a cheesecake flavor, instant espresso, chocolate or nuts. This is a basic recipe you can have fun with, let your imagination go wild.

Vanilla Ice Cream

Makes slightly less than one quart

Custard Base

1 1/2-2 cups heavy cream

1-1/12 cup whole milk

5 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbs vanilla extract

Separate your eggs and whip the egg yolks in a mixing bowl. In heavy non reactive saucepan heat the milk, cream and sugar until scalding. Slowly pour about half into the beaten egg yolks whisking while you pour. Pour back into the saucepan and cook on medium heat stirring constantly until it becomes thick and coats the back of a wooden spoon, run your finger making a line, if it stays intact and doesn’t run back together its done, it will be quite thick. Pour through a sieve into a heat proof bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight or until it reaches a temperature of 40 degrees or less. Note: I used 2 cups heavy cream and 1 cup whole milk but you can use 1/12 of each.

If using an ice cream maker follow manufacturers instructions.  Freeze until scoopable at least 4 hours.

 

May 11

31 Comments

Fresh Peach Ice Cream In Profiteroles With Blackberries

I am becoming more involved again at Food52, testing recipes and entering contests. This is all part and parcel of my need to challenge myself. I signed up to test a recipe for Fresh Peach Ice Cream by Chef June, it is on the list for a community pick, which is step one of the contest protocol. Chef June is an amazing cook/chef and has been a community member for a long time and her recipes are always spot on. What intrigued me about this recipe is that it has a custard base but the custard is uncooked. You should use the freshest eggs you can get your hands on and if you have compromised health or are very young or very old you may want to cook your custard. Since I don’t fall into any of those categories I gave this a go, have to be honest I hate standing over the pot cooking the custard, constantly stirring it and stressing about whether I’ve cooked it too little or too much (scrambled eggs).  I was happy that step was eliminated. Fresh peaches are not in season yet so I had to use frozen and although they were ok they were not the same so the peachy flavor was a little absent. I can’t wait for peaches to hit the market so I can make this again as it’s a wonderful recipe.

I had some profiteroles left from my post a few weeks ago which I froze, and I thought that this would make a lovely dessert. One of my favorite pies is peach and blackberries so the blackberries were macerated in sugar and cassis and served on the side. It’s delicious and simple, yes profiteroles are really easy to make and I can attest to the fact that they freeze well. I thawed them in the oven on 200 degree’s for about 15 minutes, they were just like freshly made. When making this I again I would make the following changes, instead of 2 cups whole milk I would add 1 cup whole milk, 1 cup half and half and 1 cup heavy cream, reduce the nutmeg to 1/4 tsp/.

Fresh Peach Ice Cream

Recipe by Chef June on Food52

2 cups peaches (approximately 8 peaches) peeled and chopped, broken up retaining their juices

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Juice of half a lemon

2 extra large eggs (I used 3 large eggs)

1/8 tsp fine sea salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

Peel the peaches, Chef June suggests blanching first by dipping the peach for 30 seconds in boiling water,(like tomatoes) the skin will come off very easily. Slice into a bowl and break the peaches up with your hands, add 1/4 cup sugar, the lemon juice and nutmeg and stir to combine. Refrigerate for about 2 hours covered stirring every so often.

After the peaches are cold drain them retaining the juices and put the peaches back in the refrigerator, also refrigerate the retained peach juice.

Meanwhile in a mixing bowl whisk or beat with hand held mixer the eggs, the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar, salt and vanilla until thick and creamy and lighter in color.

Add the milk, heavy cream and peach juice and stir to combine. Process in your ice cream maker following manufacturers directions. About 2 minutes before the ice cream is done add the peaches. Spoon into your freezer container and let sit in the freezer until it’s scoopable.

