Spicy Peach Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

Sometimes the best place to get ice cream recipes is from other ice cream enthusiasts. This week I made a flavor I found on the Ice Cream Geek's blog.

Spicy Peach Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs ( I used 4 large egg yolks instead)
3/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup peaches
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

(makes about one quart)

Preparation:

Combine the cream and milk in a pot and bring them to a slight boil over medium heat

As the milk and cream are boiling, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together for two minutes.

Slowly add the cream mixture to the egg mixture a little bit at a time to temper the eggs.

Once you have tempered the eggs, transfer the mixture back to the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly.

Set the cream mixture to the side to focus on the peach mixture. According to the Ice Cream Geek, "Peaches are one of those 'problematic' ingredients, because they contain so much water.  Peach chunks are great if you eat the ice cream right out of the machine, but they turn into frozen, teeth-cracking, ice chunks after sitting in the freezer for a while." I learned this the hard way when I made my Strawberries and Cream ice cream. 

The Ice Cream Geek has a good solution to this conundrum, which is to blend the frozen peaches in a blender, adding in the lemon juice and cayenne pepper, as well as some of the cream mixture to make the blending easier. Also add the additional 1/2 cup of sugar. Blend all the ingredients together well, so that it resembles a puree.

I used this 10oz bag of frozen peaches for my peach puree.

Add in the cream mixture, so that the peach and cream mixture become one.

Strain the mixture through a strainer into a clean bowl. The strainer should not catch much, as the mixture should have been well blended and smooth.

Cool the mixture in the refrigerator.

When the mixture is sufficiently chilled, churn the ice cream in your cream churner. Add in the chocolate pieces as the ice cream is churning. The Ice Cream Geek recommends waiting to the very end to add the chocolate pieces, but I added them right away.

Texture: The texture on this was pretty good and better than I was expecting. It was not as creamy as some of my other ice creams, I think because of all the water from the peach, but it wasn't icy either (as can sometimes happen with ice creams that have fruit in them). I think pureeing the peach, as well as the extra egg yolks, helped prevent too many ice crystals from forming.

Flavor: The cayenne pepper packs a big punch. I liked the heat and thought it complimented the chocolate well. My husband, however, was not a fan of the spice.

Overall: I enjoy this ice cream. In addition to the flavor, the ice cream is a pretty, peach color decorated with dots of cocoa nibs.



Shaved Ice Cream

The first time I had shaved ice was on a trip to Taiwan with my husband. We went to a shaved ice store called Mango King, as well as a stall along one of Taiwan's numerous street markets. Every night, Taiwanese streets come alive with vendors selling all sorts of food. This includes snake soup, a Taiwanese delicacy I had the privilege of trying one night. Taiwan's street markets are one of the most interesting and fun things to do in Taiwan. Shaved ice is a popular Taiwanese dessert, easily found at street markets or local stores. Much as it sounds, shaved ice is ice that has been shaved and then placed into a bowl with numerous self-selected toppings, such as condensed milk, jelly and bubbles.

Recently, my husband and I found our first "trendy" shaved ice place in Manhattan. I put "trendy" in quotation marks because while there are shaved ice stores in Flushing or Chinatown, this is the first store that I have seen that has tried to take shaved ice mainstream. Called SNOWDAYS, and located close to the NYU campus, this establishment offers even better shaved ice than the kind we had in Taiwan. It is a thicker, almost creamier texture, which makes sense because according to SNOWDAYS' website they use milk in their shaved ice. At Snow Days, you can try one of their inventions or make your own flavor. My husband and I went the make your own combo route and got the Sweet Milk shaved ice with Condensed Milk and cornflakes as a topping. The cornflakes give the shaved ice some much needed texture and crunch. The combination was delicious. SNOWDAYS' motto is "Make Every Day a Snow Day" and I couldn't agree more. My husband and I will definitely be going back to SNOWDAYS and we'll be bringing friends!

The best part about SNOWDAYS is that they serve their shaved ice cream in these cute little monster cups. Pictured above is Sweet Milk shaved ice cream with Condensed Milk and cornflakes.

 

 



Wasabi Ice Cream

Last week I made edamame ice cream. This week as a follow-up to that, I decided to make wasabi ice cream. I have only seen wasabi ice cream once before at one of my favorite ice cream shops, Sundaes and Cones. One day while showing my husband's cousin around New York City, we stumbled upon this shop. My husband's cousin was brave enough to order the wasabi ice cream. It was not bad, which has always made me curious about trying to duplicate the results. I did a quick search online, but could not find many recipes for wasabi ice cream. Instead, I turned to a trusted base I usually use when experimenting with new flavors I have never made before.

Wasabi Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons wasabi paste

1 cup sugar

5 eggs yolks

 

Preparation:

Combine the first three ingredients in a pot and bring them to a slight boil over medium heat.

Cool and allow the wasabi to seep in the milk for two hours.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together.
Re-heat the cream mixture.

Slowly add the cream mixture a cup at a time to the egg mixture to temper the eggs. Whisk the cream and eggs together, in between transfers.

When you have transferred your last cup of cream into the egg mixture, whisk the two mixtures together for two minutes.

Transfer the mixture back to the pot and cook on medium heat for four minutes, stirring constantly.

Pour the mixture through a strainer into a clean bowl. Chill in your refrigerator for a minimum of three hours and up to one day. Churn in your ice cream maker.

 

 

Texture: This ice cream needs to churn for a long time (45 minutes - 1 hour) to become solid. I think some corn syrup or cream cheese added to the base would help it to become better stabilized.

 

Flavor: Wasabi ice cream is an interesting flavor to say the least. It has the hotness of wasabi and the sweetness of the ice cream, two flavors I am not used to experiencing at the same time. It is a light pastel color.

 

Overall: Wasabi ice cream is an interesting flavor to say the least. I kind of like this ice cream, though I don't know if I could eat it a whole bowl of it. It is best a spoonful at a time. It is also only for the most adventurous of eaters, who already enjoy wasabi. I enjoyed pairing it with some homemade chocolate truffles I recently made. I felt the hot wasabi and the cool chocolate complimented one another nicely. To sum up, if you're looking for a classical dessert or ice cream, this is definitely not it. If you're an adventurous eater, however, this may be your new favorite dessert.





