Holiday Peppermint Spice & Everything Nice!

This was a week of firsts for me. I went downhill skiing for the first time in my life. It was a lot of fun, which I was pleasantly surprised by. Given what everybody was telling me, which was mostly that I was going to hate the experience, I was dreading the upcoming weekend. It didn't help that I was sick. Thus, I was not exactly in the mood to be rolling down a snowy hill. I ended up having a great time though, which only goes to prove that you should always try new things once and that you can teach an old dog new tricks. I had some great instructors, who to my surprise kept telling me to slow down. Given that I'm a naturally cautious person, I was surprised to find that I was going down the hills too fast. I thought too slow would've been by problem. I stuck to the bunny slopes though and only fell once!

Anyway, enough about skiing, this is an ice cream blog after all. As promised, I made peppermint ice cream (also for this first time) this week. This is another recipe that is entirely of my own invention and I am very proud of the way it turned out.

Peppermint Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups milk

1 cup sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

4 egg yolks

1 ½ cups heavy cream

¼ cup crushed candy canes

Directions:

Bring the milk and sugar to simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks. Temper the egg yolks by pouring a cup of the warm milk mixture over them and whisking briskly. Add the egg yolks to the saucepan and simmer over low heat until it gets very thick, 5 to 7 minutes.

Take the mixture off the stove and pour in the heavy cream and vanilla. Stir to combine. Refrigerate until the mixture is thoroughly cooled or overnight.

Add mixture to the ice cream maker. After it has churned for twenty minutes, add in the crushed candy cane pieces.

Note:  Year old candy canes left over from last Christmas work perfectly in this recipe. Don't judge, it gets tiring shopping for ice cream ingredients every week, especially at this time of year.

The ice cream had a nice, refreshing taste and wasn't too heavy or overly minty. I am not a huge fan of mint ice cream, so I was a little nervous about how this ice cream would turn out. In my mind, though, it was the perfect amount of peppermint. It reminded me a little of a york peppermint patty without the chocolate. Also, the texture or consistency was perfect! The egg yolks really seem to be doing the trick for helping the consistency of the ice cream.

I hope everyone has enjoyed their holidays! Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.

'Tis the Season: Coquito Ice Cream

It's that time of year again. The weather outside is frightful, but everything else is so delightful, so let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! I am one of those people who love the Christmas season. I love that everyone is more cheerful; I love Christmas trees; I love baking holiday cookies; I love the angels at Rockefeller Center; I even love snow.

As I count down the days to Christmas on my advent calendar and listen to Christmas carols, I have also been making all the traditional Christmas treats. One such treat is coquito. I was introduced to coquito by one of my best friends in high school. For those of you who don't know, coquito is a Puerto Rican drink that is similar to eggnog, but even better. This recipe is not only delicious, but is extra special to me because it invokes all the nostalgia and warm feelings the holiday season traditionally brings. 

Ingredients:

2 cans (12 oz. each) Evaporated Milk

1 can (15 oz.) Cream of Coconut

1 can(13.5 oz.) Coconut Milk

½ cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

½ cup white rum (optional)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. ground cinnamon, plus more for garnish, if desired

Cinnamon sticks (optional)

For ice cream, add:

1/2 cup of cream

2 egg yolks

Directions:

1. Put all the ingredients together in a blender. Blend for 1 - 2 minutes. Serve cold.

2. If making ice cream, churn ingredients in an ice cream maker after blending.

As I was drinking coquito, I thought this would make for an amazing ice cream. I took the above recipe added half a cup of cream and two egg yolks and put it in my ice cream churner. It was delicious! I am particularly proud of this recipe because it is the first one I have made completely on my own (without looking at another recipe). For my first completely original flavor, I give it a thumbs up.

Spoiler Alerts: I plan on making a candy cake (peppermint) and eggnog ice cream  in the next couple of weeks to celebrate the holiday season!

Until next time, stay calm and get your ice cream eating on.

