Milk chocolate stracciatella ice cream

The day is cold, gray, cloudy, the rain comes and goes, and I plan to spend the afternoon under the blankets, with a bowl of popcorn and a good movie. Too bad this delicious ice cream is long gone - it was so amazing I would certainly have a bowl of it even on this chilly day. :)

Milk chocolate stracciatella ice cream
from the always amazing The Perfect Scoop

225g (8oz) milk chocolate, finely chopped
1½ cups (360ml) heavy cream
1½ cups (360ml) whole milk
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
generous pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons Cognac
140g (5oz) dark chocolate, finely chopped

Combine the milk chocolate and cream in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from the saucepan and set a strainer on top.
Warm milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the hot mixture over the yolks, whisking constantly. Scrape the mixture back to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Pour the custard through the strainer onto the milk chocolate cream, add the Cognac and mix. Cool completely, stirring occasionally, over an ice bath.
Refrigerate, covered, at least 6 hours. Freeze custard in ice cream maker.
While ice cream is freezing, melt the dark chocolate in a clean metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring frequently, In the last minutes of churning, carefully pour the melted chocolate in a slow stream directly onto ice cream as it churns and continue to churn 30 seconds (chocolate will harden in streaks). Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Makes about 1 quart (950ml)

Avocado ice cream and things my mom would love

While certain things instantly remind me of my mom, others make me think of her because I am sure she would love them if she was around. The food shows I watch on a regular basis, for instance: I know that Bill and Nigella would be her favorites (not Gordon; mom hated swearing); dishes like these, because of her deep love for tomatoes; and this avocado ice cream, for all those afternoons when we shared a bowl of avocados sprinkled with sugar and lime juice after I’d finished my homework.

Avocado ice cream
slightly adapted from The Perfect Scoop, inspired by Ana Elisa’s ice cream

500g ripe avocados
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (112g) superfine sugar
¾ cup (180ml) sour cream*
1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon lime juice
generous pinch of salt

Slice the avocados in half and remove the pits. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon and cut into small pieces. Transfer to a blender or food processor, add the sugar, sour cream, heavy cream, milk, lime juice and salt and blitz until smooth. Taste the mixture and adjust the sugar and/or lime juice if necessary.
Freeze immediately in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

* homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker

Makes 750ml

Strawberry cheesecake ice cream and a very, very scary movie

I’ve come to the conclusion that my courage, these days, is pretty much having ice cream (the one on the photo, delicious) in very cold days.

My sister wanted to watch “Insidious” and since I cannot say “no” to her I went along. I spent most of the movie with my eyes closed and that did not stop me from having nightmares about it for days. She left the theater laughing and told me the movie was not scary at all, while I drove home secretly wishing my husband were there already so I would not have to take a shower alone in the apartment. :S

And to think that I watched “The Entity” in my teenage years... What a shame. :D

Strawberry cheesecake ice cream
adapted from the always fantastic and delicious The Perfect Scoop, inspired by the beautiful Beyond the Plate

Cheesecake ice cream:
225g (8oz) cream cheese
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk
1 ¼ cups (300ml) heavy cream
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2/3 cup (133g) superfine sugar
pinch of salt

Strawberry sauce:
250g strawberries, hulled
1 ½ tablespoons superfine sugar, or to taste
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and place into a blender or food processor. Add the milk, heavy cream, lemon zest and juice, sugar and salt and blitz until smooth. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, make the strawberry sauce: purée the strawberries in a blender with the sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Press the purée through a fine strainer to remove the seeds. Chill.
Freeze the cheesecake mixture in your ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions. By the end of churning time add the strawberry sauce gradually to the ice cream maker to have some of it mixed into the cream and some of it creating a marbled effect. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.

Makes about 3 cups (750ml)

Lemon ginger frozen yogurt and the beginning of fall

Fall has arrived and the days have been gray in Sao Paulo – the sun comes up for a while, but fat, heavy clouds seem much stronger and take over the sky.

I am not complaining for I love cold days, but this frozen yogurt certainly reminds me of the last days of summer – fresh, tangy, delicious.