Life Lessons From Ice Cream Making & Running

No matter who you are, the New Year always seems like a good time for some introspection. As part of that introspection, I created a list of my favorite ice creams that I have made over the past two years. As I reflect back on my past two years of ice cream making, which coincides with the two year span in which I was preparing for the New York City marathon (my first marathon), I am struck by not just my favorite ice creams, but the number of life lessons I have learned from ice cream making and running.

Persistence is Key
When I first started making ice cream, I was not very good at it. The first few flavors I made were not the way I envisioned they would be at all and the ice cream did not hold together very well. I was ready to give up, but I kept at it and eventually ended up making ice cream that I was proud of.

Similarly, when I first started getting into running, a 10K seemed like a long distance to me. I distinctly remember training for the Scotland 10K (my first 10K) and wondering if I would ever be able to do it. I had to train for a long time, just to make it around Central Park once. Now a 10K is nothing for me. In fact, I can run 10 miles with ease. I say this not to brag, but to point out how perspective and persistence is everything. I am sure there are people out there who find a marathon easy, while I am struggling with my three laps around Central Park. However, these days as I am approaching that third lap in Central Park, I can't help my be amazed with how far I have come in such a short time. Two years ago, I would have stopped after 1 lap, now I can keep going. Point is that the more you practice, the easier things become. Don't get discouraged so easily!

Life's About the Journey, Not the Destination
It can be awkward to step outside your comfort zone and failure often hurts. The more I have experimented with ice cream, however, the more I have come to love the ice cream making process (cheesy, I know). Sometimes it really is about the journey and not the destination. Not all my ice cream flavors came out well, but along the way I have learned a lot. I have learned what works and doesn't work when it comes to making ice cream. I have learned which steps I can skip and which steps are necessary to take. I have also learned a lot about the different components of ice cream and how chemicals interact in ice cream. I have learned that before you freeze ice cream, you need to cook it first (not something I ever would have guessed). I have learned about things like food stabilizers, something I had never previously heard of. None of this is life changing information, but it is interesting and it keeps my mind engaged.

In life, it is important to not just keep your mind engaged, but also your body. Marathon training was challenging to say the least. It was taxing on both my mind and my body. However, I learned how to push myself both mentally and physically and to not give up on a goal. Trust me, there were plenty of times along the way that I thought that a marathon was beyond my physical limitations and I contemplated quitting. I didn't quit though. That may seem like such a simple and obvious statement, but not quitting on a goal is half the battle. Long story short, expand your horizons and try something new, you never know what you might learn along the way. Even if you learn nothing, you'll at least be impressed by the progress you've made and how far you have come. I told myself during training that I would never run another marathon. It was too painful and too time consuming. Less than two months later, I'm contemplating training for the Philadelphia Marathon in November.

It Takes Two to Make a Thing Go Right
I never would have gotten through marathon training without my husband. He was with my through every step of my training, whether that was verbally encouraging me as I ran or simply motivating me to get my lazy butt out of the house when I saw him going for a run. When it comes to running, especially long distance running, having a partner to help motivate you is huge. Your partner does not have to be a romantic interest. I had plenty of friends who came out the day of the marathon to cheer me on. The energy of the crowd definitely fueled my run. It's hard to do things all by yourself, but with the support of others you can make things go out of sight.

Patience Truly is a Virtue
Good ice cream is not something that can be made quickly. It takes many steps and often a couple days. The ice cream has to be made (usually in many different bowls); it has to cook; it has to chill (usually overnight), it has to be churned (usually for 45 minutes). If you rush in making ice cream or try to skip the wrong step, the ice cream will not come out well. Like so much else in life, if you're going to make good ice cream, you need to take the time to do it right. On the other hand, what's the point of doing something, if you're not going to do it right? So set aside the time you need to get the results you desire. It took me two years to train for the marathon, but eventually I got there! Be patient with yourself, especially when you're learning something new.

Everything in Moderation, Including Moderation
When training for a marathon, it's easy to become caught up in extremes. A Marathon after all is an extreme distance to run, though not as extreme as some runs today (such as ultra marathons). When running that far, it is easy to become caught up in being healthy. Being healthy is of course a good thing. I don't want to discourage anyone from being healthy. However, it is also possible to take health consciousness too far. For example, when I was running my first health marathon, I became so health conscious that I almost found myself becoming paralyzed when it came time to decide what to eat. I didn't want to eat meat because too much meat leads to cholesterol; I didn't want to eat too much carbs because carbs lead to sluggishness. The list could go on. Obviously, however, fueling a marathon run with just fruits and veggies is not a way to be successful. Luckily for me, I broke out of this phase fairly quickly. Eat healthy, but don't obsess over it. Enjoy your meals. If your meals include ice cream from time to time, well then so be it. You'll probably burn those calories off in your next training run.

My advice for the upcoming year, push yourself to explore new horizons, but while you're pushing the boundaries, be kind to yourself and have patience with yourself when you make mistakes. Making mistakes is an inevitable part of learning something new, so have faith that you can master new challenges and settle in to enjoy the journey. Along the way, don't be shy about enjoying that bowl of ice cream, if you need one.

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

Lean, Green, Edamame Machine

I am a big fan of sushi. Often when I go out to a Japanese restaurant, I will order edamame as an appetizer. Recently, I purchased a bag of frozen edamame at the supermarket. I planned on using the edamame one night as an appetizer at home, but as so often happens, laziness set in and I never got around to using the edamame. As most of you by now know, I am also a big fan of experimenting with unusual and unique ice cream flavors. When I ran across a recipe for edamame ice cream in Bon Appetit Magazine, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to use up the bag of edamame I had sitting in my freezer.

Edamame Ice Cream

Ingredients:

8 oz of frozen shelled edamame

2 large eggs

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 cups whole milk

2/3 cup dry milk powder

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup (I only had dark corn syrup, so I substituted that instead. It came out just as well in my opinion).

 

Preparation:

Cook edamame in boiling salted water until tender. (The back of the package will tell you how long to cook the edamame for, but mine took about 5 minutes.) Drain, cool.

 

Whisk eggs and cream in a bowl.

 

Mix milk, milk powder, sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture simmers.

 

Gradually whisk milk mixture into egg mixture.

 

Return custard to same pan. Stir over medium heat until thickened, about 2 minutes. Pour into bowl; cool. (I placed my custard in the refrigerator for a few hours).