Things To Be Grateful For

For the Thanksgiving holiday, I made Chocolate Ice Cream and Honey Thyme Ice Cream. Do you know how there are moments where you want everything to be perfect? Well, this is how I felt about debuting my ice cream to my family. Unfortunately, the ice cream was sub par. The flavors were good (which I guess counts the most), but the consistency was off. I have two theories on why this could be. The first is that I normally make small batches of ice cream and leave the ice cream churner in the freezer for about a week before churning my ice cream. As there were going to be 12 people at our Thanksgiving dinner, I needed to make much larger batches of ice cream. Since my ice cream churner holds only up to 2 quarts of ice cream at a time, I had to make the ice cream in batches over a couple days. As such, the ice cream churner was in the freezer for less than 24 hours at a time. This could have affected the texture of the ice cream. The second possibility is that my ice cream maker may be broken. It seemed like the actual churning part of the ice cream maker was not churning as much as it could be. I will keep experimenting over the next couple weeks to see which of these possibilities is more likely. If it is the ice cream maker, I will have to buy a new one, so be on the lookout for a blog about the pros and cons of different ice cream makers over the next couple weeks.

Despite all my ice cream woes, the ice cream was still a hit! The Honey Thyme Ice Cream was the favorite of the day, with no left-overs at all. I am so grateful that I could spend the day eating and being merry with such wonderful people and family. Instead of my usual ice cream recipe, I am posting a list.

The things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving:

My husband

My family (parents, sister, extended family and in-laws)

My friends

My dog

Having a warm house to come home to everyday

Having enough food to eat

Living in peace

Having a job that allows me to pay the bills and put clothes on my back and still allows me time to pursue my other interests, such as ice cream making

Ice Cream

Running

Books

Origami

Travel

My life experiences

My education

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.

Sweet Cream Take 2

Since I have been trying to improve the consistency of my ice cream, I decided to do a redo on my sweet cream ice cream. There were two reasons for this. First, sweet cream ice cream is a good base off of which to build other flavors. I want to make sure I have a base that both both tastes good AND has a good consistency, as I start to design other flavors. The second reason is that it was my husband's birthday and he loves sweet cream ice cream. Rather than making a cake, I decided to make some sweet cream ice cream. In order to gain a better consistency than I did my first time around, I turned to my trusted source, Bon Appetit magazine, and made sure to use plenty of egg yolks as stabilizers.

Sweet Cream or Vanilla Ice Cream (Courtesy of Bon Appetit)

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup sugar

Pinch of kosher salt

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1 tsp. vanilla extract

5 large egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Combine cream, milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add pod or add vanilla extract. Bring mixture just to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat. If using vanilla bean, cover; let sit 30 minutes.

Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl until pale, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in ½ cup warm cream mixture. Whisk yolk mixture into remaining cream mixture. Cook mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat a wooden spoon, 2–3 minutes.

Strain custard into a medium bowl set over a bowl of ice water; let cool, stirring occasionally. Process custard in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to an airtight container; cover. Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours and up to 1 week.

Note: In order to make the sweet cream ice cream, I left out the vanilla. My husband loved the ice cream. Sweet cream and Honey Thyme are competing for first place in his mind.

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.

Pumpkin Ice Cream

This weekend I was invited to a Vegetarian Thanksgiving Potluck at my friend's house. What did I bring? Ice cream, of course! Since it is Thanksgiving, I decided to try to be somewhat seasonal, especially as I would already be serving ice cream in November. I was slightly nervous about debuting my ice cream to a large group of people. So far, it has been primarily only my husband and I eating my ice cream. Still, I thought it would be a great opportunity to try and make a pumpkin flavored ice cream.

Alexander McCream Spiced Pumpkin Ice Cream (courtesy of epicurious)

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1/3 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

drop of vanilla extract

Pour the milk and cream into a large saucepan and heat gently, stirring occasionally, until the mixture begins to steam but not boil.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks in a heatproof bowl until smooth. Add 1/3 cup of the sugar and whisk until pale and slightly fluffy. Gradually and slowly, pour the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking continuously to prevent the eggs from scrambling. Return the mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat, stirring frequently, until the custard thinly coats the back of a wooden spoon. Do not let boil.

Pour back into the bowl and set aside for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooled to room temperature. For more rapid chilling, fill a sink halfway with cold water and ice and place the bowl of mixture in it for 20 minutes. Never put the hot mixture into the refrigerator.