Lemon ginger frozen yogurt
slightly adapted from the amazing Bon Appetit Desserts

¾ cup (180ml) water
¾ cup (150g) caster (superfine) sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1 cup (260g) plain yogurt
1 cup (240ml) buttermilk
¼ cup (60ml) fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

Bring the water, sugar, corn syrup and ginger into a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat, strain into a medium bowl and chill until cool.
Whisk the yogurt, buttermilk, lemon juice and zest into the ginger syrup. Process mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve immediately or transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 weeks.

Serves 6

Peach frozen yogurt

A bowl of beautiful, ripe peaches was the beginning of this recipe, but my first idea was making the peach ice cream from the same book this frozen yogurt came from; I changed my mind after considering that using yogurt instead of cream would allow me to eat more dessert – talk about fat thoughts. :)

Peach frozen yogurt
from The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments

675g (1 ½ oz) ripe peaches (about 5 large peaches)
½ cup (120ml) water
¾ cup (150g) caster (superfine) sugar*
1 cup (260g) plain whole-milk yogurt
a few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice

Peel the peaches: cut an X at the bottom of each peach and lower them in a pot of boiling water for about 20 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the peaches to a colander and refresh with cold water – the peels will slip right off.
Slice the peaches in half, remove the pits and cut into chunks. Cook them with the water in a medium, nonreactive saucepan over medium heat, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until soft and cooked thought, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the sugar, then chill in the refrigerator.
Purée the peach mixture in a food processor or blender with the yogurt until almost smooth but still slightly chunky. Mix in the lemon juice. Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

* I suggest adding less sugar and taste – mine was a bit too sweet

Makes about 3 cups

Eggnog ice cream

Is there a better way to start something than starting it with ice cream? I thought so. ;)

My Christmas series has begun and I hope you enjoy the ideas for your holidays; David Lebovitz says that this ice cream goes wonderful with holiday desserts – and I believe him – but you must know that it goes well with just a sprinkling of freshly ground nutmeg, too.

Just make sure you read the amounts of booze before preparing the recipe – I don’t want to be accused of making everyone drunk with ice cream... ;)

Eggnog ice cream
from The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments

1 cup (240ml) whole milk
2/3 cup (133g) caster sugar
pinch of salt
2 cups (480ml) heavy cream
6 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons brandy
2 tablespoons dark rum
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Warm the milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Pour the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream to cool. Mix in the nutmeg, brandy, rum and vanilla and stir until cool over an ice bath – I just let it cool over the counter, then refrigerated it.
Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. Once the mixture is cold, taste it and grate in more nutmeg if you wish. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Makes about 1 liter (1 quart)

Oatmeal raisin ice cream

I know, I know... An ice cream post right after the salad and whole karma cleansing speech. What can I say? I am a lost cause. :D

In my defense, this ice cream has oats – even though they’re enrobed in caramel, they’re still oats. And oats are good for you. :D
If I were to make this recipe again I would double the amount of oatmeal praliné and skip the raisins; actually, I would triple the amount so I could nibble on some praliné while making the custard – this stuff is so delicious I almost ate it all before adding it to the ice cream.

Oatmeal raisin ice cream
from The Perfect Scoop

Raisins:
¼ cup (60ml) water
2 tablespoons caster sugar
½ cup (78g) raisins
2 teaspoons whiskey

Oatmeal praliné:
¾ cup (86g) rolled oats, not instant
½ cup (100g) caster sugar

Ice cream:
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
pinch of salt
2 cups (480ml) heavy cream
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (70g) light brown sugar, packed
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Prepare the raisins: heat the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Add the raising and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until all about but 2 tablespoons of the syrup has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the whiskey and let cool completely.
Now, the oatmeal praliné: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spread the oats evenly on the sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice while baking, until the oats are fragrant and nicely toasted. Remove from the oven.
Spread the sugar in a medium, heavy bottomed skillet and cook over medium heat, watching it carefully. When it begins to liquefy and darken at the edges, use a heatproof spatula to stir it very gently, encouraging the heat of the liquefied sugar to moisten the sugar crystals in the center.
Tilt the pan and stir gently until all the sugar is melted and the caramel begins to smoke. Once the mixture is deep golden, remove it from the heat and immediately add the oats (lift the foil to guide them in quickly). Return the foil to the sheet.
Stir the oats gently but quickly, coating them with the caramel. Scrape the oats onto the foil and spread them as well as possible. Let cool completely. Once firm, break into small pieces by pulsing them in a food processor or placing the praline in a heavy-duty plastic bag and smacking them with a mallet or rolling pin.
Make the ice cream base: warm the milk, granulated sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk the cream, brown sugar and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Set a mesh strainer on top.
In another medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour over the warm milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the mixture back into the saucepan.
Stir the mixture over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir into the cream. Mix in the vanilla and stir until cool over an ice bath (I simply let it cool over the counter then refrigerated it).
Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. During the last few minutes of churning add the raisins and oatmeal praliné.