 

Puree custard with edamame (remember to shell the edamame prior to putting it in the blender) in blender until smooth (this takes a few minutes); chill until cold. (I skipped the second chilling process, as my custard was already chilled from being in the refrigerator for a few hours).

 

Churn in ice cream maker.

Flavor: The ice cream definitely tastes like edamame. I was not a huge fan of it, but my husband enjoyed it. I guess it just comes down to individual preference.

Texture: This is the most pleased I've been with an ice cream's texture in a long time. I was a little bit nervous when I was pouring the custard into the ice cream churner, as it looked a little watery. However, I left the mixture to churn for almost an hour and it came out solid. I think part of the reason that this ice cream's texture might have come out so well is that it uses both eggs and corn syrup, both of which act as stabilizers. This is the first ice cream recipe I've used that combine both eggs and corn syrup in the same recipe.

Also, something that really pleased me about the edamame ice cream was that it was naturally green! Usually when I make ice creams at home, they come out white, which just goes to show you how much artificial dye and other chemicals is in store bought ice cream. This is one of the few homemade flavors I have made that is naturally colorful. It's a little hard to tell, but you can kind of catch a little bit of the light green color in the photo below.

Yes, that is my dog trying to eat the edamame ice cream. We snatched it away from her just in time.

Overall: If you like edamame, give this ice cream a shot. If nothing else, you'll have fun with the color.

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

2 Years In Review: The Best Homemade Ice Creams of 2014 & 2015!

In honor of the New Year, I have decided to create a list of the best ice creams I have made since I got my very first ice cream maker two years ago. I tried to limit the list to just five ice creams, but couldn't help myself and added a sixth. If anybody is interested in trying these flavors for themselves, just click on the link and it will take you to the recipe page.

 

1) Honey and Thyme

This flavor is unlike any other flavor I have ever had. Do not be intimidated by it's unusualness, however. Anytime I have served it to people, they have always asked for seconds. It's sure to impress even the pickiest of guests.

 

2) Chocolate Ice Cream

This flavor is rich and chocaltey. I do not usually like chocolate ice cream, as I usually find it weak and watery. This recipe hits the mark, however. It is only for the most hard core of chocolate lovers and sure to cure any chocolate craving.

 

3) Sweet Cream Ice Cream

Not the most creative of flavors, for sure, but definitely a classic. My husband would never forgive me if I left Sweet Cream off the list, as it is his favorite flavor.

 

4) Coffee Ice Cream

If I could eat this ice cream everyday for breakfast, I would. If you love Thai/Vietnamese Iced Coffee, then you will love this ice cream. It's the perfect way to jump start your morning.

 

5) Lavender Ice Cream

A perfect ice cream for the spring. It's floral and sweet and reminds you that summer is just around the corner.

 

6) Cinnamon Ice Cream

If Lavender Ice Cream is the perfect spring flavor, Cinnamon Ice Cream is the perfect winter flavor. It tastes of Christmas, cinnamon buns and eggnog. So get in the holiday spirit and make some today!

 

Leave a comment in the comment section and let me know what your favorite ice cream flavor is.

 

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

 

 

Ice Cream Sandwiches at Schmackary's

The other weekend, my husband I went to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. Christmas is my favorite time of year. I love seeing the angels at Rockefeller Center; the shop windows along 5th Avenue; baking cookies, drinking hot chocolate, stringing up Christmas lights and the overall general good mood that everybody seems to exude in December. After going to see the Rockefeller Christmas tree, my husband and I walked over to the West Side where we enjoyed dinner at an Ethiopian Restaurant called Queen of Sheba. After dinner, we strolled along the streets on the way to the subway and passed by a cookie place called Schmackary's that we decided to pop into.

One of my favorite parts about living in a city is that you can wander along the city streets and almost always find a new place that you haven't tried before. I have found some of my favorite places using this method. Unfortunately, this time around this method failed me. Despite having excellent reviews on yelp, I found Schmackary's disappointing. I ordered a Chocolate Chip cookie, the Schmakerdoodle cookie (sugar, cinnamon and vanilla) and The Red Velvet cookie. The Red Velvet cookie was the only one I didn't throw away and even that was only so-so. My husband ordered an ice cream sandwich with the Chocolate Chip cookie and the Schmakerdoodle cookie serving as the "sandwich pieces." Overall, the ice cream sandwich was the best thing we ordered. Nonetheless, it was still disappointing, especially given that none of the individual components of the ice cream sandwich, the ice cream or the cookies, was really that exceptional. Skip the long lines and high prices at Schmakerdoodle's and find another place to go to satiate your sweet tooth.

Take a hint from the box, don't say we didn't warn you, I would only give Schmakerdoodle's one scoop.

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

Cinnamon Ice Cream

As promised in my last post, I worked on making a cinnamon ice cream for Christmas. For all those who celebrated, I hope your Christmas was as merry as mine. For my cinnamon ice cream, I borrowed a recipe from David Lebovitz. David Lebovitz is a former chef at Chez Panisse, a California based restaurant that was rated the best restaurant in America in Gourmet magazine in 2001. Mr. Lebovitz is known for his desserts, including pastries and ice cream. He currently resides in Paris, where he writes books and blogs. I have never read one of Mr. Lebovitz's books, but based off the titles, The Sweet Life in Paris, The Perfect Scoop and The Great Book of Chocolate, I think it is fair to say that Mr. Lebovitz and I share similar culinary interests. On Mr. Lebovitz's website, you can find several good ice cream recipes.

The recipe I borrowed from Mr. Lebovitz is shared below. It is important to note that I did not take all the steps recommended by Mr. Lebovitz, as I did not have the patience to do so. While patience is an important part of ice cream making, and I would not recommend starting an ice cream recipe if you are in a rush, I do think you can avoid some of the more time consuming steps, such as ice baths, to speed up the process. The version of Mr. Lebovitz's recipe that I have presented below follows the steps I took and not those recommended by Mr. Lebovitz. If you are interested in the original recipe, I would recommend reading Mr. Lebovitz's blog.

Cinnamon Ice Cream

 

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar as I did.

pinch of salt

10 cinnamon sticks

2 cups heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

 

Preparation:

Heat the milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon sticks and 1 cup of heavy cream together in a medium saucepan. Cover, remove from heat, and let steep for 1 hour.

