Showing posts with label icecream. Show all posts
Showing posts with label icecream. Show all posts
Icy poles
It's been a long time between posts, and even though I've been home full time for two months, I have to confess to not doing a lot of cooking recently. Mostly I've been busy with projects around the house, but it's also been pretty consistently hot this summer, and not at all conducive to baking.
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Blend then freeze as directed. Makes 3
Instead of baking, Ive been freezing using my new Quick Pop Maker.
Recipes so far:
Creamy banana
2 bananas, mashed1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Blend then freeze as directed. Makes 3
Peaches and cream
125ml peach nectar
30ml cream
50ml milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Blend then freeze as directed. Makes 3
Virgin pina colada pops
1 pineapple, peeled and chopped
425ml coconut milk
Blend then freeze as directed. Makes 9
Summer stripes
1/4 cup pomegranate juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup coconut water
Pour equal amounts of pomegranate juice into each mould. Freeze. Add equal amounts of orange juice to each mould. Freeze. Add coconut water and allow to finish freezing. Makes 3
Frozen milkshakes
3/4 cup milk
Topping to taste
Blend, then freeze as directed. Makes 3.
Drip-free icy poles
1 pkt jelly crystals
500ml water
Make jelly mix as directed. Chill without setting. Pour into moulds and freeze as directed. Makes 9.
While I love the Quick Pop Maker for its convenience - icy poles are only 7 minutes away at any time - any of these could be made just as easily in traditional moulds, plastic cups or even lined muffin trays as long as you've got a way to keep the sticks upright.
Pumpkin ice cream
Before you close the page in disgust, let me just say that this stuff is delicious. Seriously.
So what motivates a person to make ice cream from pumpkin? Our ex-pat friends scheduled Thanksgiving dinner for the last Thursday in November. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but in 2012, there were five Thursdays in the month, and so dinner was out by a week. Again, this normally wouldn't be a problem for anything apart from the host's pride - it is kind of embarrassing to get the date wrong - but the selected Thursday happened to fall on a 40 degree day. To those of you who prefer their temperature in Fahrenheit, that's 104 degrees. Or very hot.
I'm normally in charge of two things at Thanksgiving; the gravy and the pie. Clearly the gravy still needed to be made, but I decided to mix things up a bit with the pie. Voila! Pumpkin ice cream. Perfect for a hot Thanksgiving, and if you have to have something more pie-like, you can always make it into an ice cream sandwich.
So what motivates a person to make ice cream from pumpkin? Our ex-pat friends scheduled Thanksgiving dinner for the last Thursday in November. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but in 2012, there were five Thursdays in the month, and so dinner was out by a week. Again, this normally wouldn't be a problem for anything apart from the host's pride - it is kind of embarrassing to get the date wrong - but the selected Thursday happened to fall on a 40 degree day. To those of you who prefer their temperature in Fahrenheit, that's 104 degrees. Or very hot.
I'm normally in charge of two things at Thanksgiving; the gravy and the pie. Clearly the gravy still needed to be made, but I decided to mix things up a bit with the pie. Voila! Pumpkin ice cream. Perfect for a hot Thanksgiving, and if you have to have something more pie-like, you can always make it into an ice cream sandwich.
Pumpkin ice cream
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
2 cups mashed pumpkin
Method
Beat the sugar and eggs together until pale and fluffy. Meanwhile, bring the milk and cream to scalding point over low heat. Remove from heat, and add the egg mix. Mix well to make sure there are no eggy bits. Add the pumpkin, stirring to make a smooth custard. Return to heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. If the mixture boils, remove from heat immediately and stir until it is no longer curdled. Allow to cool, before chilling for at least two hours. Churn according to your ice cream maker's specifications, or if doing it by hand, allow it to freeze for an hour or two, then remove from the freezer and beat until smooth. Return to the freezer and allow to become solid again. Repeat until the ice cream is as fluffy as you want it.
If you like pina coladas
Fish for dinner at Banjo and Spincop's house and I volunteered to make dessert. It's the least I could do, given everyone else works, while I hang out with the small person. Plus it seemed an excellent opportunity to get out of doing the housework.
