A bit late… but as they say… better late than never

 

A long time ago i saw a recipe. It called for tofu and soy milk. Despite these, is sounded absolutely delicious, and it also looked yummy. Wait a minute, i wrote “despite”… just because i knew i was never going to get those. Well MAYBE i could have, but i really doubt about it.

Anyway, i really wanted to try it but… how could i do that?

i came up with a substitution, i asked the blogger whose recipe i wished i was able to make, and yes, she reassured me and told me that the idea i had was not bad. I forgot to say thank you, that was too rude of me. I apologize Grace. I’m thanking you now :) a bit late but better late than never :)

My ice cream probably isn’t exactly like Grace’s, but it’s yummy :)

 

Praline Chocolate ice cream

adapted from here

(i had only 200 g of cheese so i reduced all the amounts to fit that)

Ingredients:

serves 4-5

 

200 g philadelphia cream cheese (replacing 336 g silken tofu)

1/3 cup + 2 tbsp maple syrup

1/2 cup hazelnut praline paste (i had already some in the refrigerator-the funny thing is that i only had exactly 1/2 and luckily was enough)

1/2 cup (regular) milk

100 g chopped dark chocolate

vanillin

2 tbsp cocoa

2-3 tbsp vodka

 

  

Method:

put in a food processor the cream cheese, milk, maple syrup, praline paste, vanillin, cocoa, and blend until well combined and until all lumps disappear;

add the melted chocolate to the mixture, and vodka;

refrigerate if necessary, to get a very cold mixture;

pour into your ice cream machine and process according to the manifacturer’s instructions;

then transfer the ice cream to a freezer safe container, cover with the lid and place into the freezer, allowing it to set for at least 4 hours.

 

i added a little cocoa to make the colour more intense and darker, and vodka to allow the ice cream to keep soft in the freezer for a longer time, and to allow me to scoop it more easily when i take it out of the freezer.

 

go here to see how you can make your own hazelnut praline paste. I do the same as Grace, i just use the same amount of sugar and hazelnuts.

next time i’m making the peanut butter version ;D

Need for some vanilla stuff

Right then. The story goes so.

I had made to make a batch of brownies, for a round-up/contest/dunnohowtocallit. Anyway, since i’ve become the kind of person i didn’t want to become (the kind that sees the picture in their mind before even taking it), i already knew how (i hoped) i was going to serve (and shoot) my brownies. Served with ice cream on top. Well, ice cream is always ice cream, it’s delicious no matter what the taste is. But you all know (don’t you?) that vanilla ice cream and brownies are the perfect match (ok, right, each to his own taste, but…). Anyway, i wanted, needed vanilla ice cream, but didn’t happen to have some in the freezer (how could this have been possible????). So the night before, without working too much on it (i didn’t really want to spend too much time on ice cream-making, that wasn’t the purpose of the whole thing), i tried this.

I also had some yogurt that needed to be used, so i killed two birds with one stone.

Oh and yes, i almost forgot to mention it. No ice cream machine needed. Not even a mixer. You’ll see. This is super easy, i mean it.

 

No-churn vanilla ice cream (eggless)

 

Ingredients

serves 6

 

3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar

3 tbsp vodka

9 oz (250 g) plain or vanilla yogurt (no fat free or any other light version) – divided into two

seeds of a vanilla pod

1 scant cup (200 ml) whipping cream

6 oz (170 g) condensed milk (kept in the refrigerator until the moment it is used)

 

Method

place into a casserole on low heat half of the yogurt with the sugar and the vanilla seeds, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved into the yogurt;

allow to cool completely, then whisk in the rest of the yogurt and vodka;

make sure this mix is very cold (chill it if necessary. If it’s winter, and you don’t live in California, or anywhere else where it’s 120°F {50°C} also in winter, you can put it on your windowsill, covered with aluminum foil) before moving to the next step;

whip cream while adding condensed milk to it (do it very gingerly, almost by pouring it over cream very gingerly)

when it’s stiff and well whipped, fold this into the yogurt mixture, very gently;

very gently scraper this whipped, fluffy mixture into a freezer safe container (i used a 32 oz. emptied yogurt container)

Cover with the lid, allow to set in your freezer for a minimum of 6 hours. All you need to to at this point is scooping into a bowl and eating it.

It keeps always creamy, no matter how long you keep it in the freezer (but i’m sure it won’t last even a week).

 

enjoy it plain

 

or topped with caramel sauce, fruit topping, or chocolate syrup

Here’s the scientific evidence of what i was saying before

you do not have to own an ice cream machine to make a wonderful, yummy ice cream

 

here is the most amazing, creamy, chocolate ice cream, made w/o any ice cream machine! don’t believe me? try it!

