I love berry season … and it brings out the morbid in me. I generally eat berries till I am queasy because I am afraid that I will die before the next June/July. I certainly want to enjoy what MIGHT be my last berry season. So, every June and July, I can be seen staggering from the berry fields with purple-stained fingers and baskets full of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.
This recipe works for both strawberries and black raspberries and honestly, I think they might be my absolute favorites. On top of being delicious and fresh and berry-ish, they are the most beautiful colors ever.
MMMM, I hope I don’t die before next June …
Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs (whole eggs, yolks and whites)
2 cups fresh strawberry or black raspberry puree (from 3-4 cups cleaned, hulled, and quartered berries)
3/4 cup sugar (1/2 cup + 1/4 cup)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Combine cream and salt in saucepan and bring to steaming.
Whisk eggs with 1/2 cup of sugar and temper with hot cream. Return mixture to saucepan and heat until thickened (but not scrambled).
Run mixture through sieve and let cool for a little while. Add vanilla extract. Cover, pressing plastic wrap on surface, and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, puree enough berries with remaining 1/4 cup sugar to end up with 2 cups of puree. (We use an immersion blender for the pureeing and it works fabulously). Force the puree through a sieve into the chilled custard.
Follow your ice cream maker’s instructions to make the best berry ice cream ever.
Ice cream machine used: Lello Musso Lussino Ice Cream Maker
Verdict:
We have never heard a word of complaint about these ice creams!!!
Holly: YUM^5
Possible changes for next time:
Not exactly changes, but some things we have done:
We have added chunks of strawberries for a little extra flavor.
We have added chocolate as either a stratiatelli or as chunks.
Holly once used frozen blackberries and it was delicious, although the fresh strawberry and black raspberry reign supreme.
I know, I know, it is just salty almond joy (coconut base and salt-chocolate-coconut-almond clusters) ice cream so why the fancy name? Well: fries, toast, kisses, ticklers!? Everything is better French! Everyone who knows Matt and me knows that that statement is all Matt! So, back to the ice cream (all foodie business on my end!), Amandes Salées Joie… we got the idea after visiting Gifford’s in Washington, DC where we had an absolutely delicious coconut ice cream with lovely bits of toasted coconut. We immediately decided to make a similar ice cream, but to add almond and chocolate clusters. We were recently re-inspired by Matt’s colleague, John, who mentioned that he had been enjoying coconut sorbet as a lovely summer treat.
Ingredients
For the Ice Cream:
2 cups heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs (whole eggs, yolks and whites)
1/2 cup sugar
14 oz. can of coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Coconut Almond Clusters:
2/3 lb almonds
4-5 oz. dried unsweetened coconut
1 teaspoon sea salt
350 grams (or 10 oz) dark chocolate
Directions for making the Coconut Almond Clusters
Toast the almonds at 350 for 5-8 minutes. [Toasting nuts is always something that makes us nervous--we have ruined enough batches that we now watch the oven like over-protective parents might watch their offspring in a buzz-saw factory.] Once they have cooled a bit, chop them into rough halves.
Then toast the coconut at 250 for 5-8 minutes. [Same words of caution apply for this as the almonds, and possibly more so! The coconut turned from a blinding white to a golden brown in a surprisingly short time.]
Remove 3/4 cup of the toasted coconut and place in the refrigerator — this will be added to the batter just before freezing.
To the remaining toasted coconut (should be 3/4 to 1 cup), add a teaspoon of sea salt and mix thoroughly.
Melt the chocolate in a large bowl in a microwave and alternately add the chopped almonds then the remainder of the coconut. Mix until completely incorporated. Smooth the chocolate mixture onto a wax paper lined baking sheet — try to make it a fairly thin layer so that it can easily be broken into clusters.
Refrigerate overnight.
Directions for making the Ice Cream
Place cream in saucepan and bring to steaming.
Whisk eggs with 1/2 cup of sugar and pinch of salt. Slowly temper the egg mixture with hot cream. Return mixture to saucepan and heat until thickened (but not scrambled).
Run mixture through sieve and let cool. Add coconut milk and vanilla extract. Cover, pressing plastic wrap on surface, and refrigerate overnight.