 

Rewarm the mixture and remove the cinnamon sticks.

 

Whisk together the egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually add some of the warm cinnamon-infused milk to the yolks, whisking constantly. Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the custard thickens and coats the spoon.

 

Remove from heat and pour through a strainer into a clean bowl. Add the remaining 1 cup of cream. Stir and chill overnight in the freezer.

 

Churn in your ice cream maker.

Texture: Smooth, creamy, and rich, just the way you would want an ice cream to be.

Flavor: Sweet and creamy with a hint of cinnamon. I was a little concerned that the cinnamon would be a little overwhelming. However, the cinnamon flavor ended up being very well balanced.

Overall: This ice cream is delicious! Of all the ice creams I have made, this is one of my favorites. It would taste great with a pumpkin or apple pie. On his blog, David Lebovitz recommends pairing cinnamon ice cream with peaches, plums or a fruit sorbet. Whether paired with another dessert or served on its own, cinnamon ice cream is delicious. Go out and make yourself some today!

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

The Best Chocolate Milkshake Ever or the Best Post Workout Recovery Drink

For those of you who have read my blog before, you'll know that in addition to making and eating ice cream, running is a hobby of mine. This past November, I ran the New York City Marathon for the first time. It was also, coincidentally, my first marathon. Running a marathon has always been on my bucket list, but it was only in the past two years that I got serious enough about running that a marathon was within my reach. Nonetheless, I'd like to think that having the marathon on my bucket list slowly motivated me to get in shape and gradually increase my running over the years to the point where it is today.

In addition to being a runner, I am also a vegetarian. Over the summer, as I was training for the marathon, I was often running 15 to 17 miles in 80 degree weather. My body does not respond well to heat and these runs often left me feeling ill. My husband suggested that perhaps I was not getting enough protein, and I gradually began to incorporate fish back into my diet. In addition, I began to read online about ways to recover from a long run. I found tips such as: stretch immediately after a run; start rehydrating immediately; take a luke warm bath; eat a meal filled with proteins and carbohydrates and drink chocolate milk. I began to incorporate all these strategies into my post running routine. I found the most helpful tips to be the rehydrating and the luke warm bath.

My favorite tip though was drinking chocolate milk. Who doesn't love being able to drink chocolate milk with the excuse that it is good for them? One day, after coming back from a run, I realized that I had some homemade chocolate ice cream in the freezer. Rather than making chocolate milk, I decided to make a chocolate milkshake. The chocolate milkshake was among the best I've ever had and very simple to make.

Chocolate Milkshake

3 or 4 scoops of homemade chocolate ice cream

Milk, enough to fill the remainder of the blender cup

Blend together in a blender or smoothie maker

 

I highly recommend this milkshake whether you are a runner or not. To those of you who are wondering why a chocolate milkshake is a good recovery drink for runners, the answer is that it contains a good mix of carbohydrates and protein. In addition, chocolate milk contains nutrients such as calcium and vitamin D and helps to replace lost fluids and electrolytes. While it may be going too far to say that chocolate milk is healthy for you, it is comparable to drinking a sports drink such as Gatorade after working out. So go ahead, go to the gym and then make yourself a delicious chocolate milkshake. You've earned it!

 

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



Open Sesame

With the holidays once again approaching, I wanted to make a special ice cream that I could bring over as a holiday treat to wow everyone. Unfortunately, many of the traditional holiday ice cream flavors, such as pumpkin pie, peppermint and coquito, I already made last year. Since I wanted to try something new, I decided to look at Bon Appetit for inspiration. I have always had good luck with their ice creams in the past, including some of their more unusual sounding flavors, such as honey and thyme, which has quickly grown to be a favorite in my house. This year I decided to make Sesame Ice Cream with Orange Blossom Caramel Sauce.

Sesame Ice Cream with Orange Blossom Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

Orange Blossom Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon kosher salt

6 tablespoons heavy cream

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon orange-flower water (note: I did not have orange-flower water, so I substituted orange blossom honey instead)

 

Sesame Ice Cream

3/4 cup sesame seeds

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup half-and-half

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1 cup sugar

Pinch of Salt

8 egg yolks

 

Preparation:

Orange-Blossom Caramel Sauce

Stir sugar, honey, salt and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and cook without stirring until mixture turns amber in color. Remove from heat; carefully stir in cream, then orange-flower water. Let cool. Cover and chill.

 

Sesame Ice Cream

Toast sesame seeds in a large heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add cream, half-and-half, and milk. Bring barely to a simmer, stirring often, over medium heat. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 30 minutes.

 

Strain through a sieve into a medium bowl. Return cream mixture to same pan; add 1/2 cup sugar and salt. Bring barely to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.

 

Whisk egg yolks with remaining 1/2 cup sugar in medium bowl. While whisking constantly, gradually add hot cream mixture to yolks, then return mixture to pan. Cook over medium-low-heat, stirring constantly, until custard is thick enough to just coat the back of a spoon, 3-5 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a medium bowl. Cover and chill overnight.

 

Process in a an ice cream maker.

 

Texture: The texture on this came out pretty well. It is smooth and creamy and scoops nicely. It almost has the texture of store bought ice cream. I think it may be because of all the egg yolks.

Flavor: The flavor is definitely an unusual one and I think requires an acquired taste. The sesame can leave a slightly bitter after taste in your mouth, though I think the caramel blossom syrup helps to cut through that. I thought this flavor was weird at first, but it has slowly grown on me. Now, I am craving a bowl of sesame ice cream with orange blossom caramel syrup every night.

Overall: Sesame ice cream is definitely an acquired taste. If you are an adventurous eater, this is a good flavor for you. Otherwise, stick to more traditional flavors.

Unfortunately, my husband has been sick this week, so he has been unable to try the ice cream. I am uncertain whether it is the best flavor to bring to Christmas dinner, as I am not sure the flavor has mass appeal. As my Mom usually makes the world's best chocolate cake for dessert on Christmas, I am thinking about making a cinnamon ice cream to accompany it.

Share your favorite holiday ice cream flavors.