Put the pumpkin, cinnamon, vanilla extract, remaining sugar into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add to the chilled custard and whisk well. Pour the mixture into an ice cream machine and churn 
according to the manufacturer's instructions.

When the churning is completed, use a spoon or spatula 
to scrape the ice cream into a freezer-proof container with 
a lid. Freeze until it reaches the correct scooping texture (at least 2 hours).

I am not a huge pumpkin flavored person. I do not wait year around for the pumpkin latte season, but I thought this ice cream was pretty good. My husband said it reminded him of a pumpkin spiced latte from Starbucks. More importantly, people other than my husband (who has to say my ice cream is good) actually thought it was good. One guest asked where the ice cream came from, as well as for seconds. I was proud to think that perhaps he had thought the ice cream was store bought. I would definitely rate this ice cream a success, so if you need a Thanksgiving dessert, it's not too late to try this one now.

Enjoy the pumpkin latte season everybody!

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on!

Honey Thyme Ice Cream

Depending on your tastes, honey thyme ice cream may either sound like a complete disaster or a rather interesting culinary experience. I was in an adventurous mood, so I was leaning towards the later while bracing myself for the former. For once, my adventurous spirit paid off. Honey and Thyme is my favorite ice cream flavor yet.

Honey and Thyme Ice Cream (courtesy of Bon Appetit)

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup whole milk

15 large fresh thyme sprigs (I used dried thyme)

8 (2 x 1/2-inch) strips lemon peel (yellow part only)

2 large eggs

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

 Bring first 4 ingredients to boil in medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Cover and let steep 2 hours.

Whisk eggs and sugar in medium bowl. Add honey to cream mixture. Simmer over medium heat, stirring until honey dissolves. Gradually whisk cream mixture into egg mixture. Return custard to same pan. Stir over medium heat until custard thickens enough to coat spoon and thermometer reads 170°F to 175°F, about 4 minutes (do not boil). Strain into clean bowl; whisk in vanilla. Cover; chill until cold, at least 3 hours and up to 1 day.

Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to bowl, cover, and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.

I loved this ice cream, as did my husband. He said it was favorite ice cream yet, even beating out the sweet cream ice cream. Believe me, this is no easy feat. It is so good that I have been requested to make it for Thanksgiving dinner, which will be the ultimate test of its tastiness. For those of you wondering what it tastes like, it reminds me vaguely of the Indian dessert, Gulab Jamun. Perhaps because there is honey in both dishes. If you are really curious about what it tastes like though, just make it. Words cannot do this ice cream justice.

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.

Egg Yolks Galore

Despite not blogging for awhile, I have actually been busy experimenting with ice cream making. Over this time, I have found egg yolks make a huge difference in the texture of an ice cream. They definitely act as a natural stabilizer (see my previous post on what a stabilizer is). As a result, the ice cream holds its consistency a little bit more and does not melt as fast. You need a minimum of two egg yolks and can often use as many as six egg yolks. In general, I would say the more egg yolks you use the better. Hence the blog title.

I have also found that Bon Appetit offers not only wonderful ice cream recipes, but wonderful ice cream making advice in general. For those of you seeking tips on improving your ice cream or just curious about the ice cream making process in general, I recommend checking out this article: Common Ice Cream Mistakes - And How To Avoid Them.

For my ice cream flavor this week, I made a Bon Appetit classic. You will notice it contains plenty of egg yolks and had a great consistency.

Brown Sugar Balsamic Swirl Ice Cream (courtesy of Bon Appetit)

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar, divided

6 large egg yolks

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Combine heavy whipping cream, whole milk, and 1/2 cup sugar in heavy large saucepan. Bring cream mixture to simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.

Meanwhile, whisk yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in large bowl until very thick, about 2 minutes.

Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan. Stir over medium heat until custard thickens and thermometer inserted into custard registers 180°F, about 3 minutes (do not boil). Strain custard into large bowl set over another bowl of ice and water. Cool custard completely, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Cover and chill overnight.

Boil balsamic vinegar in heavy small saucepan until reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 6 minutes. Cool syrup in pan.

Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. When ice cream is done, spoon in balsamic syrup and churn 3 to 4 seconds longer to swirl. Transfer ice cream to container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours and up to 1 day.

I liked this ice cream. The vinegar was a nice balance for the sweetness of the brown sugar and the egg yolks gave the ice cream itself a great texture.

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.

The Science of Ice Cream Making

Last weekend was a busy one for my husband and I. We ran a half marathon in Staten Island and took my niece to an Aquarium in Connecticut. As such, there was little time for making ice cream (blasphemous, I know). I had originally wanted to make a flavor in honor of the Staten Island Half, but I could not think of anything that screamed Staten Island. If anybody has any suggestions for a Staten Island flavor, I would be happy to hear them.

For this week, I decided to go in a different direction. I made two ice creams flavor to make up for having no ice cream last week. The first flavor I made is not exactly an ice cream, but a sorbet (close enough). 

I made lemon sorbet (this was a special request from my husband, who wanted something fruity). The lemon sorbet came out quite well, I thought. It reminded me of the Italian ices I used to have as a kid, but better.

Lemon Sorbet:

Ingredients:

3 cups granulated sugar

3 cups water

2 1/4 cups lemon juice

Directions:

Bring the sugar and water to boil in a pot over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. When cool, add the lemon juice. Churn in ice cream maker and freeze over night before serving.

The other ice cream flavor I made was Coffee Butter Almond Ice Cream. I had high hopes for this ice cream, but alas, it did not come out so well. I ended up throwing the batch away.

One thing I have noticed since embarking on this project is that although many of the flavors come out quite well, I have struggled with the consistency or texture of my ice cream. When scooped into a bowl, my homemade ice cream tends to melt very fast. I have followed all the usual guidelines, always freezing my ice cream churner for at least 24 hours in advance and allowing the batter to sit in the fridge for 24 hours before churning it. Nonetheless, the ice cream seems to turn soupy very quickly. 

I did some research online and found that most commercial ice creams that are bought in a store contain what are called "stabilizers" that prevent the ice cream from crystallizing and help make the ice cream firmer. The water in milk and the fat in cream tend to separate (something I have noticed with my ice creams when I allow them to sit in the fridge). The stabilizers prevent this separation from taking place and make for a more solid ice cream. In other words, stabilizers are like a bonding agent or glue for food. As you may have guessed, stabilizers are not natural. Many of the stabilizers used in commercial ice creams include: guar gum, carrageenan, xanthan gum and locust bean gum. There are debates as to how harmful these stabilizers are. Some claim not at all and others claim they are toxic. It all depends on the research you want to believe. I am not well versed enough in science and the ingredients in stabilizers to know which side is right in this debate. My personal bias though is that real food, even unhealthy real food, is always better than fake food, especially fake unhealthy food. As such, I would like to avoid using commercial stabilizers in my ice cream. I did do some research into natural stabilizers, however, and found that egg yolks are often used as stabilizers. In the chocolate ice cream recipe I made and loved, I used a lot of egg yolks. I also thought the texture of this ice cream was the most ice cream like. As such, I will be using recipes with a lot of egg yolks in them from now on.

The other thing I found out in my research is that sugar, like alcohol, does not freeze. Sugar, however, does dissolve. This is the reason that many ice cream recipes call for dissolving the sugar in milk over heat before making the ice cream. I strongly recommend doing this and perhaps heating the sugar and milk for a couple extra moments to make sure the sugar has really dissolved. Good luck!

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.

Emma Watson Ice Cream (aka Butterbeer Ice Cream) #heforshe

Recently, the UN launched a gender-equality campaign called He For She. The campaign was announced by the UN Women's Goodwill Ambassador, Emma Watson. For those of you who don't know, Emma Watson is the actress who played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies.

