Frozen Desserts: Part 7

I used to live in Santa Ana, which is a city with a very large Latino population. In almost every neighborhood you would see paleteros pushing carts full of paletas to sell in the afternoons. I'd often hear them ringing their bells as they passed by my office or house, and if it was a hot day I'd go out with a dollar and come back in with a coco or sandía flavored one. It was always the perfect snack to get through a hot afternoon. 

Where I live now there is still a significant Latino population, but there is no paletero that comes down my street. So, I make my own. Luckily they are quick and easy. I've been enjoying these a lot in the past few weeks with the super hot weather we've been having. Make them now and enjoy these final days of summer.

Watermelon, Mint and Lime Paletas

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup loosely packed mint leaves
3 heaping cups cubed watermelon (seeds are okay)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Combine sugar, water and mint leaves in small saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves. This will only take a few minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

Strain the mint syrup into blender. Discard mint leaves. Add watermelon and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Pour through a strainer into a pitcher or large liquid measuring cup. Pour mixture into ice pop molds and freeze until solid, at least 4 hours.

Makes 6-8 depending on the size of your molds. 

KCRW 5th Annual Pie Contest

I'm interrupting the frozen dessert series to share good news. I got 3rd place again at the KCRW Good Food Pie Contest!

Anyway, the contest was much the same as last year although there were a record 350 entrants this year. Last year my prize was in the nut category. This year I entered the cream category with my Toasted Coconut & Banana Cream Pie. It is an all-butter crust filled with a coconut pudding that is studded with toasted coconut. It's got a layer of sliced bananas in the middle and is topped with whipped cream and more toasted coconut. With 68 contestants in that category alone I am very happy to have placed third.

Toasted Coconut & Banana Cream Pie

I also entered a Cherry Pie with Coconut-Almond Crumb Topping in the vegan category. It didn't place, but I was happy with the way it turned out. That pie (including the practice ones I'd made in the weeks before the contest) was my first time making a vegan pie. I'm just excited that Moby may have tasted it; he was one of the judges in the vegan category.

Vegan Cherry Pie with Coconut-Almond Crumb Topping

I took my customary picture with Evan Kleiman, the host of Good Food. At least I hope it becomes customary.  That's two gold ribbons. Do you think I can get a blue ribbon next year? Looks like I've got a year of yummy pie baking ahead of me to find out.

Evan Kleiman and me

Celebrating with my boys again.

Thank you KCRW!

Frozen Desserts: Part 6

If you read my last post or gave the recipe a try, I'm going to give you another recipe for your ice cream maker. It's a bit different: dark chocolate and chile ice cream from Rick Bayless. This is a fantastic flavor combination that's great to make at home, as you probably won't see it in your local ice cream shop. Don't be put off by the chile. It's not spicy and it lends a warm note to the rich chocolaty ice cream.

Pasilla negro chile and chopped bittersweet chocolate

Dark Chocolate Chile Ice Cream

1 large pasilla negro chile
4 ounces bittersweet (preferably 60-70%) chocolate, chopped
1 1/3 cups half and half
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon espresso powder dissolved in 2 tablespoons water

Place a small skillet over medium-high heat. Cut the top off the chile with a pair of kitchen shears, then cut the side and remove the seeds. Using tongs, toast the chile by pressing the it into the skillet until very fragrant, about 10 seconds per side. Place the chile into a small saucepan and pour in the half and half. Heat over medium until tiny bubbles begin to form around the edges (do not boil). Remove from heat, cover and let steep for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make a double boiler:  fill a medium saucepan with 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Choose a large heat-proof bowl that can easily be nestled into the saucepan with out touching the water. Place the egg yolks into this bowl and set aside on the counter.

Place the chopped chocolate in a small heat-proof bowl. Transfer the chile-half and half mixture to a blender. Blend until smooth. (Take out the center of the blender lid to allow heat to escape after you've turned it on). Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve back into the saucepan and heat until steaming (do not boil). Rinse the strainer as you will need it later. Once it's hot, pour over the chocolate and let stand 1 minute. Then whisk until the mixture is smooth and the chocolate is melted.

Whisk the sugar into the egg yolks until smooth. Whisk in the chocolate mixture until smooth. Reduce the boiling water to a simmer and place the bowl of egg-chocolate mixture on top. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon until thickened, about 5 minutes. You will know it is thick enough when you can dip the spoon into the mixture, run your finger along the back and the line stays. This will be about 180 degrees on an instant read thermometer if you have one.

Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl. Place the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice water and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture has cooled to room temperature, stir in heavy cream, vanilla and espresso. Place the bowl in the refrigerator and chill for at least 3 hours and up to overnight.