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

Eating My Way Through Paris: Croissants & Ice Cream

This summer, my husband and I took a brief jaunt to Paris. We did all the typical tourist things, including an incredible 10 hour tour-de-force of the Louvre. I loved Paris' art museums, especially the Musee Rodin. If you are ever in Paris, I highly recommend adding the Musee Rodin to your list of must see places. I never knew it was possible to capture such depths of emotion in stone, until seeing Rodin's works in person.

By far, however, one of the real delights of Paris for me were the croissants. Anybody who knows me knows I love croissants almost as much as I love ice cream. The croissants in Paris were nothing short of incredible; not a single one was bad. My favorite croissant was at a little Parisian café we just stumbled into one morning on the Ile Saint Louis, which is adjacent to the Ile de la Cite, where Notre Dame is located. The Ile Saint Louis is described as one of the most romantic and charming parts of Paris. I must say I agree. Unfortunately, I do not remember the name of the café. It was the only place we went to in Paris where they did not speak English. Our entire conversation with the owner consisted of "croissant, oui, café au lait and eau (water). That pretty much exhausts all the French I know. Another one of my favorite places to go for a croissant was a little shop called Paul across the street from the restaurant we stayed in. I did not realize this at first, but it turns out that Paul is a chain in France. Perhaps a bit like Starbucks, only with much better coffee and infinitely better food.

Along with exquisite croissants, we of course also had ice cream at Berthillon. In lonely planet's guide to Paris, Berthillon is described as serving "some of the best ice cream in Paris, in all sorts of unusual flavors - salted butter caramel is a highlight." It was only natural then that I would want to visit Berthillon. Unfortunately, Berthillon did not quite live up to my expectations. I ordered the salted butter caramel ice cream, which I found to be a little too salty for my liking. My husband, however, loved it. Long story short, if you are in Paris, and pass by Berthillon ice cream, try some, but do not go out of your way for it.

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

A is for Autumn and Apple and Almost

The other weekend I went apple picking with my husband, my sister, my mother and our two dogs (a golden lab and a pug). If it sounds picturesque, it was. It was one of those perfect fall days - cool enough for a sweater, but not so cold that it is undesirable to be outdoors. The sun was shinning, the leaves were golden and the apples were ripe. I love apple picking in large part because I think apples picked from a tree taste infinitely better than the apples bought in a supermarket. Apples picked from a tree are crisper, sweeter and juicier.

Of course, if you live anywhere close to New York City, like I do, apples picked from a tree are also infinitely more expensive than apples bought in a store. A genius marketing ploy and a nice little tax on the disposable income of yuppies, who want to feel like they are getting in touch with their "rustic" side. C'est la vie (you may enjoy this stroll down memory lane, if you are like me and this expression reminds you of the 90s song by the Irish girl group B*Witched.)

In any event, my husband and I arrived home with half a bushel of apples. We made apple sauce, ate apples to our hearts content and still I want more freshly picked apples. I, of course, also decided to try to make apple ice cream. I thought it would be a good fall flavor and a nice break from pumpkin spiced lattes, which I made last fall.

Apple Ice Cream

 

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

I granny smith apple sliced, peeled and cored

Dash of lemon juice

1 cup sugar

5 egg yolks

 

Preparation:

Combine the first four ingredients in a pot and bring them to a slight boil over medium heat.

Cool and allow the apple to steep in the cream mixture for two hours.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together.

Pour the cream mixture through a strainer and combine with the egg mixture.

Whisk the two mixtures together for two minutes.

Transfer the mixture back to a pot and cook on medium heat for four minutes, stirring constantly.

Strain the mixture once again and place in a clean bowl. Place the bowl in the refrigerator and allow the mixture to chill for a minimum of two hours and up to one day. Churn in your ice cream maker.

 

Texture: The texture was pretty solid. I have used egg yolks as a stabilizer before (click the links if you are interested in learning more about food stabilizers and the role of egg yolks as a natural ice cream stabilizer), and have been happy with the results. For my regular readers, you may realize that this is the same base I used to make the honey and thyme ice cream recommended by Bon Appetit Magazine, I just changed the ingredients and quantity of sugar.

 

Flavor: This gets an almost. The flavor is not bad, but it does not taste like apple. I was hoping that by using a granny smith apple, I would create a somewhat tart ice cream. Perhaps I used too much sugar or not enough apples, but the apple flavor is negligible. I wonder if the flavor would benefit from the use of  apple sauce, though I fear what this would do to the texture of the ice cream. If anyone tries this recipe with apple sauce, share how it turned out by leaving a comment in the comment box.

 

Overall: The texture of this ice cream is fine and so is the taste, but it is not an apple ice cream.

 

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



 

 

 

Strawberries & Cream

The other weekend I went out to Long Island for a wine tour to celebrate my 30th birthday. Yes, I am THAT bougie. If you are as bougie as me and ever looking to do a wine tour, I highly recommend http://www.elegantwinetoursli.com/. They did an outstanding job.

As often happens, when you travel in large groups, we bought a lot of food and then did not finish it. Part of what we had left over was blueberries and strawberries, which were slightly tart. Rather than throwing them away, I decided they would be perfect for making desserts. I made a fruit crisp with the blueberries and an ice cream with the strawberries.

Strawberries & Cream

Ingredients:

1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and washed

1 tablespoon lemon juice

4 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Preparation:

Combine strawberries, lemon juice and 1/4 cup sugar in a bowl and set in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Beat the egg yolks for 2-3 minutes.

Gradually add the remaining sugar, as well as the milk and vanilla.

Add strawberries with their juice and mix well.

Gently stir in the whip cream until just integrated.

Pour into an ice cream maker and churn.
 





This ice creams tastes like a sweet cream ice cream with hints of strawberry. Hidden throughout, are chunks of delicious frozen strawberries. Coupled with the blueberry tart it is berry delicious!

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

Goat Milk Ice Cream

Sometimes the best things in life are things you just stumble upon. This is exactly what happened last weekend. My husband and I went into Lower Manhattan to check out the biannual Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit. Normally on the weekends, we just putz around the house. Last weekend, however, the weather was gorgeous and it seemed like a good break from our usual routine to go into the city, look at some art and soak up the last few remaining rays of the summer sun. Having just returned from a recent trip to Paris, France, where we spent a good portion of the trip in the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay, the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit was extra enjoyable because we could see the influence and inspirations of past generations on current works.