Makes about 1 quart

Cheesecake ice cream with blackberry lemon swirl

After very cold weeks we’ve been having 30°C (86°F) days here in Sao Paulo – not very wintery, I admit it, but perfect for ice cream. :)

I bookmarked this delicious recipe last year but never made it during summer – that’s what happens when one has too many recipes on their “to try” list: lots of wonderful ideas to try, but not enough time to do it. :)

I tweaked Natalie’s recipe just a little to use the blackberries and lemons I had around, but she did not mind at all. :)

Cheesecake ice cream with blackberry lemon swirl

Blackberry lemon swirl:
generous ½ cup blackberries, fresh or frozen – I used frozen, unthawed
½ cup (50g) caster sugar
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
finely grazed zest of 1 lemon
¼ cup (60ml) water
1 tablespoon corn starch

Cheesecake ice cream:
112g (4oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (200g) caster sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (180ml) whole milk
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 ½ cups (360ml) heavy cream

Start by making the blackberry lemon swirl: combine blackberries, sugar, lemon juice and zest in a small nonreactive saucepan. In a small bowl, whisk together the water and cornstarch and add to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a boil and thickens – while you stir, break the blackberries with a fork so they dissolve into the jam.
Let cool completely.

Now, the cheesecake ice cream: in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy and smooth. Add the egg and vanilla, mix until creamy and set aside.
Bring the milk to a boil over medium-low heat. Remove from the heat and add ¼ cup of the milk to the cream cheese mixture and mix until combined and smooth. Continue with 2 more quarter cups of milk and then add the entire mixture back to the pan with the rest of the milk.
Stir over medium-low heat until thickened slightly (should take around 3 minutes). Remove from heat, strain mixture and cool for 10 minutes. Combine the zest, heavy cream and cream cheese mixture together then refrigerate for 1 hour. Pour into your ice cream machine and freeze according to manufactures instructions.
When ice cream is thickened and finished freezing, slowly pour in the blackberry lemon syrup and let ‘swirl’ a few times in the machine before turning off - you can also do this by creating layers of the ice cream to a container and adding the syrup between layers , then swirl with a knife a few times.

Serves 6-8

Fresh mint choc chip ice cream

Wasting food is not an option at my house – I’m sure none of you like that either. After making the pineapple mint sorbet there were still some mint leaves around – they smelled so good I started eating some while washing them. :)

Those mint leaves ended up becoming ice cream – choc chip mint ice cream, to make things even better. I always have the feeling the mint flavored sweets taste like toothpaste, but this ice cream doesn’t –the flavor is really subtle and, to me, delicious.

Fresh mint choc chip ice cream
from The Perfect Scoop

1 cup (240ml) whole milk
¾ cup (150g) sugar
2 cups (480ml) heavy cream
pinch of salt
2 cups (80g) lightly packed fresh mint leaves
5 large egg yolks
140g dark chocolate, finely chopped

Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup (240ml) of the cream, and salt in a small saucepan. Add the mint leaves and stir until they're immersed in the liquid. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

Strain the mint-infused mixture through a mesh strainer into a medium saucepan (the milk will be a lovely shade of emerald*). Press on the mint leaves to extract as much of the flavor as possible, then discard the mint leaves. Pour the remaining 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream into a large bowl and set the strainer on top.
Rewarm the mint-infused mixture. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mint liquid into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
Stir the mixture constantly over low heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.
Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator (5-6 hours); freeze custard in ice cream maker.
While ice cream is freezing, melt chocolate in clean metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring frequently, then transfer to a 1-cup glass measure. When ice cream has finished churning, carefully pour chocolate in a slow stream directly onto ice cream as it churns and continue to churn 30 seconds (chocolate will harden in streaks). Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