Just before pouring the ice cream batter into your machine, add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the reserved toasted coconut. We think that waiting until the end might help to preserve the texture of the toasted coconut.
Follow your ice cream maker’s instructions to freeze the ice cream. While it is churning, break and chop the refrigerated chocolate-nut clusters so they are fairly small, perhaps the size of a finger nail. If your machine can handle it, add the coconut almond clusters to the all-but-finished ice cream and allow the machine to thoroughly incorporate them into the ice cream. If you are worried about the machine, wait until the ice cream is ready to be be removed and mix the coconut almond clusters by hand.
Ice cream machine used: Lello Musso Lussino Ice Cream Maker
Verdict:
Holly: YUM^5
Matt: With his colleague John: not coconut-y enough. About 1/2 of the way through the serving, they no longer registered coconut. Matt also fears that the coconut almond clusters steal the show and may be “cheating.” The salt in the clusters is absolutely the key to the whole thing.
Matt’s Dad: Like that the flavor was pleasantly coconut-y without being overwhelming. He loved the coconut almond clusters.
Holly thought it was delicious, but does agree with Matt and John that the coconut flavor does diminish. She is not sure, however, that she minds. And the coconut almond clusters are amazing … yummm, they are better than most candy I have ever eaten. Matt added the sea salt to the coconut before combining with the almonds and chocolate and voila (again with the French), a culinary masterpiece!
Possible changes for next time:
Use 4 egg yolks rather than the 2 whole eggs.
Try a different brand of coconut milk.
Try using sweetened coconut rather than the unsweetened (we have a theory that the sugar will caramelize beautifully).
Add more of the remaining coconut to the ice cream.
Posted by Holly on
August 7th, 2009 in
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We got an idea in our craw late one night last year and went on a fruitless hunt for sweet potato pie in central Pennsylvania. The solution was to find a good recipe for the pie. After scouring the Internet, we ended up returning to our favorite baking cookbook, Baking Illustrated. Honestly, this cookbook has almost never led us astray.What we like most is the detail they use to describe the development of each recipe is so informative — explanations like “too many eggs results in this outcome” or “we replaced some of the flour with rice flour because” make it so you don’t have to make all the same mistakes they did.
Anyway, the sweet potato pie recipe makes a really delicious pie. Just enough of every flavor and — as it mentions in the intro to the recipe — there is no mistaking this for a pumpkin pie.
We decided to make an ice cream that captured the flavor of this tasty pie and it turned out to be quite simple. All you do is cook the pie filling without the crust, then after it is cooled, you mush up 2 cups of the “crustless pie” and add it to 2-3 cups of ice cream custard base. Then right at the end of the ice cream machine’s freezing cycle, you stir in 1/2 to 1 cups of diced pieces of the crustless pie.
That being said, if you have a sweet potato pie recipe you like, this ice cream should work well for you. Actually, this just occurred to me now — this recipe should make an excellent pumpkin (pie) ice cream. It would also be good with chunks of pie crust, but those should be mixed in right at the end of the machine’s freezing cycle.
I should note that we did make a sweet potato ice cream last year and it was ok, but the texture and flavor of this sweet potato pie ice cream is much better.
Ingredients – Crustless Sweet Potato Pie
(This is a modified version of a recipe from Baking Illustrated and you can also get it by subscribing to Cook’s Illustrated Online, one of the few online subscriptions I have that I find to be really worthwhile.)
2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 5 small to medium)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
3 large eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon table salt
2-3 tablespoons bourbon
1 tablespoon molasses (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
Directions – Crustless Sweet Potato Pie
1. Prick sweet potatoes several times with fork and place on double layer of paper towels in microwave. Cook at full power for 5 minutes; turn each potato over and continue to cook at full power until tender, but not mushy, about 5-8 minutes longer. Cool 10 minutes. Halve each potato crosswise; insert small spoon between skin and flesh, and scoop flesh into medium bowl; discard skin. (If potatoes are too hot to handle comfortably, fold double layer of paper towels into quarters and use to hold potato half). Repeat with remaining sweet potatoes; you should have about 2 cups. While potatoes are still hot, add butter and mash with fork or wooden spoon; small lumps of potato should remain.