 

 

After walking through the Art Exhibit, we found ourselves aimlessly strolling through the West Village. We stumbled upon Ramen Takumi, where we were served surprisingly tasty and reasonably priced, cold Ramen noodles. Next up was Victory Garden, which serves goat milk ice cream. I had never heard of goat milk ice cream before, but I love goat cheese; even though I was shockingly not in the mood for ice cream, I thought it was too precious of an opportunity to pass up. I am glad I did not, as the ice cream was smooth, creamy and deliciously tangy. Although the price tag is a bit hefty, the "artisan" ice cream was one of the few I have had that deserve both the name and the price. Victory Garden claims that goat milk ice cream is the best ice cream and I may just be inclined to agree. If you are interested in checking out Victory Garden, they are located at: 31 Carmine Street (between Bleecker and Bedford).

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

Pistachio Ice Cream

Pistachio is one of my favorite flavors of ice cream and I have been wanting to make it for awhile. One of the things I was nervous about was how to add the pistachio flavor, without having huge chunks of pistachio in my ice cream. To add to my discomfort, one of the things I like least about the Jenni Britton Ice Cream Recipe is that while she does a great job of telling you how to make a great ice cream base, she does not tell you when would be a good time to add in any flavors. I played around with a couple different ideas and finally came up with a recipe I thought would work.

Pistachio Ice Cream

Ingredients:     

2 cups whole milk

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 1/2 ounces cream cheese softened/room temperature

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar 

2 tablespoons dark corn syrup

1 cup shelled pistachios

 

Preparation:
In a small bowl, mix about 2 tablespoons of milk with the cornstarch and whisk together.
In a medium bowl, add the salt and room-temperature cream cheese and whip all the bumps out. Set aside.
In a food processor, add 1 cup of shelled pistachios and blend them until they are fine.
Add the heavy cream to the pistachios in the food processor and blend until they are a paste.
Pour the sugar, corn syrup, remaining milk and the pistachio and cream paste into a saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, set a timer for precisely 4 minutes and boil for exactly 4 minutes.
Add the cornstarch to the boiling milk mixture and stir until slightly thickened.
Strain the hot milk mixture into a clean bowl.
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth, adding about a cup of the hot milk mixture at a time and whisking the cream cheese mixture with an electric mixer for about two minutes in between each addition of the hot milk mixture. Continue until none of the hot milk mixture remains in the pot.
Chill the mixture in the refrigerator until it is completely cold.
Put your mixture into your ice cream maker and churn.
 

Texture: I think this is the first time I have over-churned an ice cream. As my husband said, it was bound to happen at one point. The consistency of the ice cream was so solid, it was almost a butter. If I was once concerned that my ice creams were too soupy, those days are now long gone. The cream cheese based ice creams will definitely give you a solid ice cream consistency that freeze well and look like ice cream when you scoop it into a bowl.

Flavor: The ice cream has a strong pistachio flavor. As my husband pointed out, he never realized how much sugar and artificial flavors were in store bought pistachio ice creams, until now. I think the nut flavor was almost too strong, but my husband enjoyed it. As he said, if you like pistachios, then this is the ice cream for you. If you want a less strong nut flavor, try 1/2 cups of pistachios. One thing I did like about using all the pistachios is that they turned the ice cream green! This is the first time that I had an ice cream that was a color other than white or gray, which was kind of cool and also makes you realize just how much food coloring they put in store bought ice cream.

Overall: I would give this ice cream a 3/5 scoops. I like the flavor and the consistency is good, but it is not one of my favorite ice creams. I do not know if this is because of the strong pistachio flavor or the fact that the ice cream is over-churned, or a combination of the two, but for whatever reason, this ice cream did not quite hit the spot for me.

In addition, this week I tried the much acclaimed Ice and Vice ice cream. You can find Ice and Vice at LIC Flea and Astoria Coffee, Brooklyn is not the only cool outer borough, as well as various other places around New York City. I tried the Milk Money flavor. The flavor and consistency weren't bad, but for $11 pint, I was expecting more. Sorry Ice and Vice, but for those prices, I want an orgasm in my mouth.

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

Red Wine Ice Cream

If you are anything like me, you enjoy an occasional glass of wine with your meal. You also enjoy some ice cream for dessert! I thought what better than to take two of my favorite vices, wine and ice cream, and combine them together. I have always struggled to make ice cream with alcohol in it, see my attempt at making a Baileys Ice Cream, in part because alcohol does not freeze well. My attempts may have improved slightly this time around, but I still have a long way to go when it comes to making alcohol flavored ice creams.

Some of you will also notice that I also introduced a new format to my blog. I made a section marked texture and a section marked flavor, as I think it is hard to talk about the success of an ice cream without going into the specifics of these two qualities. I then also talked about the overall quality of the ice cream. In the overall section, I ranked my ice cream using a five scoop scale (similar to the one I use to rank ice cream stores). Five scoops is the highest, 1 scoop is the lowest. I thought by ranking my ice creams, people could gain a better understanding of what I thought of my ice creams and determine which ones are worth trying to duplicate in their kitchens.

Red Wine Ice Cream

Ingredients:     

2 cups whole milk

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 1/2 ounces cream cheese softened/room temperature

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar (I would use less - maybe a 1/3 cup)

2 tablespoons dark corn syrup

Red wine (at least 1/2 a cup)
 

Preparation: 

1.  In a small bowl, mix about 2 tablespoons of milk with the cornstarch and whisk together.
2. In a medium bowl, add the salt and room-temperature cream cheese and whip all the bumps out. Set aside.
3. Pour the cream, sugar, corn syrup, and remaining milk 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.
4. Add the cornstarch to the boiling milk mixture and stir until slightly thickened.
5. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth, adding about a cup of the hot milk mixture at a time and whisking the cream cheese mixture with an electric mixer for about two minutes in between each addition of the hot milk mixture. Continue until none of the hot milk mixture remains in the pot. 
6. Add in the red wine. Use your taste and judgement to add in however much red wine you would like. I started off adding in 2 tablespoons at a time of some left-over red wine I had sitting in the fridge. The tablespoons did not seem like enough, so I eventually stopped measuring and just poured in the rest of the bottle (I think it was around 1/2 cup).
7. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator until it is completely cold.
8. Put your mixture into your ice cream maker and churn. For red wine ice cream, my mixture needed close to an hour to churn.