Process the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Serve immediately if you prefer a soft texture, otherwise freeze in air-tight container to allow it to firm up a bit.

Makes approximately 1 quart.

Note: Store in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to three days. 

Frozen Desserts: Part 5

It's time to break out your ice cream maker. I normally don't like to give you recipes that require special equipment, but I think homemade ice cream is the exception. Like so many things made from scratch it is so good if you can make it yourself. Plus ice cream makers are pretty affordable, so if you are an ice cream aficionado like me, you'll be glad you got one. 

I'm going to start by giving you my recipe for the most basic of homemade ice creams: vanilla. If you read my blog regularly you know I'm a chocolate person. I would never order vanilla at an ice cream shop. But homemade vanilla I love. Mostly because it takes something like a piece of apple pie and makes it that much better. Or chocolate cake. Or cookies. You get the point. 

After trying many recipes and having them come out too icy, I've finally come up with this one. You'll notice that I stir in the heavy cream at the end. I've always done this with my blueberry ice cream and the texture of that one is great. So, one day I decided to do the same thing with the vanilla and it also came out with a great texture.  

Vanilla

Once you've mastered the vanilla you can easily add other ingredients to the vanilla base to create other flavors. A syrupy fruit compote can be stirred in at the end. You can add peppermint extract and crushed peppermint candies. And of course you can add chocolate.  So, as a bonus I give you a technique I learned from my Williams Sonoma Ice Cream book where you melt chocolate with a bit of vegetable oil and add it to the ice cream machine in the last minutes of churning it. You end up with lovely slivers of chocolate throughout the ice cream. 

Chocolate Chip

Vanilla Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup half and half
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
2/3 cup sugar
4 egg yolks

1. Place the whole milk in medium saucepan. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape seeds with a small knife into the saucepan. Add bean pod to pan. Place over medium heat and heat until tiny bubbles form around the edge of the pan, about 5 minutes (do not let it boil). Turn off heat.

2. Meanwhile whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and half and half in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk 1/2 cup of the vanilla bean-milk mixture into the yolk mixture until well blended. Pour the yolk mixture into the milk in the saucepan. Place over medium heat, and stir slowly and constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture is thickened, about 4 -6 minutes. Do not boil. You will know it is thick enough when you can dip the spoon into the mixture, run your finger along the back and the line stays. This will be about 180 degrees on an instant read thermometer if you have one.

3. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl. Place inside a larger bowl filled with ice water until cooled to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Once cool, whisk in heavy cream. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on surface of cream to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours.

4. Process in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Serve immediately if you prefer a soft texture, otherwise freeze in air-tight container to allow it to firm up a bit.

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

1 batch vanilla ice cream, prepared through step 3.
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

About 1 hour before you are ready to churn the ice cream, melt the chocolate and vegetable oil together in small microwave safe bowl, stirring every 30 seconds. Set aside to cool completely.

Process the vanilla ice cream in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Once the ice cream is thick like soft serve ice cream, keep the machine running and drizzle the chocolate mixture over with a large spoon. As soon as the chocolate hits the ice cream it will start to freeze and form silvers of chocolate in the ice cream. Serve immediately if you prefer a soft texture, otherwise freeze in air-tight container to allow it to firm up a bit.

Each batch makes approximately 1 quart of ice cream.

Note: Store in the freezer in an air-tight container for up to three days. 

Frozen Desserts: Part 4

I've introduced you to a granita before. But, it's so light and refreshing that I wanted to include it in the frozen dessert series. Last month Bon Appetit had a recipe for a blackberry one with lemon cream. I tried it and to be honest I didn't like the lemon cream. It was too thick and greasy as it was made with mascarpone (though I normally love this cheese it didn't work with the granita for me). The blackberry granita was very good though, so the next day I served it again with whipped cream and a sprinkle of lemon zest. Perfect.

Blackberry Granita

18 ounces blackberries (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon creme de cassis (black currant liqueur, optional)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch kosher salt
1 cup water
Whipped cream, for serving
Lemon zest, for serving (optional)


Combine all ingredients, except whipped cream and zest, in blender and blend until smooth. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a 9 x 9 metal baking pan (or similar size shallow pan). Freeze, scraping the mixture with a fork every 30 minutes until it resembles fluffy ice, about 2 - 4 hours. Cover until ready to serve. Scrape with fork again before serving. Spoon into small bowls and top with whipped cream and lemon zest if desired.

Serves 6.

Note: Can be made three days ahead. 

Frozen Desserts: Part 3

And now, on to the fun stuff.