 

Apr 16

50 Comments

Profiteroles Filled With Olive Oil and Bourbon Butter Pecan Gelato With Fudge Sauce

First of all I can’t believe how quickly time is whizzing by, already Easter and before you know it we will be enjoying summer with the warm weather and great produce. If it were up to me I would skip the warm weather and just go for the produce.  For Easter I decided to have very good friends over for dinner and wanted to make a special meal. Since I love dessert I am going to post the recipe for the dessert before I post dinner, backwards maybe but I’ve always been someone who loves dessert especially when it involves ice cream. A few months back I saw a recipe on Johnny’s blog Kitsch n Flavors for profiteroles. I could have sworn I saved it to Evernote but could not find it, Johnny’s blog is now private and I couldn’t access the recipe so I used one from Saveur which I have to say turned out great. Choux pastry may sound and look imposing but it couldn’t be easier really. It takes literally  minutes to prepare, bakes in no time at all and the resulting pastry is light as air and so delicious.

I have also been meaning to make Amanda Hesser’s recipe for Olive Oil Gelato, I tasted it for the first time when I enjoyed Pasta Night at the Food 52 headquarters in Manhattan. I was smitten, totally fell in love. Imagine a light and airy pastry shell filled with olive oil gelato and smothered in a deep rich dark chocolate sauce. Well, it sounded great to me so I set out to make this for my Easter dinner party.  The olive oil gelato makes enough for 1 the way I like ice cream, really just a tiny amount and I planned to serve 2 profiterole per person and there was not enough, I ran to the store and found a bourbon butter pecan gelato so my guests will get one of each. If you plan on trying the olive oil gelato and need enough for more than 1 or 2 people you will have to double or even triple the recipe.

Happy Easter, Passover to everyone and I hope you all had a wonderful day!!

Olive Oil Gelato

Recipe by Amanada Hesser/Food52

3/4 cup whole milk

1/4 +2 tbs water

3/4 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

good pinch of salt

4 tbs really good olive oil

Put the milk, water, sugar and salt in a medium size sauce pan and cook until you see bubbles forming on the outer edge. While the milk and sugar are heating whisk the egg yolks until foamy. When milk is ready add in a slow steady stream to the egg yolks whisking constantly. Return to the pot and cook on low stirring constantly until the custard thickens and if using an instant read thermometer it should be 175-180. Place pot in ice bath and stir the custard until it cools. Transfer to a container with a lid and let sit overnight in the refrigerator. The custard will thicken, it takes a while but don’t give up. Remember to stir constantly and don’t let the egg scramble.

When you are ready to make the gelato whisk in the olive oil, it will be smooth and silky. Pour into your ice cream maker and follow manufacturers instructions. Spoon into a freezer container and place in the freezer for at least 4 hours or until scoopable.

I am going to make a recommendation, I plan on making this again because it really is good but I will make a couple of changes. I will increase the milk to 1 cup and the water to 1/2 cup leaving everything else the same, the olive oil doesn’t freeze and makes the gelato very soft, adding additional liquid IMHO will help it to be more scoopable and stay frozen a little longer. The gelato melts very quickly, trying to get a photo with it in the profiterole was challenging and I think that adding more milk and water will help.

Choux Pastry

Recipe from Saveur

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup water

8 tbs butter cut into cubes

1 cup flour

pinch of salt

4 eggs at room temperature

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Put the water, milk, butter and salt into a medium size pot and cook on high heat until it comes to a boil. Add the flour and quickly stir to combine, keep cooking until it is cohesive and somewhat dry. Scrap into a mixing bowl and with hand held mixer add the eggs one a time beating until thoroughly combined.  Line a sheet pan with parchment and using a small scoop 1 1/4 tbs size, scoop the choux batter onto the baking pan each one approximately an inch apart. Place into the oven and immediately decrease the oven temperature to 375 degree’s. Bake until golden brown for 20-25 minutes, remove from the oven and with a skewer poke one hole in each pastry, place back in the oven with the door ajar for 3 minutes. Let cool on the pan. You can use them right away or they can be stored up to 3 days in an airtight container, they also freeze beautifully.

Fudge Sauce

6 oz dark chocolate

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tbs corn syrup (optional)

1/2 tsp espresso powder (optional)

1 tbs coffee liquor like kahlua (optional)

Heat milk to scalding, add the chocolate let sit for 5 minutes, stir until melted add the corn syrup, espresso powder and liquor, stir and enjoy! Best served slightly warm.

