Week 33: Balsamic and Black Pepper Gelato

So I figured it was time to make one of the weird ones. I was a little skeptical that this wouldn't turn out well but I had to give it a shot. And as it turned out it was great. Balsamic vinegar is sweet on its own but when its mixed with a creamy sweet base you really taste the vinegar's sourness. But no part of its flavor is overpowering. There is just enough of each flavor to make it interesting. The pepper punch sort of hits the back of your throat as you finish a bite. Its an interesting combination of a cold dessert being spicy. But I could see this becoming addictive. Its the type of thing that you could easily use as a simple desert after a rich meal. It would be better in small portions because I think for some it would get too overwhelming. Id like to combine other vinegar's and spices and see what I could come up with. Maybe an apple cider vinegar with cinnamon perhaps?

Week 32: Cinnamon Let Me In

Back on schedule. Today I made Cinnamon Stick Ice Cream. I was pleasantly surprised by the subtle cinnamon flavor that this has. I was afraid that it might have a strong eggnog taste but it isn't too bad. The texture is rich and smooth. The cinnamon didn't give it a graininess or chalkiness. It has a nice hint of cinnamon, like if you made cinnamon sugar on toast. Something crunchy like a honey roasted peanut or toasted walnut would be a great topping. I could see a nice caramel drizzle on it, like a snicker doodle. It would make a great ice cream sandwich between two graham crackers or sugar cookies. I didn't find it overly sweet so I think it would be ok to pair it with something a bit sweeter. I am really happy with this one. The addition of the cinnamon stick, not just ground cinnamon, did a lot for this. Its worth spending a little it to get the extra flavor. Even though the recipe didn't call for it I added a little vanilla extract. I think all ice cream needs it. This is a definite keeper. Easy, versatile, and comforting.

Week 31: Salty and Sweet

So I'm finally catching up, last week I made Pretzel and Chocolate Gelato. The recipe in the book called for a vanilla base with chocolate chips and pretzels. I favored a chocolate base with pretzels so that's how I did it. I may go back and try it her way sometime. One strong opinion I have to make on chocolate based ice cream ( since its been almost a year of making ice cream) is to use Baker's brand chocolate. I think it has a stronger chocolate flavor like what you would get from using cocoa powder but doesn't have a chalkiness that I find occurs with using chocolate chips. Even good Ghiradelli chips do leave some chalkiness. I also think it dissolves into the milk mixture better. It probably has a higher fat content that makes it a bit creamier too. All around I think it makes a superior chocolate base. From there you can add anything you want into it. I put pretzels in this  batch. Now there comes a texture choice. If you like the pretzels to be crunchy, which I prefer, you add them as a topping or mix them in yourself right before you eat the ice cream. If you like them soft, mix them into the batch as it churns. Words of wisdom: You may think you like the pretzels soft but after a few days they really get too squishy. It changes the texture and you don't enjoy the chocolate flavor as much. I should have put them on separately, but that's how I am able to give you such good advice. The other great thing about the crunchy pretzel on top is that you really get the good salt flavor. Its a great contrast to the rich creamy chocolate. When the pretzels sit in the ice cream the salt just sort of mixes in and you don't get that yin yang. I'm toying around with the idea of using chocolate covered pretzels in hopes that they might stay crisp and deepen the chocolate flavor. Any thoughts?

You just can't go wrong with chocolate and pretzels!

Week 30: This S#*t is Bananas

This was made several weeks ago and like usual I didn't get around to blogging about it. So here we go.

When I typically think of sorbet I think of a certain texture that is icy. However when you make sorbet from pureed overripe bananas and sugar syrup you end up with a smooth smooshy texture. Don't get me wrong it still tastes good but it doesn't scream sorbet to me. Maybe if the mixture was watered down more it may make an icier mix when frozen. Bananas are one of the only fruits that I really like just the way they are. We'll chocolate covered is even better but aside from that overripe bananas are not my favorite. Overripe bananas are essential to banana bread and that's where I think they should stay put. Its just a little to weird for me like this. I hate to hate on something like this but if you really love the taste of overripe bananas you will love this. I am definitely placing too strong an opposition to this. Sorry banana lovers :(

Week 29: Basil Gelato

We'll it doesn't taste like pesto if anyone is wondering. It has a great earthy flavor. Basil has a licorice taste to it and I hate licorice, but I like this. Perhaps because its sweet and not too strong (we'll see what its like tomorrow when the basil flavor has had a chance to develop.

I may not have chopped up the basil fine enough to take out the texture. In looking back at the picture in the book she had more flecks of basil and not really pieces of it as in mine. Its interesting to take a normally savory flavor and turn it into a sweet treat. its a big gamble that can only be done with certain flavors. This works well as a sweet flavor possibly because basil is a sweet herb to begin with.

I made Bolognese sauce today and it complimented it nicely. It makes a nice pairing with any Italian food I think. Even Thai or Indian food might benefit from a sweet basil dessert. The creaminess will definitely balance out any spiciness in the dish.

It was a simple base to make and might be nice to try with other herbs. I've had lavender ice cream before which was really neat.

Its a fancy, sophisticated treat that is impressive to have people try. Lets hope some folks are ambitions enough to try it tomorrow.