* mine was really pale, so I added a few drops of green food coloring

Makes about 1 liter (1 quart)

Watermelon sorbet

I used to think that brownies were the easiest dessert in the world but I was wrong – sorbets are easier! What a wonderful discovery. :)

The only “but” is that there is no bowl-covered-in-chocolate-goo to lick at the end. ;)

Watermelon sorbet
from Donna Hay magazine


1 cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (218g) caster sugar
½ cup (120ml) water
900g peeled watermelon
1/3 cup (80ml) lemon juice

Place the sugar and water in a saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.
Process the watermelon in a food processor or blender to get 2 ½ cups (600ml) juice. Place in a large bowl, add the sugar syrup and the lemon juice and stir to combine.
Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker* and follow the manufacturer’s instructions until the sorbet is firm. Transfer sorbet to an airtight container and put in the freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

*My ice cream maker would not hold all the mixture so I removed 2/3 cup of it prior to pouring into the machine

Makes 3 ½ cups

Apple crumble ice cream

In one of my days off I woke up decided to organize my bookshelf – it was a huge mess, you have no idea...
Going through all those books, magazines and recipe prints I ended up finding a CD I thought I’d lost for good – in moments like that I understand why my grandma always told me to be organized... :)

My favorite song on that CD is “Up from under” and from it comes one of my all time favorite song verses: “those days before I met you girl were just ice cream falling down on the shoes of my world” – if that isn’t proof of how important ice cream is to mankind, I don’t know what is. :)

Apple crumble ice cream
from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Custard:
2 ½ cups (600ml) heavy cream
1 ¼ cups (300ml) whole milk
3 cinnamon quills
5 egg yolks
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (74g) caster sugar
¼ cup (44g) brown sugar, packed

Caramelized apple:
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (124g) caster sugar
3 tablespoons vodka
¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream
1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 apple, peeled, cored and cut into 1cm dice

Crumble:
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (80g) self-rising flour
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (71g) brown sugar, packed
½ cup (72g) hazelnuts, coarsely ground
¼ cup (56g) cold butter, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Start by making the custard: combine cream, milk and cinnamon quills in a saucepan and bring just to the boil over a medium heat. Remove from heat, cover and stand for 30 minutes to infuse. Whisk egg yolks and sugars in a bowl until thick and pale. Reheat the cream mixture, pour gradually over the yolk cream, whisking to combine. Return to saucepan and cook over a medium heat until mixture coats the back of a spoon, strain into a bowl and cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

For caramelized apple, combine sugar, 2 tablespoons vodka and ¼ cup (60ml) water in a frying pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and cook for 4-5 minutes or until dark golden, add cream and butter – carefully, the mixture will bubble – and cook for another minute or until combined. Add apple, stir to coat then cook for 5 minutes or until apple is tender. Add the remaining vodka, stir to combine, then remove from heat and cool completely.*

Now, the crumble: preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and, using fingertips, rub together until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs (mixture should have large clusters). Spread over a baking paper-lined large baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Cool completely and coarsely crumble.
Freeze the custard in an ice-cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Spoon into a 2 liter-capacity rectangular container, drizzle with the caramelized apple mixture, swirling to combine and form a ripple effect. Scatter the crumble mixture on top and freeze for 3 hours or until required.

* after cooling, the caramel got too hard. So I drizzle it with a little heavy cream, popped it in the microwave oven for 45 seconds and then mixture it all together

Serves 6 – I wasn’t sure my ice cream maker would hold all the custard so I halved the recipe

Choc chip salted butter caramel ice cream

Today’s post is a short one: I almost sliced off the tip of my middle finger, so it’s pretty difficult to type. :(

All I’ll write is: make this ice cream. Right now, if possible.

Choc chip salted butter caramel ice cream
from the ice cream Wiz

2 cups (480ml) whole milk
1½ cups (300g) caster sugar
4 tablespoons (58g) salted butter
scant ½ teaspoon sea salt (I used Maldon)
1 cups (240ml) heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
140g dark chocolate, finely chopped

Start by making an ice bath by filling a large bowl about a third full with ice cubes and adding a cup or so of water so they're floating. Nest a smaller metal bowl (at least 2 quarts/liters) over the ice, pour 1 cup (240 ml) of the milk into the inner bowl, and rest a mesh strainer on top of it.