2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Whisk together eggs, yolks, sugar, nutmeg, and salt in medium bowl; stir in bourbon, molasses (if using), and vanilla, then whisk in milk. Gradually add egg mixture to sweet potatoes, whisking gently to combine.
4. Sprinkle bottom of greased 8 to 12-inch casserole dish or pie plate evenly with brown sugar. Pour sweet potato mixture into pie shell over brown sugar layer. Bake until filling is set around edges but center jiggles slightly when shaken, about 30-45 minutes (cooking time will depend on size of cooking dish). Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Refrigerate the pie.
Ingredients – Sweet Potato Pie Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
3 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
1/8 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups mushed crustless sweet potato pie (see recipe above)
1 to 1.5 cups diced crustless sweet potato pie
Directions – Sweet Potato Pie Ice Cream:
Heat 1 cup cream and 1/2 cup milk. Heat until steaming and remove from heat.
In a bowl, beat the 3 egg yolks, 1/8 cup brown sugar, and the salt.
Slowly add the hot cream and milk mixture to the egg mixture, taking care not to cook the eggs. Return milk/egg custard mixture to sauce pan and heat until thickened and steaming. Strain into a spouted bowl and cool slightly.
When slightly cooled, add remaining 1 cup cream and the vanilla, then stir. Place plastic wrap on surface to prevent skin forming and place in refrigerator overnight or until cold.
Before churning ice cream, remove the pie from the fridge and loosely mush up 2 cups of it. Cut off another 1 to 1.5 cups worth of pie and dice into 1/2-inch chunks. If the pie has a nice browned rim, you may want to use these parts for the diced pieces to impart a bit of extra flavor.
Remove the cold ice cream mixture from the fridge and vigorously stir in the 2 cups of mushed pie. Churn according to your ice cream machine’s instructions. When the ice cream is done freezing in the machine, gently stir in the diced pieces of pie, trying not to mush them too much. Spoon or pour finished ice cream into your freezing container(s).
Ice cream machine used: Lello Musso Lussino Ice Cream Maker
Verdict:
When we made this the first time, we were afraid that the frozen chunks of pie would become hard as rocks. What actually happens is that the pieces of pie remain the same texture as the ice cream itself, probably because the pie has its own loose, airy texture.
Positive reactions all around.
Matt: Was surprised to find that this might be his favorite ice cream he and Holly have ever made. Outstanding flavor and texture.
Holly: YUM^5
NOTE: We would guess that you should eat this ice cream within a week or two. The pie chunks might end up getting weird.
Possible changes for next time:
-as mentioned above, pie crust should be good mixed in at the end
-toasted or very lightly candied walnuts would be good (but we did a small test and don’t think pecans would work out as well)
-would be good made into little pie crusts like the Key Lime Pie Ice Cream — and then we would have Sweet Potato Pie Ice Cream Pie
I interrupt this lack of posting to say that it is National Ice Cream Day!
Holly and I observed the holiday last night by making a plain old vanilla to eat, frozen custard style, right out of the machine with fresh in-season berries.
Recipe (this was last-minute so we used what was on-hand)
-roughly 1.5 cup heavy cream
-0.5 cup light cream
-1 cup milk
-2 whole eggs
-a shy 0.5 cup brown sugar
-a long tablespoon vanilla (which we thought ended up being too much…too competitive with the berry flavor)
Combine sugar and eggs and then add everything else. Put in your ice cream maker (we used the KitchenAid one this time) and eat it right away with berries of your choice. We had black raspberries and blueberries, and we also had some leftover homemade blueberry goop available, which was very delicious.
This was a no-heat recipe — what we’ve taken to calling short-hand “Ben & Jerry’s style” since the B&J’s cookbook doesn’t heat their custard. Use good fresh eggs!
We need to remember to take more photos.
After the chunky monkey ice cream making event (YUUUMMMM), Holly is in love with banana (or as Marina might say, bahnahnah) ice cream. And with strawberries, YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! I cannot wait…hopefully I will be able to restrain myself from drinking the batter like a smoothie. It was hard to stop myself with the straight banana and I foresee the strawberry banana being a bigger problem.