I can't very well go ahead and do a frozen dessert series and not include ice cream cones, now can I? What is more fun than eating an ice cream cone? Do you remember the Drumstick ice cream cones you ate as a kid (and maybe still do)? Well, these are like those - a sugar cone lined with chocolate, filled with ice cream, dipped in chocolate again and rolled in nuts. But these are much better because by making them yourself you can use good quality chocolate and ice cream. And did I mention the flavor combinations are endless?

I'm going to give you the basic recipe, adapted from Bon Appetit, and then you can make it your own.

Chocolate Dipped Ice Cream Cones

9 standard sugar cones
12 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1/3 cup coconut oil
3 pints ice cream, flavor of your choice
Toasted nuts of your choice, optional

Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a bowl set over simmering water. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile take out 9 cups to hold the cones. Bunch up some strips of foil into a ring shape and fit into each glass. This will help hold the cone upright after you dip it.

Holding one cone at a time over the bowl of chocolate, pour about a quarter cup of the chocolate into the cone. Swirl to coat the entire inside of the cone, then let the excess drip back into the bowl. Then dip the top half-inch of the cone into the chocolate and let the excess drip back in again. Place the cone back in the foil ring in its cup and place in the freezer for 15 minutes. 

Working one cone at a time pack some ice cream into the cone, then top with a small scoop of ice cream. Place the cone back in the foil ring in its cup, then freeze one hour.

Rewarm the chocolate mixture if it's gotten hard again. Set out toasted nuts in shallow bowls. Again, working one cone at at time dip the ice cream into the chocolate mixture rolling to coat. Immediately roll in nuts, if using, before returning to it to it's cup and placing in the freezer for another hour.

Makes 9 cones. 

Note: You can make up to one week ahead. Once the cones are finished and completely frozen, wrap each in foil and stack them on a platter in the freezer.

Vanilla ice cream with almonds, dulce de leche ice cream with cashews, and
chocolate ice cream with toasted coconut and pecans.

Frozen Desserts: Part 2

Banana Ice Cream. It's rich. It's creamy. And it happens to be vegan.

But, don't let that detour you. I think I made it pretty clear in my last post that I am an unabashed ice cream lover. Ice cream that's skimping on flavor and texture just won't cut it for me. But this banana ice cream fulfills all my requirements. It is the texture of soft serve ice cream with hints of vanilla and a bit of extra sweetness from the maple syrup. It's good on it's own, but it's absolutely delicious with the sweet and salty almond topping. If you don't believe me, then you can trust Roy - a man who would probably never intentionally choose something vegan off of a menu. He had it the other day, and mentioned three separate times throughout the evening how much he liked it. If you don't believe either of us, then you can trust Miles who said "Mom, this ice cream really yummy!" when he tasted it.

So, thanks to Gwyneth Paltrow and her new book It's All Good where I got the recipe. I'm loving this book as it's filled with light and healthy recipes that I can make all the time. Like the banana ice cream. Seriously, I make it all the time now.

Banana Ice Cream with Sweet and Salty Roasted Almonds

Almonds:
½ cup finely chopped toasted almonds
4 teaspoons real maple syrup
Big pinch flaked sea salt, such as Maldon

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside while you make the banana ice cream.

Banana Ice Cream:
4 ripe bananas sliced into thin rounds, frozen (see note)
½ cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tablespoons real maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place all ingredients in food processor and pulse until the mixture is the consistency of soft-serve ice cream, scraping the sides as necessary. Don't worry if it's not totally smooth at first; the heat from blade of the food processor will defrost the bananas slightly and an ice cream texture will take shape.  Serve immediately with almond mixture sprinkled over the top.

Serves 4.

Note: After thinly slicing the bananas into rounds, place in single layer (as best you can) in a large zip-top bag. Place in the freezer for at least several hours. Then proceed with the recipe. Now that I make this recipe regularly, I like to keep bags of frozen bananas in the freezer, so I can make it whenever I want. 

Frozen Desserts: Part 1

There was a bit of an ice cream issue when I was a kid. Well, actually, even until I was in high school. The thing is our family would fight over ice cream. Once the ice cream carton had run out we'd start blaming each other for taking more than their fare share. Hmm, maybe we had too much time on our hands.

My mom got so sick of us fighting over it that she literally got out five plastic containers, wrote each of our names on them in permanent marker, and starting dividing the ice cream evenly between each member of our family. So, every time she bought ice cream it would be divided between the containers before it even went into the freezer. Then we each had to monitor our own ice cream consumption. Once the ice cream in our container was gone, we'd have to wait until she bought more and refilled it to have it again.