Spread the sugar in a medium saucepan in an even layer. Cook over moderate heat, until the edges begin to melt. Use a heatproof utensil to gently stir the liquefied sugar from the bottom and edges towards the center, stirring, until all the sugar is dissolved. (Or most of it—there may be some lumps, which will melt later.)
Continue to cook stirring infrequently until the caramel starts smoking and begins to smell like it's just about to burn. It won't take long. Once caramelized, remove from heat and stir in the butter and salt, until butter is melted, then gradually whisk in the cream, stirring as you go – be extremely careful, for the caramel will bubble like crazy once the cream is added; you might want to step away from the pan.
The caramel may harden and seize, but return it to the heat and continue to stir over low heat until any hard caramel is melted. Stir in 1 cup (240ml) of the milk.

Whisk the yolks in a small bowl and gradually pour some of the warm caramel mixture over the yolks, stirring constantly. Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook the custard using a heatproof utensil, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture thickens. If using an instant-read thermometer, it should read 71-77°C (160-170°F).
Pour the custard through the strainer into the milk set over the ice bath, add the vanilla, then stir frequently until the mixture is cooled down. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or until thoroughly chilled.
Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
While ice cream is freezing, melt chocolate in clean metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring frequently, then transfer to a 1-cup glass measure. When ice cream has finished churning, carefully pour chocolate in a slow stream directly onto ice cream as it churns and continue to churn 30 seconds (chocolate will harden in streaks). Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Because of the caramel in this ice cream, once churned and frozen, it'll remain nice & creamy (as shown in David’s photo.) To make it firmer, crank up your freezer a bit or store it in a shallow pan.

Makes 1 generous liter (quart)

Strawberry ice cream with caramel sauce and my new email

Before today’s recipe, there’s something I need to share with you: I’ve been having some problems with my email account and therefore I’ll use my Gmail from now on. Because I don’t know when I’ll be able to log in to the old account again, can I ask you guys something? If you have emailed me in the last couple of days, would you please resend me the email at patricia (dot) scarpin (at) gmail.com?
Thank you!

After all the trouble with my email, I needed something to cool off – nothing better than ice cream for that. And after spotting the gorgeous redder-than-red-strawberries Joao’d bought, I knew exactly which flavor to try. :D

This is not an overly sweet ice cream and goes perfectly with the caramel sauce.

Strawberry ice cream with caramel sauce
slightly adapted from Donna Hay magazine

½ cup (120ml) whole milk
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
½ vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
3 egg yolks
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (74g) caster sugar
500g strawberries, hulled
¼ cup (50g) caster sugar

Caramel sauce:
1/3 cup (80ml) water
¾ cup (150g) caster sugar
2/3 cup (160ml) heavy cream

Combine milk and cream in a 1- to 2-quart heavy saucepan. With tip of a knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean into mixture, then add pod. Heat the milk, cream and vanilla bean in a saucepan over medium heat until it starts to boil. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 30 minutes.
Reheat cream mixture over medium heat, stirring, until hot. Place the egg yolks and sugar (74g) in a bowl and whisk until thick and pale. Slowly pour hot milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking continuously. Return to the saucepan and stir over low heat for 4 minutes or until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Strain custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl, return vanilla pod to mixture, cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
Place the strawberries and extra sugar (50g) in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the strawberry purée to the cooled custard, mix well, then pour into an ice cream maker (remove vanilla bean). Follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Make the sauce: place the water and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to high and boil for 7 minutes or until golden in color – do not stir during this time, just swirl the pan around. Remove from the heat and allow the bubbles to subside. Carefully add the cream and stir – mixture will bubble. Set aside to cool.

Serves 6-8

Super lime ice cream

There are simple things in life that have the power of lighting up our day – like arriving home and finding a package or your favorite magazine waiting for you in the mailbox. I love that.

My copy of David Lebovitz’s ice cream bible was delivered Friday and Saturday morning I was in the kitchen, preparing a recipe from it. Are you surprised my first choice was a citrus flavor?? Didn’t think so. :D

Super lime ice cream
adapted from The Perfect Scoop

2 large limes
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (125g) caster sugar
½ cup (120ml) freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 3 large limes)
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
pinch of salt

Zest the limes directly into a food processor or blender. Add the sugar and lime juice and blend until the sugar is dissolved. Blend in the milk and heavy cream.
Chill for 1 hour, then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Makes about 1 quart (1 liter)

Pistachio ice cream

Two things this week have convinced me I should trust my instincts more often.