Ingredients:

it makes a huge batch, of course you can halve or quarter (as in the original) the recipe

 

adapted from here

 

1 quart (4 cups) of milk (better whole milk)

8 egg yolks

400 g  (14 oz.) dark chocolate (chopped up very finely) – i used one with 74% cocoa solids

1 1/2 cups + 1 tbsp granulated sugar

50 g (1/3 cup + 2 tbsp) unsweetened cocoa powder

vanilla extract

---

2 egg whites

4 heaping tbsp granulated sugar

 

Method:

beat egg yolks and sugar until fluffy and pale;

meanwhile bring milk to a boil, with the chopped chocolate and cocoa (stirring every now and then, so you allow chocolate to melt evenly);

gradually pour milk onto the beaten yolks and sugar, whisking constantly, until you get a nice and smooth mixture;

place over heat again, and allow to cook on low heat stirring constantly until the mixture coats the back of a spoon; do not allow it to boil or it will scrumble;

remove from heat and allow to cool completely (best overnight);

add the vanilla to the base;

start whipping the egg whites en bain marie (that’s a way to pasteurize them); gradually add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form;

after about 10-15 minutes, when the bain marie water is hot, remove the bowl with the meringue from heat and continue beating egg whites until the bowl (and the meringue) has cooled down;

fold this into the base;

pour this mixture into a shallow, freezer safe container (better if it’s a steel bowl or so), and mix using a hand mixer every 45 minutes for the following 3 hours or so; (i personally “churn” it 2 times on the first day, and one last time after 24 hours after the second “churning”, and allow to set completely in the freezer – see also my notes here).

No ice cream machine=no ice cream?

don’t panic, it doesn’t have to be this way

everybody, have they an ice cream machine or not, can make ice cream :)

there’s more work to do, and it needs a lot more time, but the ice cream turns out as good as any ice cream made using an ice cream machine ;)

 

basically what you need to do is:

get your base ready (better if it’s a custard base)

pour it into a shallow, freezer safe container

allow to stay there for 45 minutes

remove from freezer, place the mixture into a large bowl, and mix the base using a hand mixer or an immersion blender, the important thing is that you make sure that you add air to the mixture and break up ice crystals

pour everything back into the container, put into the freezer, allow to freeze for 45 minutes

 

do this for 4-5 times, then after you’ve poured the ice cream mixture into the container for the last time, put it into the freezer and allow to stay there until it’s set (4-6 hours) and then it’ll be ready to be scooped

 

i usually do not mix with the hand mixer after only 45 minutes, it’s to soon for me, the mixture would still be more or less liquid, it would be no use to churn at that stage

i pour the base into the container, place into the freezer, wait 12 hours or so (it has to be set, but at the same time it has to be soft enough to be mixed with the hand mixer), and mix; then wait another 12 hours, and mix; if necessary i do that again one more time

[or you can do this as you see that the ice cream is getting a little too hard and it’s not really creamy anymore (could be also after a week or so)]

 

many recipes read that ice cream can be kept in the freezer for up to 1 week; i’ve experienced leaving it in the freezer for way longer periods, and nothing wrong has ever happened (i mean, i’ve never had to run to the hospital so far :D) no seriously, i make ice cream just for me, and of course i can’t make 1 cup of mixture, all that work for a single scoop of ice cream? i make ice cream and keep it in the freezer, and eat it every now and then, over a period of some months, when i feel like eating some (usually i make recipes that serve 6-8)

 

i have also made up recipes that call for no churning at all. Just pour, allow to set, and eat. A lot easier, ain’t it?

 

read more

@ http://www.scoopadventures.com/home/how-to-make-ice-cream-without-an-ice-cream-maker.html

@ http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/07/making-ice-crea-1/

 

other useful resources

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/07/how-to-make-ice-cream/

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/07/tips-for-making-1/

i know, i’m getting boring

 

probably you’ll get the impression that i’m obsessed with only one thing

and i am, in some ways :D but i promise, i won’t be posting only ice cream recipes ;) though there will be a lot of those around here ;)

 

one of the most frequently asked questions whenever i post an ice cream recipe is: wonderful! must be yummy, but i don’t have an ice cream maker :( what can i do? ;(

beside the fact that all ice cream recipes can be made w/o an ice cream maker (there’s way more work to do, but one can make it), i have “invented” – it’s all a matter of playing around and adapting already existing stuff actually - (and will be inventing more) recipes which do not require an ice cream machine. Like the following. I do have an ice cream machine, but it’s not of the compressor freezer kind, mine has the bowl that has to be put in the freezer at least 13 hours or so before you churn your ice cream (see here, here, here, here), so either you basically plan when you’ll be making ice cream, or you have a huge freezer, and always keep the bowl there, so that it’s ready to use and well frozen any time you need it. When my parents complain because i have stuffed the freezer of anything that could possibly be use to stuff a freezer, i sometimes take the bowl of the ice cream machine out of the freezer. And here comes the necessity to have “No-churn” or “no ice cream machine” ice cream recipes.