Texture: For those of you who remember my last blog, you will remember that this is only my second time working with a cream cheese based ice cream. As such, it might not have been the wisest decision to work with an ingredient as fickle as alcohol. Nonetheless, I think I was able to straighten out the textural difficulties I had last week. Using an electric whisk, I beat the cream cheese mixture for about two minutes after every cup full of the hot milk mixture I added to it. I think this really helped to blend the lumps of cream cheese into the rest of the ice cream mixture and make a smoother, more fully composed "batter." While the texture of the ice cream was better, no lumps this week, it did take awhile for the ice cream to freeze because of the alcohol. It took almost a whole hour to churn and may take longer with some churners. 

Flavor: The flavor was not quite what I was expecting. Rather than tasting like wine, the ice cream tasted very fruity. This may be because in addition to the sugar that wine has in it, I added in the normal amount of sugar you would to an ice cream. If I was to make this ice cream in the future, I would drastically decrease the amount of sugar I was using.

Overall: This ice cream was ok. I would give it a 2.5/5 scoops. The consistency/texture was not bad, but it probably could have been improved had there not been alcohol in it. In addition, while the ice cream tasted nice and fruity, it was not the flavor profile I was expecting. It tasted more like a berry ice cream, less like a red wine ice cream. 

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

Rosewater Flavored, Cream Cheese Based Ice Cream

As promised, this week I tried to make ice cream using a cream cheese base versus the egg base I usually use. In an egg based ice cream, the egg yolks act as a stabilizer. In a cream cheese based ice cream, I think it is the cornstarch and corn syrup that act as the stabilizers. I have a limited understanding of both cooking and science, but I believe the cornstarch thickens the ice cream, while the corn syrup binds everything together. The recipe I followed is from Jenni Britton Bauer, who is apparently a goddess in the world of ice cream. She has scoop shops in Columbus, Cleveland, Nashville, Chicago, Atlanta, Charleston, Los Angeles and St. Louis. I have not actually tried her ice cream, but if you live in one of those cities, try it and leave a comment letting us know how it was. I was introduced to Jenni Britton Bauer by a woman I met at an ice cream workshop. I found the recipe for her cream cheese based ice cream base on a website and duplicated it below for anybody who is interested. As you will notice, this recipe is only for creating an ice cream base, you will have to add the flavoring on your own.

Jenni Britton Bauer's Cream Cheese Based Ice Cream

Ingredients:     

2 cups whole milk

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 1/2 ounces cream cheese softened/room temperature

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Preparation:    

           

1. PLEASE NOTE: 24 HOURS BEFORE YOU WANT TO MAKE THE ICE CREAM, WASH THE CANISTER, DRY IT WELL, AND PLACE IT IN THE COLDEST PART OF THE FREEZER. DO NOT REMOVE IT UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO POUR THE CHILLED CREAM INTO IT.
2. PREP 3 BOWLS 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.
3. COOK Pour the cream, sugar, corn syrup, and remaining milk 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 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.
4. CHILL 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.
5. FREEZE 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.
6. HOW TO TELL WHEN YOUR ICE CREAM IS DONE 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.
7. SERVE 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.

As we talked so much about kulfi last week, I had Indian food on my mind a lot this week. Adding to that, for the past few weeks, I have had a bottle of rosewater sitting in my cabinet just staring at me. I had bought the rosewater thinking I would attempt to make some Indian or Middle Eastern desserts. I do occasionally make things other than ice cream. Alas, like all well laid plans of mice and men, it went awry and I never got around to it. I was curious though to see if rosewater would work well in an ice cream. I used a slight variation of the Jenni Britton Bauer method, so I will lay out my own plan below.

Rosewater Ice Cream (Cream Cheese Based)

Ingredients:     

2 cups whole milk

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 1/2 ounces cream cheese softened/room temperature

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons dark corn syrup

2 tablespoons rosewater

Preparation:    

     

I always leave my ice cream canister in the freezer, so it is ready to use if I need it. I also find that ice cream churns best when the canister has been in the freezer for awhile. 

In a small bowl, mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch.

In a medium bowl, add the salt and room-temperature cream cheese and whip all the bumps out.

      

Pour the cream, sugar, corn syrup, and remaining milk 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 (I did not precisely time mine). 

Mix in the cornstarch and stir until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.                

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. (I did not gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese, I just dumped it all in, and this was probably my biggest mistake. Next time, I will pour it in slowly because you do need time for the lumps of cream cheese to dissolve.) Add in two tablespoons of rosewater.

Put the mixture in your fridge until it is cool (I left mine in overnight). Churn in your ice cream make until thick and creamy (approximately 40 minutes in my ice cream maker).

The cream cheese based, rosewater ice cream came out deliciously! As I mentioned, my ice cream was not perfectly smooth because I did not do a good job of really whipping out all the lumps of cream cheese. I will definitely take care to do this next time. Nonetheless, the ice cream was very creamy and dense. It also held the ice cream texture and looked like ice cream much more than my egg yolk based ice creams, which tasted great and had a good consistency, but tended to melt quickly. My husband thought the rosewater made the ice cream taste like rasmalai, another Indian dessert, which I love, so all in all it was a win-win.

My only complaint about the Jenni Britton Bauer recipe is that it does not specify when would be a good time to add the flavoring. For flavors that are more viscous, such as rosewater, I think adding them in at the end, as I did, is fine. However, for flavors that need to be steeped before being strained out, such as in the Honey Thyme Ice Cream, I think they will need to be added in before you combine the milk mixture with the cream cheese. I will keep experimenting in the weeks ahead and report back.

I have read on some ice cream making websites complaints on using corn syrup in making ice cream because it is not a "real" food. Many feel like using corn syrup in homemade ice cream destroys the integrity of the ice cream. Here are my thoughts on the "corn syrup controversy." First, corn syrup is different than high fructose corn syrup. While they are both made from corn, high fructose corn syrup has had its glucose enzymatically converted to fructose, hence the name. Thus, while corn syrup has been processed, just as sugar cane is processed, it has not been enzymatically altered the way high fructose corn syrup is. In that sense you can say high fructose corn syrup is a "fake" food. Since corn syrup is not being altered the way high fructose corn syrup is, I am not exactly sure it is ruining the integrity of homemade ice cream. On the other hand, are both corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup bad for you? Yes. Are both hard for your body to digest? Yes. If you want to be healthy, you should avoid eating both corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup. If you want to be healthy, you should also avoid eating ice cream. The corn syrup you do or do not put in your ice cream is not going to make it any more or less healthy for you. If you want to be healthy, stop eating ice cream and reading ice cream blogs. Otherwise, everything in moderation, including moderation. So get out there and train for a marathon. Run 9 miles in 80 degree weather and when you get back, scoop yourself a large bowl of high-fat, high-sugary goodness and enjoy!