I saw a teaser for “The Wrestler” many months ago and thought “this is my kind of film”. A director a deeply admire – Julia Roberts got all the awards that year, but they should have gone to Ellen Burstyn – working with an actor from one of Alan Parker’s finest moments (one of my all time favorites. Can’t tell you how much I love that movie).

All I can say is thank you, Mr. Aronofsky. Thank you for one of the greatest films I have ever seen. Thank you for 2 hours of drama, poetry and all sorts of emotions. And thank you for NOT letting Nicolas Cage get the part.

The other nice surprise I had was food related. When I saw Ana Elisa’s pistachio ice cream I knew I had to make it - it had my name written all over it.
I finally made her recipe early on this week and the result was an ice cream I simply cannot resist. Absurdly delicious.

Ana, thank you. Thanking you 100 times would not be enough. :D

Pistachio ice cream

1 ½ cups (200g) raw, shelled and unsalted pistachios
3 ¾ cups (900ml) whole milk*
4 egg yolks
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (180g) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt

Place pistachio and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil; reduce the heat and let it simmer for 3 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon to keep the foam from overflowing. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 15 minutes.
Pour the pistachio-milk mixture into a blender. Cover with the larger lid and remove the central one. Place a folded kitchen tower over the remaining lid and blend the mixture until smooth – removing one of the lids will release excess steam from inside the blender and the towel will keep the mixture from splashing. Be careful when blending hot liquids.

Line a fine colander with fine muslin or cheesecloth and place over a large bowl. Pour the pistachio mixture over the cloth and set aside for about 10 minutes.
Gather the cloth ends and squeeze out over the colander until you get as much liquid as possible – you should get about 2 ½ cups (600ml) of pistachio milk.

Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl until light and fluffy. Set aside.

Heat the pistachio milk once again until it almost comes to a boil. Remove from heat and pour about ¼ of the mixture over the egg yolks, whisking well until smooth. Pour the remaining liquid, whisk and then return it all to the pan.
Place it over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 76 to 79ºC/170 to 175ºF on an instant-read thermometer (do not let boil).

Strain custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl, add vanilla and salt and mix well. Refrigerate it half-covered for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Freeze custard in ice cream maker, transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer until firm, about 4 hours.

* I had some heavy cream in the fridge begging to be used (it was about to expire), so I replaced 1 cup milk for 1 cup cream.

Makes about 1 quart (950ml)

Chocolate ice cream with macadamia brittle

I’ve already told you how much I love blogging and the several reasons for that – being you, the people who read me, an amazing one.

Another favorite reason is that I’ll write what I want, about what I want... About people I find beautiful and talented, or ugly and shallow – it is MY blog, after all. You have the right to disagree with me and we can have a nice “conversation” this way - because you are a very important part of my blog.

Of course there are those people who will only comment to show how inconvenient they are - I guess they have too much time in their hands. But I don’t care – for each one of those, there are 50 like you.

Because you make my days a lot sweeter I want to share this ice cream with you – with an extra help from crunchy caramel and buttery nuts.

Chocolate ice cream with macadamia brittle
from here and here

Ice cream:
2 cups (480ml) heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
140g (5 oz) bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped – I used one with 70% cocoa solids
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
¾ cup (150g) sugar
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Warm 1 cup (240ml) of cream with cocoa powder in medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to boil then reduce heat and gently simmer for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until smooth. Stir in remaining cup of cream. Pour mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as much as possible. Set mesh strainer atop the bowl. Warm milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan. Stir mixture constantly over medium heat making sure the scrape the bottom and corners, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (I used a wooden spoon). Pour custard through strainer and stir it into the chocolate until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Continue to stir over ice bath until cool – I just let the mixture reach room temperature then refrigerated it, covered.
Refrigerate the mixture to cool thoroughly and then freeze it in your ice cream machine per the manufacturer’s instructions.