I understand and even share at times the skepticism that surrounds celebrity political causes. I also understand the critiques that it should not take a young and attractive female actress to bring attention to the cause of feminism,which promotes valuing women as individuals and not for their youth and beauty. Nonetheless, I think Emma Watson's speech is a fairly good one. As Ms. Watson stresses, feminism is "the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes." At a time when our society has become increasingly polarized and feminism has become wrapped up in negative connotations, He For She is a campaign that is meant to bring people together to recognize and celebrate our common humanity as both men and women. It is a shame that we need a celebrity to bring attention to the issue of gender inequality, but if Emma Watson's celebrity status can bring about a positive change for gender equality, then this is a good thing.

If you have not had a chance to see Emma Watson's speech, you can watch it below:

As a supporter of gender equality and a fan of Harry Potter, I decided to make an ice cream flavor that I associate with Emma Watson's role as Hermione Granger. That flavor, of course, is butterbeer (a popular drink in the Harry Potter books). I had wanted to make a butterbeer ice cream anyway, so this seemed like the perfect excuse to do it.

As I began to do some internet research on what butterbeer ice cream might include, I came across a vast number of websites that had already created their own butterbeer. Many people were engaged in arguments about which butterbeer recipe was most authentic, which I found ironic given that butterbeer is fictional, and thus no one has a better basis for claiming their recipe is more authentic than another. Nonetheless, I found this recipe, which I picked because it sounded tasty. I also added some of my own modifications.

Butterscotch Sauce:
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp water
3 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp heavy cream

In a small saucepan combine dark brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in butter, vinegar, salt and heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, put mixture in an airtight container and refrigerate for 2 - 4 hours.

Ice Cream Base:
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cream soda
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk milk and sugar together until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 2 minutes. Stir in cream soda, heavy cream and vanilla extract. Once everything is thoroughly mixed together, cover and refrigerate for 2 - 4 hours.

Once the ingredients are cold, mix the butterscotch and ice cream base together. Pour into your ice cream maker and churn for 20 - 30 minutes.

This ice cream definitely tastes better after it has been in the freezer for a day or two. It has a strong butterscotch flavor, which I enjoy. I particularly like to imagine that I am sitting in Hogsmeade enjoying butterbeer with all my friends from Hogwarts. It makes the ice cream taste even better.

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.

RE2PECT Ice Cream (vanilla ice cream with peanuts, cracker jacks and fudge swirls)

RE2PECT 

As an ode to Derek Jeter's last home game at Yankee Stadium, I decided to make an ice cream in his honor. RE2PECT Ice Cream is vanilla ice cream with peanuts, cracker jacks and fudge swirls.

My reasons for making RE2PECT Ice Cream were two fold. First and foremost, as a life long Yankee fan, I felt I had to do something to honor the career long Yankee. Second, this weekend my husband and I are running in the Bronx 10 Mile race. I thought I would combine my two favorite passions, running and ice cream eating, by making an ice cream flavor that represents my run in the Bronx. The first thing I think of when I think of the Bronx is the Bronx Bombers. The ultimate Bronx Bomber of my generation is Derek Jeter (though I will always have a soft spot for the Yankees of my childhood, such as: Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, Paul O'Neil, Wade Boggs and Don Mattingly), hence the birth of RE2PECT Ice Cream.

For those of you who would like to make this recipe at home, I used the Cuisinart Simple Vanilla Recipe as my base. This is the same recipe I was going to use the night I made the sweet cream ice cream, except this time I had the vanilla.

Vanilla Ice Cream base (as seen in Cuisinart Recipe Booklet):
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/8 cups granulated sugar
3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract (I only used 1 tablespoon)

Add-ins:
1/2 cup of honey roasted peanuts
1/2 cup of cracker jacks (or caramel popcorn)
fudge (to taste)

In a medium bowl use an electric beater to mix together the milk and granulated sugar. This should take about 2 minutes. Slowly pour in the heavy cream and vanilla while continuing to beat the mixture until it is thick and creamy. Afterwards, pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and churn for about 20 minutes.

As the ice cream is churning, use a food processor to chop the honey roasted peanuts and cracker jacks. If you want a crunchy texture, pulse the peanuts and cracker jacks. If you would like a smoother texture, then grind them until they are fine. After the ice cream has churned for 20 minutes, add in the grounded peanuts and cracker jacks. Add in as much fudge as desired as well. Churn for another 10 minutes and then put the mixture into the freezer for at least two hours before serving.