Overall: I would give my Rosewater Ice Cream 4/5 scoops. It has a unique, enjoyable flavor and good consistency that hits your sweet spot and satisfies an ice cream craving.

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

How To Make Ice Cream Without An Ice Cream Maker

My blog is devoted to making ice cream, but I realize an ice cream maker is something many may not have just lying around their kitchen. If you would like to join me on my ice cream making expeditions, but do not want to want to shell out the money on fancy kitchen equipment, have no fear. I have recently learned of a way to make ice cream without breaking the bank or requiring anything more than a whisk (preferably electronic) and a bowl.

Ingredients:

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

1 pint of heavy cream

Flavoring (of your choosing)

 

Preparation:

Mix your flavoring into the sweetened condensed milk and set aside.

Whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks.

Gently combine the whipped cream with the sweetened condensed milk. Freeze for 4 hours prior to eating.

Full Disclosure: I have not actually tried to make ice cream using this method. However, I have recently eaten ice cream made by someone using the above steps and it was quite tasty. It was a little fluffier than most of my ice creams turn out, but I would never have known it was made without an ice cream maker if I had not been told. Apparently, this method of making ice cream is inspired by the steps taken to make kulfi. Kulfi is a delicious Indian dessert that is somewhat similar to ice cream.

I was introduced to this method at an Ice Cream Club meeting I was invited to this weekend by a friend of mine. As the name suggests, the club was for ice cream making enthusiasts. Each person brought a pint of of ice cream to share and a pint of ice cream to trade. I tasted a number of new and interesting flavors, including: avocado ice cream, cardamom ice cream and black sesame ice cream. The flavors were delicious, but by the time we left, even I was feeling ice creamed out and that is hard.

More enjoyable than the experience of eating ice cream at 10:30 in the morning was the opportunity to talk to fellow amateur ice cream makers. It was the first time either of my friend or I went to this Ice Cream Club. I have to admit I was feeling a bit apprehensive about the experience. I was not sure exactly what to expect or if I would be surrounded by ice cream making snobs. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Everyone was very friendly and it was a great environment to talk shop and swap secrets of the trade. I never realized there were so many fellow ice cream enthusiasts out there! In addition to learning about this new way to make ice cream, I met a young woman who had some suggestions on how to improve the texture and consistency of my ice cream. She recommended using cream cheese, corn syrup and corn starch rather than egg yolks. I will be trying this trick next, so stay tuned for the following week's blog post.

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

Coffee Ice Cream

Memorial Day weekend just past and with it the unofficial start of summer, the official opening of beaches and drumroll please, ice cream season! Now that the weather has gotten warmer, I have decided to get back on my ice cream making game. I wanted to make a flavor I have been meaning to try for a while, coffee ice cream.

Coffee Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups milk

3/4 cups sugar

1 cup instant coffee (any brand will do)

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

Heat the milk, sugar, instant coffee and 1/2 cup of the heavy cream in a pot until hot and steamy, but not boiling.

Once the mixture is warm, remove it from the heat and let steep for 1 hour.

After the hour is up, reheat the coffee mixture.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks together.

Temper the egg yolks by pouring in a half cup of the coffee mixture, whisking constantly.

Then combine the egg yolks with the rest of the coffee mixture in the pot.

Add the rest of the cream and stir the mixture over medium heat for roughly ten minutes.

Pour the mixture through a strainer and into a clean bowl.

Chill in the refrigerator overnight and churn in your ice cream maker.

I love this ice cream. It has a rich, creamy texture and a smooth coffee flavor. It reminds me of last summer when I traveled to Vietnam and spent my days drinking Vietnamese Iced Coffee, which is a combination of coffee, condensed milk and sugar. Although they make Vietnamese Iced Coffee here, often called Thai Iced Coffee, it comes no where as close to good as the coffee I had in Vietnam. I think this is because of the quality of the coffee beans the Vietnamese use. For the first time since leaving Hanoi, the rich, creamy blend of this coffee ice cream transported me back to my Vietnamese Iced Coffee drinking days. Would it be wrong to eat coffee ice cream for breakfast?

Overall: I would give this Coffee Ice Cream 5/5 scoops. It is one of my favorite flavors and everything you would want in a coffee ice cream. It is perfect for a hot summer day!

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



Lavender Ice Cream

Happy Spring, and to those who celebrate, Happy Easter! Hopefully spring is here to stay, not least because this week's ice cream requires some flowers. As I head to my family house's for Easter Sunday dinner, I wanted to have an appropriate ice cream to take with me. I thought of the flowers and pastel colors usually associated with Easter and felt stumped. Then I remembered the lavender ice cream I had tried a few weeks ago, and decided to try to recreate my own.

Lavender Ice Cream

 

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons lavender

1 cup sugar

5 egg yolks

 

Preparation:

Combine the first three ingredients in a pot and bring them to a slight boil over medium heat.

Cool and allow the lavender to steep in the cream mixture for two hours.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together.

Pour the cream mixture through a strainer and combine with the egg mixture.

Whisk the two mixtures together for two minutes.

Transfer the mixture back to a pot and cook on medium heat for four minutes, stirring constantly.

Strain the mixture once again and place in a clean bowl. Place the bowl in the refrigerator and allow the mixture to chill for a minimum of three hours and up to one day. Churn in your ice cream maker.

 

Overall, I am very pleased with this ice cream. It has a strong lavender flavor, but is still so delicious. One thing to note is that this ice cream will still remain white. Often the lavender ice creams you see in the store are purple. This leads me to believe that companies just add a lot of food coloring to their ice cream, as there is not nearly enough lavender in this ice cream to overpower the color of the cream or milk. So what do you say, get in the spring spirit and add some flowers to your ice cream.

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