Yields 1 quart

Macadamia brittle:
¾ cup (180ml) water
1 ¼ cups sugar
¾ cup unsalted macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

Butter a large baking sheet; set aside.
In a heavy saucepan, mix water and sugar with a wooden spoon. Place over medium heat and cook without stirring – you can swirl the pan around – for 12 minutes or until golden. Quickly mix in the chopped macadamias and pour the mixture over the prepared baking sheet. Set aside to cool completely then break into pieces or cut with a sharp knife.
Serve with ice cream.

Cherry ice cream with white chocolate

I know some of you will roll your eyes in despair because I replaced the dark chocolate in this recipe with white chocolate, but let me at least say that it worked really well! The ice cream itself is not overly sweet, so don’t worry about going into a sugar coma.

Think of this as a nice change – unlike replacing one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll singers of all time with this guy.

Cherry ice cream with white chocolate
from here

1 ½ cups pitted ripe sweet cherries (from about ¾lb/340g cherries)
¾ cup (180ml) milk
1 ¾ cups (420ml) heavy cream
½ cup (100g) sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons crème de cassis, kirsch, cherry liqueur, or rum (optional) – I used rum
112g (4 ounces) white chocolate, melted

Put cherries, milk, 1 cup (240ml) of the cream, sugar, and salt into a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat until the mixture is steamy, then lower the heat to warm and just let sit for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour mixture into a blender, or use an immersion blender, and carefully purée (Be careful because you are dealing with a hot liquid. Make sure you hold the cap down on the top of the blender while puréeing).

Put mixture into a large bowl. Stir in the remaining ¾ cup (180ml) of cream. Chill for several hours in the refrigerator until completely cold (Can also place bowl over an ice bath, to speed up the cooling process).

Before putting the mixture into your ice cream maker, stir in the lemon juice and the crème de cassis or other liqueur (or rum) if you are using. Note that you can skip the alcohol if you want, but the addition of it will help the ice cream from getting too icy, and the flavored liqueurs such as kirsch or crème de cassis can add a nice flavor boost to the ice cream. Churn the ice cream in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. When ice cream has finished churning, carefully pour chocolate in a slow stream directly onto ice cream as it churns and continue to churn 30 seconds (chocolate will harden in streaks).
Put in an airtight container and place in the freezer for at least an hour, preferably several hours.

Makes about one quart (950ml)

Stracciatella ice cream

After seeing photos of David Fincher’s new movie, I was stunned – couldn’t wait for it to premiere here in Brazil. Now that the day has come I don’t feel like running to the theater anymore... I anticipated it too much, I believe. I do that sometimes.

But not all anticipations are bad. There is one that has been pure joy – after months of dreaming of an ice cream maker I finally gave in and bought it. These fabulous girls were a huge influence, I have to say. Now I’ll be able to make their delicious ice cream and sorbet recipes, too.

Another great inspiration for ice cream lovers like me is David Lebovitz, and I started out with one of his recipes, found here. I’ve made this ice cream twice already – my husband and my brother finished up the first batch so quickly I could not get one single photo. :D

Stracciatella ice cream

1 cup (240ml) whole milk
¾ cup (150g) sugar
2 cups (480ml) heavy cream, divided
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
6 large egg yolks
¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
140g (5 oz) fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (no more than 60% cacao if marked), chopped

Combine milk, sugar, and 1 cup (240ml) cream in a 1- to 2-quart heavy saucepan. With tip of a knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean into mixture, then add pod. Bring mixture just to a boil, whisking until sugar has dissolved, then remove from heat. Cover and let stand 30 minutes.

Reheat cream mixture over medium heat, stirring, until hot. Whisk yolks in a medium bowl, then add half of hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly, then pour yolk mixture into remaining cream mixture in saucepan, whisking. Cook custard over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 76 to 79ºC/170 to 175ºF on an instant-read thermometer (do not let boil).

Strain custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl. Stir in vanilla and remaining cup cream, then return vanilla pod to mixture. Chill, uncovered, until cool, then chill, covered, at least 6 hours. Remove vanilla pod and freeze custard in ice cream maker.

While ice cream is freezing, melt chocolate in clean metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring frequently, then transfer to a 1-cup glass measure. When ice cream has finished churning, carefully pour chocolate in a slow stream directly onto ice cream as it churns and continue to churn 30 seconds (chocolate will harden in streaks). Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Makes about 1 quart (950ml)