Peanut Butter Cup No-Churn Ice Cream

Here's a great recipe to make delicious ice cream WITHOUT an ice cream maker.  At first I was a bit skeptical when I read about No-Churn Ice Cream on the Cook's Country website, but after making it for myself I'm now a complete convert.  All you need is a blender, which most households have over an ice cream machine.  The other plus with this recipe is that there's no eggs used, so no cooking a custard base.  The ice cream mixture literally came together in less than ten minutes, even better in my book!

Reese's cups are one of my favorite candies so I opted to go for the peanut butter cup version of the ice cream.  [The website has many other flavors if you don't like peanut butter.]   The recipe couldn't be simpler to make: whip heavy cream in the blender for about 30 seconds until heavy peaks form, add the rest of the ingredients (except the stir-in), pour into a loaf pan, mix in the stir-ins and then freeze for at least six hours.  That's it!

The ice cream is delicious served alone but I had some extra choux pastries so I filled them with the ice cream to turn them into profiteroles. [Yes, I know technically you need three pastries on the plate for profiteroles, but I didn't have a third one!]

Pineapple Ice Cream

My obsession with pineapples treads that fine line between utter adulation and complete lunacy.  I don't know what it is about this tropical fruit but I just cannot get enough!  So when I saw Stella Park's recipe for Pineapple Ice Cream on Serious Eats I literally felt like screaming "Hallelujah"! 
Having tried many of Stella's recipes before (her fantastic cookbook is an absolute must for any baker!) I knew this one was going to be a winner. 

I wasn't sure if the fresh pineapple flavor would really come through in the ice cream (I've tried others where it was barely even a hint) but I had nothing to worry about.  One taste of the just churned ice cream and I was an absolute goner. 

 

This was everything I wanted in a pineapple ice cream and so much more.  The fruit flavor was so intense and the texture so fluffy and creamy.   Now the hard part is deciding if I should just enjoy the ice cream as is or make something with it.  What's your vote?

Snickerdoodle Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwich

I was inspired to make these ice cream sandwiches after a recent work event where treats from CREAM were brought in.  They weren't the typical sandwiches you'd find pre-packaged in the ice cream aisle at your local market.  Rather, they sandwiched ice cream between two fresh-baked cookies.   I loved the concept and had to try and make them at home for myself.   

I posted the recipes for the snickerdoodles and strawberry ice cream on my blog earlier this week.  Don't feel limited to these flavors.  The cookie/ice cream combinations are endless: e.g., chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream, peanut butter cookie with chocolate ice cream, etc.   Let your imagination run wild!

Strawberry Ice Cream

After making these yummy strawberry cupcakes recently I still had quite a lot of fresh fruit left over that I didn't want to go waste.  What better use for it than in some ice cream?  You'd be amazed at how easy it is to make really delicious ice cream at home.  I do use an electric machine - I have a Cuisinart similar to this model - and it works like a dream. 

It literally only took the machine about twenty minutes to transform the custard base in to soft serve.  After a couple of hours in the freezer to firm up I had premium quality ice cream that would rival any from Haagen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry's.   Give it a try for yourself...you won't regret it!

Stay tuned to see how I use this delicious ice cream for a yummy summertime treat!

Daring Bakers Baked Alaska

Fire and ice....I think that pretty much sums up the essence of the Baked Alaska.  I've never made it before so I was looking forward to completing this month's DB challenge.: brown butter pound cake and pistachio ice cream enrobed in a cloud of meringue and then brûléed to  perfection.  

Baked Alaska seems so retro, doesn't it?  Couldn't you just picture Mad Men's Betty Draper, in her finest 60s garb, proudly presenting the Baked Alaska at a dinner party for one of Don's prospective clients?   

The quickest way to brown the meringue is by using a propane torch.  No I'm not a pyromaniac but when you need instant flames that's the only way to go in my opinion.  Don't even bother using those rinky dink torches they sell at houseware stores for making crème brûlée.  They don't have enough BTUs to toast a marshmallow.   Trust me, I've tried them.  Just be careful when using the propane torch.  You might get a bit overzealous like me and burn some of the meringue.  Oh well, still tastes good!

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”.

Pistachio Ice Cream

I'm back on my ice cream kick.  This time I had to make another favorite...pistachio!   Pistachio is what I call my touchstone flavor; it's what I measure all ice cream by, whether it's commercially made or homemade.  Because, I figure, if you can make a fantastic tasting pistachio you can make all the others.  

This ice cream is rich, creamy and bursting with pistachio flavor.   It actually reminds me of the pistachio gelato you'd find in Florence.  Hmmmm...gelato.  It brings back so many great memories of my friends and I travelling in Italy.  I swear I think we had gelato at least three times a day. 

The key to the ice cream's intense flavor is pistachio paste.  It's expensive as hell but it's worth it in this recipe.  I was lucky enough to receive a tub of this liquid gold a while back and I've been hoarding it like crazy ever since, using it almost exclusively for macarons and now ice cream.  I'm down to the last few spoonfuls so you can bet that  I'm savoring every remaining morsel.  

Daring Bakers Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake

This month's Daring Bakers challenge was something I could really sink my teeth in to... ice cream cake!  And how fitting considering that it's National Ice Cream Month. 

The dessert is comprised of swiss roll cake slices encasing fudge sauce and two different flavors of  ice cream.  Decided to go a bit architectural with the cake component .  Rather than roll it up, as is tradition, I stacked the layers.  I really like the striped effect of the finished product.  

I used the mint chip and dulce de leche ice creams that I made recently for the filling and whipped up a quick fudge sauce to complete the dessert.  What a great challenge!

 

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.-

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

Whenever I travel somewhere I inevitably end up at the local supermarkets.  It's always a must-see for me and luckily a habit my friends have gotten used to, and graciously put up with!

Even when I was a kid I loved going to the grocery store.  I  remember passing up going to the movies with my sisters so I could go food shopping with my mom.   Supermarkets are such a great place to discover new foods and unusual souvenirs. 

It was on one of these jaunts when I was visiting Buenos Aires a few years ago that I discovered dulce de leche.  Dulce de leche: one of Latin America's greatest gifts to the culinary world.  Jars of the sweet, creamy milk caramel were stacked sky high on the supermarket shelves.  So many different brands and varieties.  One taste and I was hooked.

This ice cream pays homage to that wonderful concoction. Lately I've been obsessed with Haagen-Dazs' dulce de leche ice cream and I think my version comes pretty close.  The only thing missing are the swirls of dulce de leche mixed in with the ice cream.  Too bad  those jars I brought back with me from Argentina are long gone.

Mint Chip Ice Cream

I've mentioned in previous posts that San Francisco doesn't have a traditional summer.   It's pretty much the exact opposite.  June, July and August around here rank as some of the coldest  months in the year.  Fog, fog, fog.  It's kind of funny actually.   But it kind of sucks too; especially when you hear about clear, blue skies just 20 minutes outside of the city.  Oh well, can't really complain when you live in one of the best places on the planet.  

July is National Ice Cream Month.  Did you know that?  To celebrate this distinction I pulled out my ice cream maker from the cupboard and made some mint chip ice cream. 

This isn't like the mint chip I grew up.  You know, the kind that was tinted bright green? This ice cream is naturally flavored and colored using actual mint leaves, hence the pale color.   When you take a bite the first thing you notice is the distinct, yet subtle mint flavor followed by a hit of bittersweet chocolate.  So refreshing!