I have to mention the eggs you see here, found them in the supermarket they are certified humane from a small farm in New Hampshire. There is a video of the farm on you tube and this farm is truely humane, sustainable and the eggs are gorgeous. I used to watch Martha Stewart’s show all the time and wanted her gorgeous blue/green eggs and when I saw them in the store I couldn’t believe it. Seek out this brand it is carried in quite a few stores including Whole Foods. You can tell they are from happy chickens the yolks are almost orange and the flavor is incredible. Buying humane is very important to me and I look for the Certified Humane label on the dairy that I buy.  I was in no way asked to write about Carols Eggs, I did this on my own to pass on information about a great product to you all!

Apr 9

50 Comments

Too Busy To Blog, Say What?…. A Published Recipe And Mary’s Box Of Goodies

Things have been crazy busy on my end and I have totally neglected the blog. I have ideas and things I want to do but simply have not had time to cook or bake except for charity auctions and you’ve seen all of that before, redundant posts are not something I like posting.  I am planning another collaboration with Teagan which is always fun, I hope you all like those, I certainly do.  Another giveaway is also in the works, and will be coming soon you may be able to guess what it is.

The food I have been making is pretty boring and not really blog worthy, there is nothing different or unique about it. I got back on track after Holiday food splurges with my change of diet and on the plus side have lost some weight which was important for me. I do a low carb low sugar meal plan with lots of vegetables and some protein. Work has been busy, that’s a good thing since I’m an Independant contractor and my livlihood is dependant on how much business I bring in.

 

So in the interest of keeping my blog alive I decided to reach into the recesses of my collection of recipes and post something from the past. If I were asked what my favorite recipe is it would be hard to pinpoint but this one is right up there at the top. I posted this recipe on Food52 years ago and last year found out that they are including it in their new cook book Ice Cream and Friends. I received my copy about a week ago and I have to say it’s a gorgeous book with amazing recipes from the Food52 Community and the founders Amanda and Merrill. The recipe they included is Brooklyn Blackout Semifreddo Cake. I dreamed this one up for a contest, the theme was frozen desserts. This was my homage to the famous cake conceived at Ebingers Bakery right here in Brooklyn NY, sadly Ebingers went bankrupt in 1972 and the building is now condo’s but the cake lives on at bakeries and recipes can be found all over the internet.  A Brooklyn Blackout Cake is chocolate x100 deeply rich chocolate cake, chocolate pudding filling used also to frost it and cake crumbs pressed onto the sides.

Last week I also received a Spring box from Mary Frances, you all know Mary right. Her blog Love The Secret Ingredient has some amazing recipes and she also has a thriving business Mary’s Secret Ingredient, a seasonal box of goodies is mailed to you and part of the proceeds are used to feed hungry children, Mary has heart along with some great recipes and a creative business sense. I will use some of the products to create a recipe soon but here is a peek at the box.

Mary’s Secret Ingredient Spring Box

I will leave you with a photo of the goodies that were auctioned on Instagram, all the proceeds went to help a sweet little pug that needed life saving surgery, any of you that are pet parents know how expensive it is to take your dog or cat to the vet, no one should have to decide on whether or not their pet lives or dies because of money and we as a pet community on Instagram raise funds to help out those in need. I am currently finishing the baking and the box will get mailed this week. Full disclosure Easter Bunny Percy will not be included with the box of goodies. I think he makes a very handsome bunny!!

Aug 5

54 Comments

Pralines And Cream Ice Cream

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It has been so hot in NYC that I have barely turned the stove or oven on. Salads, quick cooking foods are what I am making and because of this my blog has suffered from neglect. Ice cream has become a major food group for me along with cucumbers and tomatoes. A few weeks ago I made mocha almond fudge and now I am going to tackle the other flavor that I love, Pralines and Cream. I am partial to Haagen Daz ice cream and their Pralines and Cream is amazing, but I have not found it in a store around here for years, it must be really unpopular with the general public, it’s not even in the Haagen Daz store near me. The other day I was rummaging through the frozen case in the market looking for a pint of vanilla and almost shrieked, there it was 1 pint of Pralines and Cream, it had probably been there for a while, it was caked with ice but I got it anyway. It was a little worse for wear, probably had partially melted but still the taste of this creamy, dreamy concoction was still there. I was able to commit to memory the taste, fresh in my mind and I set out to make my own. Pralines are not readily available around here, you ask for them and people look at you like you have 2 heads. Searching the internet for recipes for Pralines and Cream Ice Cream I came across one from Emeril Lagasse. There is a vanilla custard base, caramel sauce and pralines, pretty simple really. Taking into account the terrible heat and humidity and not wanting to spend one minute more at my stove than absolutely necessary I decided to use already prepared vanilla ice cream, make some pralines and use dulce de leche I had in the fridge (it’s ridiculously easy to make).  Love this because the time at the stove is minimal and the ice cream is really wonderful. The recipe for pralines is from Emeril and makes enough for several quarts of ice cream.