Anyway, after the success of the apple sorbet, I figured something along the same lines would be good. Not too heavy, but not too healthy either. Pineapple and coconut gelato sounded ideal.
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1 tspn coconut essence (optional)
1 cup sugar
6 eggs
450g tin pineapple pieces
Anyway, after the success of the apple sorbet, I figured something along the same lines would be good. Not too heavy, but not too healthy either. Pineapple and coconut gelato sounded ideal.
Pineapple and coconut gelato
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1 tspn coconut essence (optional)
1 cup sugar
6 eggs
450g tin pineapple pieces
Method
Combine the coconut milk, milk and cream and bring to scalding point. Meanwhile, beat eggs and sugar together until light and frothy. Remove the milk from heat and add half to the egg mix. Stir thoroughly, then add to remaining milk. Return the milk to the heat, and cook at a low temperature, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Place in a shallow container and allow to freeze for an hour. Remove from the freezer and beat with an electric mixer or blender. Return to the freezer and repeat until the desired consistency is reached. Meanwhile, drain the pineapple, reserving the syrup for a topping if desired. Puree the fruit. Add the coconut to the drained syrup, water and glucose. Bring to boil then reduce to a simmer until the syrup has thickened to a topping. Stir the pineapple puree through the gelato and serve with coconut topping.Apples galore
There are two reasons why I can't wait for stone fruit to kick in. First of all, I love it. Secondly because hopefully it will mean the endless supply of apples arriving in our weekly fruit and veg box will dwindle.
A few of them have gone into apple cakes - including a monumental presentation fail, which happily still tasted great - but there's only so many of those you can eat without getting bored. I had planned to cook some up for baby mush, but it turns out the small person really isn't a fan. So at a bit of a loss, I decided to turn some into sorbet.
2 cups apple juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tspn cardamon
4 tbspn glucose syrup
4 drops green food colouring (optional)
For a sweeter sorbet, use 1/2 a cup of strong sugar syrup in place of the glucose.
A few of them have gone into apple cakes - including a monumental presentation fail, which happily still tasted great - but there's only so many of those you can eat without getting bored. I had planned to cook some up for baby mush, but it turns out the small person really isn't a fan. So at a bit of a loss, I decided to turn some into sorbet.
Apple sorbet
5 granny smith apples2 cups apple juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tspn cardamon
4 tbspn glucose syrup
4 drops green food colouring (optional)
Method
Peel and core the apples. Chop roughly. Place in saucepan with apple juice, lemon juice and cardamon. Simmer until the apple is soft - around 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then stir through glucose syrup. Using a handheld mixer or a blender, whiz the mixture until it is pale and frothy. Add the food colouring and mix thoroughly. Place in a shallow dish, cover and freeze for 1 hour. Remove from the freezer and whiz again. Repeat until the desired consistency is reached.For a sweeter sorbet, use 1/2 a cup of strong sugar syrup in place of the glucose.
More frozen goodness
After reading that potassium and calcium are a good way of preventing leg cramps, I decided the best way of getting enough of both in my diet had to be banana ice cream. It's turned out brilliantly, and fingers crossed, will stop intense leg pain waking me in the night.
As usual, this starts with a custard base. Incidentally, after a bit of googling, I found out that I haven't been making ice cream at all. I've been making frozen custard. In my opinion, if it tastes like ice cream and looks like ice cream, I'm more than happy to call it ice cream.
Banana and Coconut Ice Cream
600 ml cream
500 ml milk
8 egg yolks
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 tbspn coconut essence
3 ripe bananas
Combine the cream, milk and coconut essence and cook on low heat until almost boiling. Meanwhile, beat egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy. Remove milk from heat, and combine around 1 cup with egg mix. Beat well to avoid egg cooking and forming lumps. Return egg mix to the milk pan and return to heat. Cook over low heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon - around 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before placing in the fridge to chill overnight. When chilled, whip until the mix is light and volume has increased slightly. Mash bananas, and add to custard mix. Continue whipping to combine. Place in a chilled container and freeze for around 90 minutes. The centre should be soft, with the edges frozen. Whip again, to gain additional volume. Return to freezer for an additional 90 minutes. Impatient people could eat the ice cream at this point, but additional cycles of whipping and freezing certainly won't do the mix any harm.
