Dessert · Do-ahead · Fruit · Icecream

Strawberry, rosemary ice cream

In the heat of summer, an ice cream like this tastes of the garden with the sweet strawberries and rosemary infused creaminess. Lovely served with grilled stone fruit.

Makes about 1 quart

1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped
1 tbsp floral honey
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 pinch salt
1 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary

In a small bowl mix the strawberries and honey. Let macerate for at least 1 hour at room temperature.
In a medium saucepan whisk the cream, milk, sugar and salt over low heat. Cook until the sugar is completely dissolved and the cream is just below boiling. Stir in the rosemary, cover and let steep for 30 minutes.

Strain the cream mixture into a medium bowl, discarding the rosemary. Stir in the strawberries and juice. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Churn the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Chocolate · Dessert · Do-ahead · Icecream

Cookies and Black Sesame Ice cream

A dream came true: Cookies and cream meets black sesame ice cream. It’s nutty, textured, and not-too-sweet.
Nabisco chocolate wafers are the preferred cookies in this recipe, but you could also use Oreos or any chocolate cookie your heart desires.
Recipe by Sarah Jampel for Bon Appetite Magazine

Makes about 8 cups

½ cup (70 g) black sesame seeds
1x 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups heavy cream
3 oz chocolate wafer cookies, crushed into large pieces (about 1 cup)

Toast the sesame seeds in a dry large skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until fragrant and just starting to crackle, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a food processor or blender and pulse, scraping down sides as needed, until seeds are finely chopped but haven’t formed a paste, about 3 minutes in a food processor, and about 2 minutes in a blender.

Mix together the ground sesame seeds, condensed milk, and salt in a medium bowl.

Using an electric mixer, beat the cream in a small bowl, starting on low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high as it thickens, until billowy and stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.

Add a dollop of whipped cream to condensed milk mixture and mix in with a rubber spatula (this is just to lighten it so that the next stage—folding—is easier). Add remaining whipped cream and fold in, running spatula down sides and along bottom of bowl and lifting up through center and over top while rotating bowl to integrate without deflating, until very few streaks of condensed milk mixture remain.
Fold in the crushed cookies; scrape the ice cream base into a loaf pan that’s at least 8½ x 4½”.
Cover with plastic wrap or an airtight silicone lid and freeze until solid, at least 8 hours.

To serve, transfer the loaf pan to refrigerator and let ice cream soften 10 minutes before scooping into bowls.

Do ahead: Ice cream can be made 1 week ahead. Keep frozen.

Chocolate · Dairy-free · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Icecream

Avocado Ice cream

This avocado ice cream is so creamy, made with only six ingredients and doesn’t require an ice cream maker! It’s also vegan and gluten-free.

Recipe from Food Blog “Eating Bird Food”

2 ripe avocados (You could try another non-dairy milk too)
½ cup almond milk
¼ cup maple syrup honey or other liquid sweetener
1 Tbsp coconut oil measured in a liquid state
¼ tsp peppermint extract
¼ cup chocolate chips (dairy-free, if needed)

Add all ingredients except for the chocolate chips into a high powered blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.
Stir in chocolate chips and pour into a freezer-safe container. I used a loaf pan lined with parchment.
Place container in the freezer to set. It should take about 4-5 hours.
Once frozen, pull ice cream from the freezer, let sit out on the counter for 5-10 minutes to soften. Use an ice cream scoop to serve and enjoy!
You can use an icecream maker if you prefer, so after blending the ice cream, pour it into the ice cream machine and follow the manufacturer’s instructions

Notes
Sweetener: Feel free to use your sweetener of choice here. Play around with using stevia instead of maple syrup/honey if you want to reduce the sugar content.

Chocolate · Do-ahead · Icecream

Rocky Road ice cream

This ice cream is sensational, dark, rich and full of flavor! Hold on to your hats!

Makes 1.5 quarts (5-6 servings)

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder like Scharffen Berger or Green and Blacks. Make sure it’s a really good quality brand.
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp good quality vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, like Ghirardelli. Make sure it’s a really good quality brand of chocolate
1/2 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted
1 cup miniature marshmallows or chopped larger marshmallows

Whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a medium-size saucepan.
Add the cream and milk, stir, and bring to the boil over medium-high heat while stirring frequently.
Lower the heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat and add the chocolate chips, vanilla and almond extract.
Stir to dissolve the chocolate. Let cool and then refrigerate for at least 6 hours until cold.