I don’t like the term semi homemade but thats what this is. Using Haagen Daz vanilla with homemade dulce de leche and pralines this was easy to make and was almost instant gratification and really pretty close to my beloved Haagen Daz Pralines and Cream.

This yummy ice cream is coming with me to Fiesta Friday #132, I’ve got the ice chest ready and will try to make it there without it melting. Angie’s co hosts this week are Sandhya @ Indfused and Nancy @ Feasting With Friends.

Pralines

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 tbs salted butter

2 tbs water

pinch of salt

Put all the ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil on medium high heat stirring constantly until it reaches the soft ball stage 238 -240 degree’s, if you don’t have a candy thermometer have a bowl of ice cold water next to the stove and drop a little in, if it forms into a soft ball it’s ready. Add the pecans and place the pan in an ice bath stirring constantly until cooled. Pour onto buttered parchment lined sheet pan and let cool. The consistency will be like fudge. When it’s cool break into pieces and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Making the Ice Cream

To make the ice cream (my shortcut) soften some vanilla ice cream (I chose haagen dazs) put half of it in a freezer container, sprinkle on some chopped praline and drizzle caramel or dulce de leche. Add the other half of the ice cream on top and add the rest of the praline and caramel, swirl with a butter knife and freeze for a few hours.

There was a little dulce de leche left so I added it to a homemade fudge sauce serving it warm over the ice cream. It was really good. To make the fudge sauce is easy, just like ganache, equal parts chocolate and cream. Add the chocolate to scalding hot cream, let it sit, stir and add some dulce de leche if you like and spoon over ice cream. It’s wonderful.

Hot Fudge Sundae

Hot Fudge Sundae

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Jul 22

93 Comments

Gooseberry and Red Currant Popsicles And More Popsicles

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Have I gone gooseberry crazy? It’s all together possible!  Wasting food is abhorent to me and I wanted to make sure I used every single gooseberry and currant that I bought. Besides the crumble which is pretty standard fare I wanted to do something a little bit different with them. Since it’s so hot out I decided that popsicles would be the way to go, icy and cold and delicious a great way to beat the heat and use up my berries. In making the popsicles I discovered the real flavor of the gooseberry, there is a lovely floral note and when cooked with some sugar and water, it really brings out the flavor. It reminds me a little of elderflower. The popsicles are a mix of green and purple gooseberries and at the end after straining the pulp I added the red currants distributing into a half frozen popsicle. Don’t throw that pulp away, it’s really delicious with just a couple of tablespoons of the syrup to loosen it up, it makes a delicious preserve or jam on biscuits, scones or toast.  FYI, the gooseberries and currants are labor intensive to clean and de stem, kind of like pitting cherries. Each gooseberry needs to be clipped on each and end and the currants are very tiny and each individual currant needs to be picked off of the stems. Labor intensive but worth the effort.

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Gooseberry and Red Currant Popsicles

Makes 8 popsicles

1 pint gooseberries (approx)clipped

1-1 1/4 cups sugar (You can add less if using the sweeter gooseberry, I mixed them and they were very sour)

1 1/4 cup water

1/3 (approx) cup red currants

Put the gooseberries, sugar and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and continue cooking until the berries pop open. Strain into heat proof bowl or cup.  Immediatly add the currants and let them sit until it cools then refrigerate.

I decided to add some red currents that would be suspended inside the popsicle. The currants float in the liquid so in order to ensure that they are dispersed within the pop I partially froze it. a couple of hours in the freezer without the stick inserted, the mixture is not frozen solid just slushy, you then place some currants in and spread them around with a skewer, insert the sticks and put back in the freezer.