This ice cream is quite tasty. The peanuts provide a nice crunchy texture, but are well balanced by the sweet caramel popcorn and fudge. It is the exact kind of ice cream I would like to eat on a hot summer's day while enjoying a Yankee game with the bleacher creatures in the Bronx. The only thing that I am slightly disappointed by is that the vanilla ice cream absorbed the fudge. While you can taste the fudge, the fudge swirls that I wanted in the ice cream to represent the Yankee pinstripes are not visible. Ultimately, however, RE2PECT Ice Cream is as good as its namesake. The legend lives!

Also, for those of you keeping track, the chocolate ice cream from last week was delicious. I do not usually like chocolate ice cream, but I found this recipe delicious and well worth the wait. It is rich, decadent and will fulfill any chocolate craving you have.

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.

Chocolate Ice Cream or How To Bribe Your Favorite Five Year Old

This past weekend my in-laws came over for dinner. My husband and I made lots of delicious things for dinner, including chicken cutlets, pasta with fresh tomato sauce and a kale salad. When it came time to decide what to make for dessert, it was a no brainer. We knew we would make ice cream. It just so happens that my five year old niece's favorite dessert is chocolate ice cream. It also just so happens that my niece is the cutest five year old on the planet, so my husband and I love being presented with opportunities to spoil her with little treats, like fresh homemade ice cream.

Knowing that most ice cream recipes take at least 24 hours to freeze and become really solid for scooping, I excitedly started the ice cream the night before. As my sweet cream ice cream from the previous week turned out so well, I decided to play it safe and use the Simple Chocolate Ice Cream recipe found in the Cuisinart Recipe Booklet that came with my ice cream maker. Unfortunately, the Simple Chocolate Ice Cream did not turn out so well. The cocoa powder never really dissolved into the milk giving the ice cream a very grainy quality. Note: as my very sweet sister-in-law and subsequent recipes have pointed out, I think it is very important to mix the cocoa powder and milk together over low heat before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients. This is a crucial step that the Cuisinart recipe leaves out. I am by no means an expert cook, but I think mixing the milk and cocoa powder together over low heat allows the milk to absorb the cocoa powder (like chocolate milk), making the ice cream less grainy. Perhaps if I re-tried the Cuisinart recipe using this method, it would taste better. Overall, as it is though, it tasted more like a bad cookies and cream ice cream than chocolate ice cream.

Determined to find a really good chocolate ice cream recipe that I could make the next time I want to get into my niece's good graces, I scoured the web for good chocolate ice cream recipes. I came up with this one from Bon Appetit magazine. Warning: This recipe requires lots of advance planning. Not only are there a lot of steps in making the ice cream "batter" (it probably took me close to an hour my first time around), it then requires 5 days of chilling. In other words, this recipe is not one you can make on the fly.

Ingredients (copied from the Bon Appetit website):
7 ounces dark chocolate finely chopped
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6 large egg yolks
13 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions (copied from the Bon Appetit website):

• Place chocolate in a medium metal bowl. Set bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir chocolate until melted and smooth. Set melted chocolate aside; let cool slightly.
• Whisk milk and cocoa powder in a medium heavy saucepan over medium heat until mixture begins to boil; set aside.
• Using an electric mixer, beat egg yolks and 7 tablespoons sugar in another medium bowl until very thick ribbons form, about 2 minutes.Whisking constantly, gradually add hot milk mixture to egg yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan. Add melted chocolate and whisk to blend. Stir over low heat until slightly thickened and an instant-read thermometer registers 175°, about 5 minutes. Transfer chocolate custard to a large bowl and place over another large bowl of ice water. (Note: I just stuck it in the fridge for a few minutes). Stir until chocolate custard is cool.
• Bring remaining 6 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons water to a boil in a small heavy, deep saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with a wet pastry brush (do not stir), until a dark amber color forms, about 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Whisk caramel into chocolate custard. Strain into a large container; cover and chill for 2 days.
• Process custard in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to another container; freeze for 3 days before eating. DO AHEAD.  Ice cream can be made 3 days ahead. Keep frozen.