Pour the chilled mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions
Near the end of the churning process, add the almonds and marshmallows. Let them mix in well then remove the ice cream to a container and freeze for at least 4 hours.
Enjoy!!

Chocolate · Do-ahead · Icecream

Sweetcorn, bacon and chocolate chip ice cream

This wonderful recipe comes from the food blog “Running to the Kitchen”
The sweet corn bacon ice cream with cacao nibs is sweet and creamy with salty bacon and crunchy chocolate bits throughout.

2 cups sweet corn kernels
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 egg yolks
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and chopped
1/3 cup cacao nibs

Combine the corn, heavy cream, milk, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often. Turn off heat and let sit for an hour.
After an hour, transfer the mixture to a blender and blend on high until smooth.
Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve back into the saucepan discarding the solids.
Turn the heat to medium and let the mixture heat back up.
Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks in a bowl.
Once the mixture is hot, slowly pour about 1 cup into the egg yolks, whisking constantly.
Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the sauce pan and stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon or spatula.
Transfer to a bowl, bring to room temperature then cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours until fully chilled.
Pour the chilled mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacture’s directions.
Add the chopped bacon and cacao nibs during the last minute of churning.

Chocolate · Dessert · Do-ahead · Icecream

Girdlebuster pie

Well, given the (Covid) year we’ve had and our waistlines are a little more “elastic” we can go out with a bang these Holidays with this easy and divine Girdlebuster pie from Nigella Lawson.

Serves 6-8

13 oz Digestive cookies or Graham crackers
3 oz soft butter, plus 3 more oz
2 oz dark chocolate pieces or chips
2 oz milk chocolate pieces or chips
4.5 cups (1 liter) coffee ice cream
10.5 oz Lyles golden syrup (Available on Amazon)
3.5 oz packed light muscovado sugar or brown sugar
1/4 tsp Maldon salt or a pinch table salt (optional)
2 tbsp Bourbon
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

In a food processor, process the cookies with the 3 oz of soft butter and the chocolate pieces or chips until it forms a damp but still crumb-like clump.
Press into a 9″ round pie dish or flan dish. Form a lip of cookie dough a little higher than the dish if you can. This process takes patience as you ideally need to form a smooth, even layer.
Freeze the cookie dough-lined dish for about 1 hour so it gets really hard.

In the meantime, let your ice-cream soften in the refrigerator, just until it can be scooped.
Spread the ice-cream layer into the hard cookie lined dish to form a layer.
Cover with plastic wrap and return to the freezer

Put the golden syrup, sugar, remaining 3 oz butter and salt (if using) into a saucepan and let it melt over a low to medium heat, before turning it up and letting it boil for 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat and add the bourbon, letting it hiss in the pan. Add the cream and stir to mix into a sauce then remove from the heat and let cool.
Once the sauce is cool, but not set cold, pour it over the pie to cover the ice cream layer and then put it back into the freezer.
Once frozen, cover it again with plastic wrap.

When ready to serve, remove the pie from the freezer, take the whole pie out of it’s dish and cut into slices.

Chocolate · Do-ahead · Icecream

Banana chocolate chip ice cream

Rich, creamy and studded with big chunks of dark chocolate. Simple, from-scratch recipe that anyone can make!
Recipe from food blog “Well Plated”

Makes 1 quart

2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks save the whites for another use
1 cup whole milk yes, it must be WHOLE milk!
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3 large very ripe bananas (or 4 medium) the more brown, the better
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp dark rum or vodka*
4 oz bittersweet chocolate roughly chopped (about 2/3 cup)

Prep your workstation: Create an ice bath by placing a moderate amount of ice and water in a large bowl. Set an empty, medium bowl in the larger one on top of the ice. Pour the heavy cream into the medium bowl and set a strainer on top. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until well combined.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the milk, sugar, and salt until small bubbles form along the edges and the sugar has dissolved. Do not let boil.