So pretty

We are smack dab in the middle of a heat wave with temperatures soaring to almost 100 degree’s and thats not the heat index. I so love my popsicle mold I have been making popsicles all the time, they are stockpiled in my freezer. I really love experimenting, in the summer lemonade and iced tea are favorite drinks that I almost always keep in the refrigerator. So I thought I would make both into popsicles. Sweet tea with mint and lemonade with raspberries. Ice cold and portable these popsicles are wonderful. All you need to do is make lemonade and iced tea, no recipe required. When the popsicles were partially frozen after 2 hours in the freezer I added some raspberries to the lemonade and mint leaves to the sweet tea. I ran out of lemonade so made one Arnold Palmer popsicle, half lemonade and half tea.

sweet tea and lemonade raspberry popsicles

sweet tea and lemonade raspberry popsicles

All of these frozen treats are coming with me to Angie’s for Fiesta Friday #129. Got my ice chest ready and I will rush over so they don’t melt. This week’s co hosts are Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook and Colleen @ Faith, Hope, Love & Luck. See you all at the party!

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Jul 6

78 Comments

Mocha Almond Fudge Ice Cream And Saveur Blog Awards Nominating A Friend

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As far back as I can remember I have loved ice cream in almost any form. Whether on a stick, in a cup or cone, in a milk shake or float it’s all good. When I was 16 years old my first job was a scooper at Baskin Robbins, a dream job for this ice cream lover. My favorite flavor was Jamoca Almond Fudge. I have always loved coffee and chocolate and this combination was so delicious, we were allowed a free cone during our work shift and this was the flavor I always chose.  It has been a long time since I’ve been to a Baskin Robbins, I was only going by memory of how this ice cream tastes and it’s really pretty close to how I remember it.

I wanted a good strong coffee flavor so I cold brewed some dark roast coffee in half and half, I decided against making a traditional custard with eggs, instead I heated cream and half and half, milk, sugar and cornstarch making a thickish base, after removing from the heat I added the cream cheese,  cold brewed coffee mixture, some vanilla and a tsp of cocoa powder and refrigerated. The fudge component is a ganache, 4 oz chocolate and 4 ounces of cream. Toast some almonds in the oven and chop them and there you have it. Simple and very delicious.

Mocha Almond Fudge Ice Cream

Adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream recipe on Food52

Makes approximately 1 quart

Cold Brewed Coffee

1 cup half and half or milk or all three

4 coffee scoops of dark roast coffee

Place in jar, shake and refrigerate at least 24 hours up to 48 hours. When done strain and refrigerate until ready to use.

Ice Cream Base

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup whole milk or half and half

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tbs corn starch

1-2 tbs softened cream cheese

1 cup cold brewed coffee

1 1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp instant espresso (medaglia d’oro)

Place heavy cream and milk or half and half, sugar and cornstarch in heavy saucepan. Whisk to combine and cook on medium heat until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and add the cream cheese, whisk to combine and then add the cold brewed coffee, cocoa powder and instant espresso. Stir well and pour into bowl or glass measuring cup lay plastic wrap on top of the custard, cover with another sheet of plastic and refrigerate overnight. NOTE: I don’t add the cold brewed coffee to the pot with the cream and milk and heat because I find that coffee takes on a different flavor when heated directly on the stove or even in the microwave. I wanted the coffee flavor to be pure and not compromised by heat.

Fudge swirl and toasted almonds

4 oz chocolate, dark or dark and milk your choice

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tbs light corn syrup (optional)

1/2 cup whole raw almonds

Heat heavy cream in microwave or on stove top until scalding. In microwave approximately 45 seconds. Add chopped chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir until all the chocolate is melted, if there are pieces put back in microwave for 15-20 seconds. Add the optional corn syrup. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Heat oven to 350 place almonds on sheet pan and toast until they are fragrant, approximately 10-15 minutes, or toast the almonds in a skillet. Let cool and chop into small pieces.

Making the Ice Cream

Take the fudge out of the refrigerator so that it comes to room temperature, you may need to help it along by putting in the microwave for about 15 seconds. Make the ice cream by following the manufacturers directions, when the ice cream is almost done add the almonds, churn for a minute or so just so that the almonds are mixed in and then put half in your container, add several spoonful of the fudge on top. Repeat adding the rest of the ice cream, fudge. Using a bamboo skewer or butter knife swirl the fudge into the ice cream. Freeze until it is a scoopable consistency, I find it takes at least 4 hours in the coldest part of the freezer but usually I let it sit overnight.