You might have thought that this would have solved the problem, but I remember once accusing my sister of stealing mine. I'd waited all week to eat my ice cream and when I opened the container it was half gone. I rounded up both of my sisters and interrogated them until I figured out that it was the youngest one who'd taken the ice cream. On the verge of tears, she said that she'd meant to trade the flavor in her container with the flavor in mine and didn't know what had happened. I said, "I'll tell you what happened, you stole my ice cream." And I was mad at her the rest of the day.

Recalling this story makes me happy that I don't have a bunch of teenage girls. Also, sorry Em for being so ridiculous. We all laugh about the ice cream dividing today. And now as adults, we pretty much only eat ice cream out or bring it into the house for special occasions. I suppose it's best to not bring in something that has the power to tear me, and Roy and Miles apart.

Because of my extreme love for ice cream and really all frozen desserts, I decided that I'd do a whole series dedicated to some of my favorites this summer. Don't worry, most of the treats that I'll post will not require an ice cream maker and for the most part they will be simple. So, to kick off the series, here is an easy yet indulgent treat. It's an amazing and quick chocolate peanut butter sauce from Nigella Lawson.

Ice Cream Sundaes with Chocolate Peanut Butter Sauce

4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (do not use natural peanut butter here)
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
Vanilla or chocolate ice cream (or both), or flavor of your choice
Chopped salted peanuts

In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the milk chocolate, peanut butter, heavy cream, and corn syrup until smooth. It will take just a few minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly while you scoop the ice cream. Place 2 scoops of ice cream in a bowl, drizzle desired amount of sauce over, and top with peanuts. Repeat for remaining guests. Serve immediately.

Makes enough sauce to serve 4 - 6 people generously.

Note: You can make the sauce a few days ahead and keep in a glass container in the refrigerator. Reheat in microwave until warm and smooth again.

The Birthday Boy

Miles is two!

His birthday was last week, and I'm still feeling a little bit shocked by the fact that I have a two year old. Time goes by really fast and I've enjoyed this past year with him so much. He continues to get more and more fun so I'm sure age two will have even more funny moments.

Like when I took him for his two year check up, and the doctor asked, "Do you like Snoopy?" because he was wearing a Charlie Brown shirt. Miles enthusiastically replied, "I LOVE Snoopy!"

Or when we read his Spaceships book and he says "fuel tank!" and "rocket booster!" as we look at the pictures. Is it obvious that he has an aerospace engineer for a dad and rockets all over his room?

Or when we're driving in the car and he sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. For some reason he tries to sing it as fast as he can over and over, so it comes out as "TwinkleStarHowYouAreLikeDiamondSkyTwinkleStar!"

Since Miles is no longer allergic to anything I let him look through my Flour cookbook and pick out the cake he wanted me to make. He chose the yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Okay, I may have steered him toward that one, but he was very excited about it.

I'm not going to post that recipe here. But, I did make cupcakes to celebrate with our Bible study later that week. I made chocolate cupcakes and decorated half with vanilla frosting and raspberries and the other half with the chocolate-hazelnut frosting that I've been promising you since last year. So, finally, here is that recipe.

 Chocolate-Hazelnut Frosting

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (such as Nutella)
Pinch of salt

Mix butter in bowl of stand or hand-held mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds until smooth. Add powdered sugar and cocoa and mix on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Add vanilla, chocolate-hazelnut spread and salt and mix on medium-high until light and fluffy about 4 minutes more.

Makes enough to decoratively pipe 12-14 cupcakes.

Play Time

A few months ago I started making play dough for Miles. We were bored one afternoon, so after a quick internet search and a few minutes of stirring ingredients in a pot, we were rolling snakes, making snowmen and pressing it into car shapes. Since that day Miles asks to play with the dough, or "colors" as he calls it everyday. Now he's advanced. He likes to use my cookie cutters to make star cookies. Stars are also very popular in our house right now.

This morning Miles wanted his play dough right after breakfast. 

Play dough sometimes makes a nice hat.

Or you can even stick it to your cheek if you're in that kind of mood. 

Play Dough

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
Food coloring

Mix together the flour, water, salt, oil, and cream of tartar in a medium saucepan. Place over low heat and stir with a wooden spoon until dough forms a ball and stops sticking to the pan. This will take a few minutes. Let cool in pan 1 minute. Then place the dough on counter or cutting board. Apply several drops of food coloring to the dough and knead it in with your hands (be careful as it will still be warm when you first start to knead it). Add more food coloring and continue to knead until you get the desired color.

Store in a plastic bag for several months, or until your little one has pressed too many pieces of dirt, lint, food, etc into it and you decide it's time for a a fresh batch.