Gradually pour some of the milk into the bowl with the egg yolks, whisking constantly as you pour (I like to use a ladle for this). Once you’ve poured in some of the milk, return the saucepan to the stove over low heat. Slowly pour the yolks into the saucepan, stirring constantly. This process is called tempering and will keep the eggs from scrambling.

Continue cooking the egg-milk mixture (also called custard) over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the saucepan with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spatula. Strain the custard into the bowl with the heavy cream.

Place half of the custard into a blender or food processor with the bananas. Puree until smooth then pour it back into the bowl with the rest of the custard. Stir in the vanilla extract and rum. Cover, pressing a piece of plastic wrap against the surface, then chill thoroughly in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or, if time allows, overnight.

Freeze the ice cream in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions, adding the chocolate during the last 5 minutes of churning. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze 3 hours or overnight. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes before serving.

Notes
*The addition of hard alcohol helps keep the ice cream softer and creamier. If you like the flavor of rum, it’s delicious in this recipe. If not, vodka is a flavorless addition that will still keep the ice cream creamy. If you prefer not to use alcohol, it can be omitted completely, though the ice cream will freezer slightly harder.

Do-ahead · Icecream

California date shake

Sweet dates and creamy ice cream blended together. Nothing could be easier and nothing could taste better as the weather gets warmer.

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4 pitted Medjool dates (about 3 ounces), coarsely chopped
¼ cup very cold milk
1 ¼ cups vanilla ice cream

In a blender, blend dates and milk until smooth and very frothy.
Add ice cream and pulse a few times, until just blended.

Chocolate · Dairy-free · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Icecream

Dreamy vegan coconut, chocolate chip ice-cream

You only need 5 ingredients to make this creamy and dreamy ice cream!
From food blog “Two peas and their pod”

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2 13.66 oz cans chilled full fat Thai coconut milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped chocolate or chocolate chips
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Place the coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla in a blender. Blend until combined, about 30 seconds.

Freeze using an ice cream maker, according to manufacture’s instructions.
During the last few minutes of churning, add in the chopped chocolate and coconut.
You can serve immediately for a soft serve texture or you can place the ice cream in a container and freeze for a firmer texture.

Note-I place the cans of coconut milk in the fridge the night before or a few hours before I make the ice cream. If you don’t have chilled coconut milk, you can always place the ice cream mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes before churning up the ice cream. The mixture needs to be cold before churning.
I like Thai coconut milk brand, you can find it in the Asian aisle at most grocery stores.
Make sure you use vegan chocolate if you need the ice cream to be vegan.

Dessert · Do-ahead · Icecream

Frozen Margarita pie

This recipe is from “Bon Appetite”. Your favorite cocktail in pie form—what’s not to love? Just keep in mind that you’ll need to freeze the pie at least 8 hours, preferably overnight, for the ideal texture, so be sure to plan ahead.

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Serves 8

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
10 graham crackers
3 Tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. kosher salt. divided
¾ cup chilled heavy cream
5 limes, divided
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
3 Tbsp. tequila blanco

Melt 6 Tbsp. butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Let cool slightly.
Crumble 10 graham crackers into the bowl of a food processor. Add 3 Tbsp. sugar, ¼ tsp. salt, and melted butter to bowl and process until mixture resembles wet sand.
Transfer the graham cracker mixture to a shallow 9″ pie pan. Using a measuring cup, press firmly into bottom and up sides of dish. Freeze 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk ¾ cup heavy cream in a medium bowl until cream begins to thicken to the point you see ripples and stiff peaks begin to form, 3–5 minutes.
Cut 4 limes in half and juice into a fine-mesh sieve set over a glass measuring cup (you should have about ½ cup juice). Pour lime juice into another medium bowl and whisk in 14 oz. condensed milk, 3 tbsp tequila, and remaining ¼ tsp salt until smooth.
Fold half of whipped cream into lime juice mixture, carefully folding under and over while turning the bowl. Add remaining whipped cream and continue to fold until no streaks remain.

Remove the pie pan from the freezer and pour in the filling. Using the back of a spoon, gently spread filling to edge of crust.

Using a microplane, zest half of the remaining lime over pie.
Freeze the pie at least 8 hours, or preferably overnight.