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Saveur Magazine is now taking nominations for their 2016 blog awards and I have nominated my friend Aleksandra, her amazing and gorgeous blog deserves the award IMHO. She has done a guest post on this blog and is a good friend from Food52. I nominated her in the photography category, one look at her photo’s and you will see why, visit her blog, Three Little Halves and if you feel so inclined and don’t mind please nominate her for the Saveur Award in the category of photography, it only takes a second. She won a James Beard award for her writing and when a blog is this beautiful it deserves to be noticed. Thank you so much.

 

 

Jul 1

84 Comments

Boozy Strawberry Rhubarb Yogurt Pops

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I am dedicating the next few posts to frozen treats, ice cream. sorbet and popsicles.  These popsicles are so simple to make and sort of nutritionally sound because they contain very little sugar and if you omit the booze it’s like a frozen breakfast popsicle. A few posts back I told you I made a rhubarb cordial, I used it in the Pavlova and now in these popsicles. They are so easy to make, all you need is a popsicle mold and a few ingredients, no cooking required. You don’t need to use any alcohol in your pops, honestly there is so little in this it’s almost not there,  but for a family friendly popsicle simply omit. I didn’t really use a recipe for this, eyeballed and the measurements below are approximate, it just happens that it made pretty much the right amount to fill the molds. I added and tasted so bear in mind that this is not exact.

I just got a great popsicle mold made my onyx, it’s stainless steel, freezes quickly and the popsicles come out like a dream. I am very happy with it because it also has a feature that ensures the stick remains in place and can be inserted when you first place it in the freezer, genius.

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I’ve got my ice packs and insulated carrier ready because I’m bringing these beauties to Fiesta Friday #126. This is a holiday weekend and Angie’s co hosts are all of us. It is up to us to vote on our favorite recipes.

Strawberry Rhubarb Yogurt Popsicles

Makes 8

measurements are approximate

Strawberries

2 cups strawberries cleaned and sliced

2 tbs sugar (use if you like and sweeten to taste)

1/4 cup rhubarb cordial

Yogurt

2 cups whole milk greek yogurt (approximately 14 oz)

sugar to taste

2 tbs rhubarb cordial

1 tsp vanilla

Mash the macerated strawberries with a fork. Mix the yogurt with the sugar, rhubarb cordial and vanilla. The cordial thins the very thick greek yogurt slightly, if using greek yogurt you will want to thin it a bit with either the cordial or a liquor, water, milk or cream or fruit juice, your choice. Layer the strawberries first, then the yogurt and end with the yogurt. Place in freezer and enjoy in 4+ hours. See how easy this is.

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Jun 3

85 Comments

Ice Cream Cake With Hot Fudge Sauce, A Guest Post And Fiesta Friday #122

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This is a very special post, first of all it’s a guest post for my dear friend Cheryl of Cheryl “Cheffie Cooks” Wiser. Now if you don’t know Cheryl, in a nutshell she is Super Woman, mother of 5 (including twins), she has 9 (yes NINE) blogs that she keeps up with daily. I can barely manage one, how does she do it, like I said she is Super Woman. Well, Cheryl is going away on a much needed family vacation and has asked some of her friends to do guest posts, I am honored and thrilled to be the first guest post while Cheryl is away. She lives in Florida and her recipes are family friendly, simple, tasty and are made with readily available ingredients. I also have to mention that she has published 1477 (maybe more now) recipes on the Tasty Kitchen website. Visit Cheryl and her 9 blogs, you will be amazed as I am and she is one of the nicest people you will meet.

I wanted to make dessert, a cake,the first cake in theory would have been great but it flopped big time and went straight to the circular file if you know what I mean, as I lamented my failure I got an email from the editors at Food 52, my recipe for Brooklyn Blackout Semifreddo Cake is going to be in their new Ice Cream cookbook, what an incredible honor, it gave me an idea, an Ice Cream Cake will be the perfect dessert. I used the same sponge cake recipe for the blackout cake but instead of a semifreddo I decided to just use ice cream from the supermarket. Lazy, maybe but it’s ok it’s still delicious. You can use what ever ice cream you like, homemade is wonderful but if not, buy your favorite flavors. It is served with a rich, thick warm hot fudge sauce that I like to spike with kahlua, that is purely optional of course but it’s really good.