Ingredients:

serves 6

 

300 g nutella (hazelnut-cocoa spread)

220 g condensed milk

200 ml cream

2-4 tbsp milk

 

Method:

place en bain marie the nutella, just to get it softened;

remove from heat and fold in the condensed milk and as much milk as you’ll need to get a nice and smooth mixture (neither too thick or too runny);

put it in the MW for 30 secs, stirr well, get a nice and smooth and homogeneous mixture, and see if it needs another 15-30 secs in the MW; if it’s fine, allow to cool at room temperature (if it gets too thick add some other milk, but not too much);

once it has cooled down, fold in the whipped cream, gently, and then pour the mixture very gently into a proper box/container (that can be put in the freezer) – the layer of mixture shouldn’t be thicker than 2.5 inch;

place into the freeer for no less than 6 hours;

DONE. Don’t have to do anything more than this. Just go get a scoop and a bowl. It’s ready to be eaten. And it will always stay creamy.

 

;)

Mint & chocolate ice cream (and a little ice cream lesson)

 

i live by this: when you do not find what you’re looking for, just invent it.

ok, i’m clearly  referring to recipes ;) {but i do invent some other things too, outside the kitchen, mostly when i’m required to write essays and i have no idea at all of what i should write about :D }

 

I wanted a mint & chocolate chunks/chips ice cream recipe. Not the white kind of this ice cream, the green kind, the one you get at the supermarket (at least, we get that kind here, in tubs).

Most recipes i’ve checked call for mint, cream, milk, green food colouring, chocolate.

But I wanted a custard-base ice cream. I always want that kind of recipes for my ice creams. The reason why is quite simple. Home freezers are different from ice cream shops’. At home the temperature is like 50°F lower than the temperature of freezers in ice cream shops. As if this isn’t enough, they add chemical stuff to their ice cream, which prevents them to get as hard as a brick, once you leave them in a freezer for a while.

I do not have any chemical stuff i can use (and even if i had, i wouldn’t probably use it either), and my freezer is set at –11.2°F. So i have few options i can choose from.

1. Eggs: the more (i’m referring mstly to yolks) you use, the creamier your ice cream will be, and the longest it will stay that way in your freezer (first hand experienced. Even after months they are as soft as they were out of the machine); but do not use too many, of course, otherwise the ice cream will not set properly!

2. Alcohol and liqueurs: alcohol needs extremely low temperatures to freeze, further lower than water-based substances (water, milk, cream) {i.e. –173.4°F}; therefore, if you put a little alcohol in your ice cream, it won’t become like a block of concrete. (do not put too much of it, otherwise your ice cream won’t ever set!)

i mostly use vodka, which is more or less tasteless (can’t get real, pure alcohol – too expansive, it’s not worth it), or, whenever i can, i choose a liqueur that matches the taste that my ice cream has/will have (e.g.: limoncello for a lemon ice cream; mint liqueur for a mint ice cream)

3. Liquid glucose/glucose syrup: if you add some to your sugar amount, or substitute some sugar with the same amount of glucose, this will help it stay softer

4. Condensed milk: this doesn’t freezer. Try to put a jar in your freezer, and check it out after a couple of days. You’ll then be able to see that it still is creamy. A little less runny, but definitely not frozen. So if you put some (like 6 oz.) in your ice cream blend, that will keep it from becoming too hard.

 

I hadn’t planned it, but i now see that the order in which i’ve written these points down is exactly my preference order.

I want to stress the fact that i am no expert at all, nor am i a chemist or something like that. I just tell what i have experienced so far, in my humble kitchen.

 

So, what was i saying?

yes, eggs.

I had already tried a mint&chocolate chunks ice cream recipe (a.k.a. after eight ice cream), but it was, though delicious, eggless.

This time (and for times to come) i wanted a custard-based ice cream recipe. Green. Cause i had seen custard-based mint ice creams around, but all of them where white.

So, i made it up. Well it’s actually really easy to play around once you’ve understood how it works with ice creams, once you’ve gained a little experience in this field.

I had 3 egg yolks left from two batches of (so called) french macaron (still working on them). It’s time to try, Serena, i told myself.

I also had an idea in my mind, that had been tempting me for a while. I had some mint flavoured tea bags that i got from a friend as i visited her last december.

Minty, that must turn out so minty… but how…

 

There’s no harm in trying. Let’s get started.

   

Ingredients:

4 bags of mint flavoured tea (the best you can afford)

100-120 ml (1/2 cup) of milk (better if it’s whole milk)

---

3 yolks

100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar

100 ml (a scant 1/2 cup) of cream*

---

100 ml (a scant 1/2 cup) mint syrup (the kind you’d use for cocktails and granitas)

100 ml (a scant 1/2 cup) of cream*

2 tbsp mint liqueur (i had a homemade one which my dad had made – you can make your own)

4 drops or so of green food colouring (i even eventually got to find one type that doesn’t make my food look like it’s a GMO!)