Unfortunately, I am now in limbo and have to wait five days to know how this round of chocolate ice cream turned out. Judging from the how the "batter" tastes though, I think it is going to be excellent! If you want my final opinion, check back here next week and discover a new recipe as well. For those of you getting a little bored with the traditional flavors, I promise that next week will be something a little bit more unique.

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.

How Sweet It Is...

Yesterday, I made my very first batch of ice cream with my new ice cream maker. I decided to start off with a simple flavor like vanilla. Vanilla is not only my favorite flavor, but is basic enough that it seemed like a good flavor to start with. I figured if I couldn't make vanilla ice cream, I might as well nix this whole project. I also thought vanilla could serve as a good base for other flavors I may want to add into my ice cream in the future.

Alas, after mixing all the ingredients together, I realized I did not have any vanilla in my cupboard. I frantically looked through the recipe book to see what other flavors I could make, but could not find any that involved the same concentration of milk and sugar. With a friend arriving for dinner at any minute, I did not have time to run to the store to get vanilla. Rather than throwing the whole batch out, I decided to just try the batch as was (cooking with the ingredients we have and not the ones the recipe calls for is a popular tradition at my house). The cream, milk and sugar tasted sweet enough, so I figured I could just make my own version of Sweet Cream Ice Cream. According to the three of us that ate it, it was pretty tasty.

Here's the recipe (courtesy of Cuisinart. The only change I made was leaving out the vanilla):

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/8 cup granulated sugar
3 cups heavy cream

Combine the milk and sugar in a mixing bowl. Using an electric hand mixer on low speed whisk the milk and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved (this should take about 2 minutes).

Next, pour the heavy cream into the mixture and continue to whisk together.

Pour the entire mixture into your ice cream maker. My ice cream maker takes about 25 minutes to churn everything together, but depending on the type you have it may take more or less time. After churning the ice cream, give it a significant amount of time (a couple hours) to cool in your freezer. Otherwise it might turn out a little soupy.

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.

The Inspiration For This Blog

I LOVE ice cream. I love everything about ice cream. It's got fat; it's got sugar; it's got everything your body could possibly crave. What's not to like? If I could, I would eat ice cream 3 times a day.

Given my infatuation with ice cream, no one will be surprised to learn that for my birthday I asked my husband to buy me an ice cream maker, which he delivered on. Armed with my new ice cream maker, my goal is to make a flavor of ice cream a week over the next year. That's right folks, I'm going to make 32 flavors of ice cream and then some (for the mathematically challenged, that some is 20. 32+20 = 52 weeks in a year). Some of the flavors will be regular, ordinary flavors and some will be funky. All will be based entirely on my whim and fancy.

Fair warning: I am not an expert ice cream maker. This blog is meant to record my hilarious attempts at making ice cream. If you're looking for gourmet dessert or ice cream recipes, this blog is not for you. If you're looking to be amused and waste time on the internet instead of studying for that final tomorrow, paying attention to that work presentation that's happening right now or whatever else you're supposed to be doing, this blog is right up your alley. 

For those of you wondering why I keep saying "32 flavors and then some?", this comes from an Ani DiFranco song. When I was in high school, Ani DiFranco spoke to my angsty, feminist, teenage soul. I played her CD Not A Pretty Girl so many times I'm surprised it didn't break. 32 Flavors was one of my favorite songs. The song has nothing to do with ice cream, but the name works with the theme of this blog, so I thought I'd pay homage to the Righteous Babe.

In addition to making 52 flavors of ice cream over the course of the year, I also plan on ranking existing ice cream shops to help out the other ice cream lovers in the world. The genius for this idea came from my husband while we were in standing in a 40 minute line for the Michelin ranked Din Tai Fung in Taiwan. Per usual, I was talking about my love of ice cream and decrying the scarcity of ice cream parlors in Asia (America this may be the key to your obesity problem). My husband turned to me and said why don't you start a Michelin ranking for ice cream? Thus, the one scoop, two scoop, three scoop and three scoops with a cherry on top system was born. One scoop is the lowest, three scoops with a cherry on top is the highest. My comments are offered in parentheses.

Until next time, keep calm and get your ice cream eating on.