This special ice cream cake is going to be rushed (before it melts) over to Angie’s for Fiesta Friday #122. This week’s co hosts are Mollie @ The Frugal Hausfrau and Aruna @ Aharam

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Chocolate Sponge Cake

Makes 1 large (10-inch) loaf cake plus extra scraps

  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 8 large eggs at room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place milk and butter in a glass measuring cup and microwave for 45 seconds, or until the butter is melted. Using a stand mixer with the wire whisk attachment (or a hand-held electric mixer), whip the eggs and sugar on medium-high for approximately 8 minutes, or until the mixture is pale yellow, tripled in volume, and thick.
  2. With the machine still running, slowly add the heated milk and butter. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Fold it into the egg mixture; there should be no lumps. Fold in the vanilla.
  3. Grease a 1/2 sheet pan, line with parchment, grease the parchment, and sprinkle with sugar or dust with flour. Pour batter into the pan, spread so that it is evenly distributed, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes in the pan, then run a knife or flexible offset spatula around the edges to loosen. Invert onto a wire rack, remove parchment, and let cool completely.

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Hot Fudge Sauce:

4 oz milk chocolate cut into pieces

4 oz dark chocolate cut into pieces

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tbs vanilla extract( or optional 2 tbs kahlua coffee liquor)

Place chocolate pieces in mixing bowl, bring cream almost to a boil, scalding. Pour over the chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth and creamy, add the vanilla or optional kailua if like

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Assembling the cake:

2 pints of your favorite ice cream flavors softened. I used Il laboratorio del Gelato brand (made right here in NYC, it’s amazing),the flavors are malt and bourbon pecan.

The cake should be cut into rectangular slices that will fit snuggly into the loaf pan, I used a 10 in pan and cut three 5×9 1/2 inch slices, make sure to save the scraps.  Line the pan with plastic wrap with enough overhang so that it will cover the top of the cake.

Soften the ice cream so that it is spreadable consistency. Place first layer of cake at the bottom of the pan add ice cream and smooth. If the ice cream is melting place in freezer between layers. Add another layer on top of the ice cream and repeat. Place top layer of cake on, cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer all day or overnight or at a minimum 2-4 hours. NOTE: I use a pint of ice cream in between each layer

To serve, take the cake out of the freezer about 10-15 minutes before serving. Slice and spoon some of the hot fudge sauce on top.

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May 27

109 Comments

Persian Cantaloupe Drink- Ab Talebi For Dessert

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I used to make this drink years ago but have not made for such a long time. It’s really delicious and refreshing and chock full of vitamins and minerals. I think I have mentioned before my love of Persian Food and I  follow several blogs  that have wonderful Persian recipes Fae, Azita and one I discovered recently through Instagram is  Ahu Eats, Ahu knows a thing or two about Iranian or Persian food and I love perusing her blog, her photographs are amazing and the food is too. When I saw this drink on her site I knew I needed to make it again, I used to often serve it as dessert with ice cream, it’s wonderfully cool and refreshing in the heat of the summer . There really is no recipe required, all you need is ripe canaloupe, ice and sugar or honey. You put it in the blender and voila a cantaloupe smoothie.

I am bringing this cool and refreshing dessert/drink to Fiesta Friday #121.   I hope everyone enjoys. It’s exciting that we will all be celebrating Memorial Day with Angie and her wonderful co hosts are all of us, yep we all get a chance to vote on the features for this party.

Happy Memorial Day to Everyone!!

Persian Cantaloupe Drink- Ab Talebi

One cantaloupe makes approx two or three 8 oz glasses (depending on size)

1 cantaloupe flesh removed and cut in pieces

1 cup crushed or cubed ice

1-2 tbs sugar (optional) depending on the sweetness of the melon and to taste

Place everything in the blender and blend until smooth. Pour into glasses, top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and garnish with a sprig of mint.

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