Posted by Holly on
May 30th, 2009 in
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Inspired by the Peanut Butter Chocolate Fracas Ice Cream (recipe post to come), Sue and Rocco at Matt’s work came up with eleven flavor requests. There are some excellent and inspired ideas here:
-Chocolate ice cream with cashew butter swirl and cashews
-Crème brulee, with the burnt sugar broken up and incorporated into the ice cream
-Chocolate cherry (or vanilla cherry with chocolate chunks)
-Mandarin orange in a creamy ice cream (like in pralines and cream) with caramel
-Lemon peel in a lemony ice cream with chocolate shavings
-Pina colada with chopped pineapple
-French vanilla ice cream with ‘nilla wafers broken up and banana
-Cotton candy ice cream with marshmallow swirl and jimmies
-Pistachio ice cream with pistachios and white chocolate chunks
-Maple fudge ice cream with almond butter
-Mint tea ice cream
Posted by Holly on
May 14th, 2009 in
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1. Toast a bunch of pine nuts and grind them into butter, leaving some chunky style
2. Make (or buy) date paste
3. Make pine nut butter into ice cream and swirl in the date paste
This idea is based on a dish at Zahav Restaurant in Philadelphia, which is one of the top two restaurants that Holly and I have eaten at (anywhere). The dish is unbelievably good — Crispy Haloumi: Cypriotic sheep’s milk cheese known for its grilling/frying abilities, dates, and pine nuts. The ice cream leaves the cheese out.
Posted by Matt on
April 3rd, 2009 in
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Not an original idea, mind you — clearly stolen from Ben & Jerry’s Coffee Heath Bar Crunch. After getting good results with homemade caramels, we’d like to try making homemade toffee. There will have to be some experimenting with the toffee recipe to make something with enough crispiness and crunchiness that when it is frozen into the ice cream base, it doesn’t become rock hard.
This is a request from Sue at Matt’s work.
Posted by Matt on
March 15th, 2009 in
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Mocalate Charshmallow: Vanilla ice cream with a chocolate marshmallow fluff swirl
Mochalatte charshmallow: Coffee ice cream with a chocolate marshmallow fluff swirl
Posted by Holly on
February 18th, 2009 in
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NOTE: This recipe supersedes the December 20, 2008 Chocolate Marshmallow Idea.
Store-bought chocolate marshmallow ice cream is the only ice cream I consistently eat out of the container. I have no idea why. I consider this a “standard flavor,” but perhaps not everyone agrees with me {cough} holly {cough}.
Sue (at Matt’s work) requested this flavor. This one’s for you Sue.
Even if this recipe was an utter failure, since it was the impetus for making homemade marshmallow fluff, it would have been worth it.
Ingredients
6 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Prepared homemade marshmallow fluff
Directions:
Heat 2 cups cream and 1 cup milk. Heat until steaming and remove from heat.
In a bowl, beat the 6 egg yolks and the 1/2 cup of sugar. Slowly add the cocoa 1/4 cup at a time and mix with a fork (do NOT use a whisk because it clumps and is virtually impossible to incorporate into milk mixture).
Slowly add the hot cream and milk mixture to the cocoa mixture, mixing until all is incorporated. Return milk/cocoa mixture to sauce pan and heat until thickened and steaming. Strain into a spouted bowl and cool slightly.
When slightly cooled, place plastic wrap on surface to prevent skin forming and place in refrigerator overnight.
Churn according to your ice cream machine’s instructions.
The next step is to gently swirl the fluff into the ice cream. It is a little tricky because the fluff is very soft (and very sticky) and if it is handled too much, it is easy to over-incorporate it, ending up with swirl-less chocolate-marshmallow ice cream (still tasty but not “right”). We filled a disposable pastry bag with fluff and piped a thick layer onto a layer of ice cream, then repeated until the ice cream was used up. We then very gently swirled the layers with a knife.
Ice cream machine used: KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment
Verdict:
Everyone who tried this ice cream liked it, even non-chocolate and non-fluff personages. In an especially unusual turn of events, Holly’s dad wanted more.
Sue — the original requestor — made subtle comments indicating her willingness to be bribed into doing unpleasant work tasks in exchange for a gallon of this ice cream.
Holly: YUM^5
Possible changes for next time:
-nothing!
-maybe try chocolate fluff in marshmallow ice cream, or other inversions