 

50-70 g (1.5-2.5, depending on how much chocolate you want in your ice cream) dark chocolate, chopped by hand, as to get coarse chunks

 

*(the kind you use to whip, but NOT whipped, liquid)

 

Method:

bring milk to a boil (i used the MW), remove from heat (if you have used the stove) and sink the tea bags into the hot liquid, cover with a saucer, and allow to infuse for about ten minutes; once you’re sure they’ve given off all their flavour, squeeze the bags to allow all the milk they’ve absorbed to be released;

add the first 100 ml of cream, bring to a boil and remove from the heat;

meanwhile beat your egg yolks really well with the sugar, until soft, light, and fluffy;

gradually start to add the liquid mixture to the egg yolks, whisking constantly; begin by adding 2-3 tablespoons of the hot liquid;

once you’ve added all the milk and cream mixture, and you’ve got a nice and homogeneous blend, add the food colouring, dissolve well and put the mixture back on the stove, on low heat, stirring constantly until it coats the back of a spoon (about 4 to 8 minutes; do not allow it to boil, otherwise your mixture will scrumble!)

remove from heat, allow to chill thoroughly (best overnight, covered with aluminum foil);

add rest of the liquid cream, mint syrup, and liqueur; blend well;

pour the mixture into the ice cream machine and allow to churn until you see that the ice cream is ready (it’ll take it around 30 minutes); at this point pour in the chocolate chunks, allow to churn for as much time as it is necessary in order to have the chunks all well scattered though the ice cream (no more than a minute);

transfer to a proper container and place into the freezer, allowing it to set a bit (4 hours) before you get the perfect consistency (that can be scooped).

There’s no harm in trying.

In fact the ice cream turned out terrific.

 

Let’s try it this way:

I’d call this a “Triple mint ice cream”. If you want to make the “Quadruple mint” version, try to add to the mixture some pulverized mint candies (Altoids would work just fine, i guess, or any similar stuff you can find), and/or a hint of pure mint extract; i’m not sure but i suppose you can also try to add some crème de menthe

And there he was, tempting her, for all this time…

Until one day, finally the girl with the whisk gave in to the temptation. You win. And Chocolate Sorbet be it.

 

 

I had wanted to try it for ages. One day I told myself “go to the kitchen and get started!”. And so did I. But wait, get started with what? what recipe will i be using? there are so many out there!

Why getting things more complicated, if you can have them the easier way?

For a start, therefore, I picked his recipe. His recipes are never wrong, his a master of not just ice creams, but frozen treats and sweets in general! So it must be a success, i thought.

And it was indeed.

I have to say, though, that what really convinced me were the words written by Smitten Kitchen and referring to that Sorbet. (

This stuff is better than brownies. It’s awesomer than the fudgiest chocolate ice cream. It makes chocolate truffles taste like they’re not trying hard enough. It could send that brandied ganache home with its tail between its legs.

A little bold, isn’t it? ;)

Well, the Sorbet was indeed delicious. Dunno if it really was better than brownies and truffles and chocolate ice cream (which i all love btw). But sure it was awesome :)

David Lebovitz’s Chocolate Sorbet – no milk, no cream, no eggs, and yet delicious (perfect for allergies and stuff)

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

 

Ingredients

yelds a quart (1 liter) – I quartered the ingredients so it served 1 [my adaptations in red]

 

2 1/4 cups (555 ml - 375+180) water [93+45 ml]
1 cup (200 g) sugar [40 g]
3/4 cup (80 g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder [regular unsweetened cocoa powder, 20 g]
Pinch of salt
6 ounces (170 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped [42 g]
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Method:

In a large saucepan (do it: use a large one!) whisk together 1 1/2 cups (375 ml – 93 ml) of the water with the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Let it boil, continuing to whisk, for 45 seconds.

Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until it’s melted, then stir in the vanilla extract and the remaining 3/4 cup (180 ml – 45 ml) water. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend for 15 seconds (i didn’t do that). Chill the mixture thoroughly (i chilled it overnight, covered with aluminum foil) [If the mixture has become too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.], then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Allow to set for 4 hours in your freezer to get a nice and scoopable consistency.

  

 

Variations:

Mexican Chocolate: Use Ibarra chocolate and add 1 tsp cinnamon.
Espresso-Chocolate: Use coffee in place of water, add chopped chocolate-covered coffee beans.
Aztec Chocolate: Add 1/2 tsp red pepper.
Chocolate Mint: add a splash of Creme de Menthe or a drop of peppermint extract.
Chocolate Coconut: Use coconut milk in place of the water, add 1/2 tsp coconut extract.