For a more grown up version that won't freeze hard, use Malibu in place of the coconut essence. You'll need to experiment with quantities, as too much will stop the ice cream freezing. For another variation, stir around a cup of shredded coconut through the mix at the same time as the banana. Given that my recipe is purely medicinal, I've chosen to go without.
Frozen goodness
With summer finally approaching, I've spent the last week experimenting with frozen desserts. The winner so far? A resounding victory for chocolate ice cream, with vanilla coming second. I can't get anyone to try my tropical icy poles, but that might have something to do with the litre of ice cream that's still in the freezer.
Interestingly enough, the chocolate ice cream wasn't made with a churn. Firstly because there was way too much of it to fit in the machine. Second of all, because the vanilla just wouldn't churn properly. It's not done much to further my argument that we need to invest in a Cuisinart soft serve maker. If you have a churn, use it, but I'd strongly recommend whipping the mixture before churning. It really increases the volume and makes the end product feel a lot lighter.
Chocolate Ice Cream
This is by far the best chocolate ice cream I've ever made. It's super chocolatey, incredibly creamy, and just has a fantastic feel to it. It takes a while, but it's definitely worth the effort. We might never buy commercial chocolate ice cream again.
The following makes just over 2 litres.
8 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
180 g dark cooking chocolate
600 ml cream
600 ml milk
2 tbspn cocoa
1 tspn cinnamon
1 tspn vanilla
Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in saucepan with cream, milk, cocoa, cinnamon and vanilla. Heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate has melted. Bring to scalding point. The mixture will separate into a dark chocolate layer and a lighter foamy layer on top. Meanwhile, combine yolks and sugar, and beat until pale and creamy. Remove hot chocolate mix from heat and add quarter to a half to egg mix. Whisk to ensure eggs don't start cooking. Return combined eggs and chocolate to saucepan and cook over low heat until the mixture coats the back of a metal spoon. Don't allow the mix to boil - it will curdle. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Chill a minimum of two hours, preferably overnight. When completely chilled, whip on highest setting of an electric mixer, until light and fluffy. The mix should resemble a liquid chocolate mousse. Place in freezer and allow to partially set - the sides should be frozen while the centre is still liquid. About one hour, depending on your settings. Place in a chilled bowl, and whip again. The mix will liquify. You can give in to temptation at this point and sample what the almost finished product will taste like. Return to freezer for another hour or two, and serve when completely set.
For a Mars Bar variation, serve with toffee flavoured topping. Yum!
Vanilla Ice Cream
The vanilla ice cream uses a custard base like the chocolate. This gives it a richness without the cloying fattiness of a whipped cream base ice cream. The secret to good vanilla is to use the best vanilla you can find. Queens does a vanilla bean paste which saves the trouble of splitting and scraping a bean. One teaspoon of paste is the equivalent of a single bean. Vanilla essence will do the job, but imitation essence really isn't going to give you the right flavour.
The following gives around one litre. I'd make more, only living with a chocoholic means vanilla doesn't get the appreciation it deserves.
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup caster sugar
300 ml cream
250 ml milk
1 tspn vanilla bean paste
Combine cream, milk and vanilla in a saucepan and bring to scalding point, stirring frequently. Meanwhile, beat eggs and sugar together until pale and creamy. Remove milk from heat, and add around half to egg mixture, whisking to avoid the eggs cooking. Return eggs and milk to saucepan, and cook stirring until mixture coats the back of a metal spoon. Don't allow it to boil. Remove from heat, and allow to cool completely. Chill until cold, then whip on highest setting of your electric mixer. Place in freezer, and allow to partially set. Whip and freeze again, allowing the ice cream to reach the level of softness you prefer.
Serve with fruit - this is too good to add topping.
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