Week 28: Cocoa Sorbet

So I had better hopes for this one. The recipe was so simple I thought what could go wrong. Well it turned out more like fudge than sorbet. 3 ingredients, cocoa powder, sugar syrup and vanilla extract. I used agave syrup and a bit of water to thin it out. I'm not sure if that created the problem or if the thickness of the mixture was the issue. Maybe if it had more liquid, i.e. water in it, it would have gotten frozen like sorbet should instead of being still soft and fudge like. Don't get me wrong it was still good. And it was good on top of the white chocolate ice cream. But it wasn't sorbet.

I will keep it in mind when I want a good fudge or chocolate sauce recipe.

Been A Long Time

In the haze of preparing for our wedding, I've let my blogging slip.Slip isnt the word, more like drop from my life entirely. If it had a bigger following I might feel bad about it. But since I do this mostly for myself I have to just go with the flow. I set a goal that i wanted to make 52 ice creams and I'm going to do it. It just might take me a little longer or I may have to do double time to catch up. But it will get done. I did make ice cream during the hiatus. Lets see...

I made white chocolate ice cream which I was going to have for a baby shower at work but them decided on making three different ice cream cakes instead (vanilla, chocolate and strawberry). I made the cookie crust and used store bought ice cream like in this post. They were heart shaped and adorable and I wish I had gotten a picture.

I made some more Guinness ice cream that didn't come out so well, so Rob took a stab at and for his first time making ice cream he did amazing. Its not the easiest to make on your first try but it tasted amazing, It was nice of him to make an ice cream for me and I think he has a greater appreciation for this endeavor than he had before. He admitted it was hard work and didn't really want to make it again. I think the Guinness was what attracted him. Some beer for the ice cream more beer for him (haha!). I'll be making another attempt at Guinness ice cream for St. Patrick's Day. That is one ice cream where you have to stick to the recipe and not fiddle with it which is where I got in trouble.

A few weeks ago I made Cocoa Sorbet which I will blog about next.

 And today I made Basil Gelato will be the next post after that.

If I missed any mentions of ice creams made in the past few months I'll throw them in intermittently.

Pheww, I feel better for writing this out. I have to keep the momentum going and keep going. I've done alot of wedding planning and that is tapering down now so I should be able to get back to it regularly.


P.S. I have a board on Pinterest dedicated to ice cream related things. Check it out!
Feel free to send me things you think I should pin there.

I cant wait to make this pinned lovely from How to: Simplify...I'll need a decadent occasion for this one.

Week 27: Sweet Tart.....Lemon Vanilla Ice Cream w/ Raspberry Sauce

This ice cream is delicious. Its light and creamy, the perfect balance of sweet and tart. The lemon zest really pumped up the lemon flavor. It reminds me of a lemon chiffon. I like the softness of it with the vanilla more than I would if it was a sorbet. I think it would be too tart and too strong to pair well with the raspberry sauce. Berry sauces are so easy to make I don't know why I don't make them more often. They are great to make when you are having company. You can just purchase store made pound or angel food cake and pour over a raspberry or blueberry sauce and dollop with fresh whipped cream. So easy and beautiful. I use frozen berries when I make sauces because they break down just as much as fresh would and tend to be less expensive. Unless you get them at peak season. But frozen berries are picked when they are the freshest too, so you are guaranteed a consistent product that you don't always get when you buy fresh. They each have their place. Sorry for rambling about fruit. This ice cream would be great with in all sorts of combinations.

Here are some I like:
lemon vanilla with blueberry, pomegranate, or strawberry sauce
orange vanilla with chocolate sauce
ginger vanilla with mango, apple or peach sauce
lime vanilla with raspberry or pineapple sauce

The combos are endless!

When I am finished with the recipes from the book, I can explore this more...

The whole fun of cooking is trying new things. Experiment with store bought ice cream if you don't want to go out and buy an ice cream maker. Ice cream is meant to be fun, so play with mixing flavors and have fun with it! Let me know if you make something great!

Week 26: Espresso Gelato with Biscotti

We're halfway there! Week 26, WOW! I have to let you in on a little secret. I am not great at committing to projects. I get excited in the beginning but then I either don't finish something or get burnt out it the end. Its one of the flaws I hate about myself and I'm working on it. I was afraid I would do that with this blog. I have slowed down periodically but haven't lost enthusiasm yet about making ice cream. I am more excited about coming up with my own recipes once this 52 week adventure is over. But about this weeks flavor. Its espresso and there's no denying it. If you need a good wake-me-up at 9:00 or pick-me-up at 2:00 have a scoop of this. I am strange but not that strange, I like the smell of coffee and the taste of coffee flavored items but not the taste of real coffee. This gelato is appealing to me but not something I could have all the time. But for you extreme coffee fans this is amazing. Its one of those ice creams you can't hide making. The smell of the espresso is so strong and wonderfully rich. It perfumes the kitchen. The biscotti are a great addition to this because they add some body to the mixture and an extra sweetness. I used chocolate biscotti with almonds. When I tried it they were crunchy but the longer they sit in the gelato the softer they will get. I am excited to try it today again and see what the texture is like. Its only flaw - possibly not being sweet enough. I doubled the recipe and cut back a bit on the sugar because I thought the biscotti would make it sweet but it isn't as sweet as I thought it might be. It may be good to add a little chocolate sauce on top if you are serving it as a desert. If you don't like your coffee or espresso too sweetened than this would be perfect for you.

Cheers to a good pick me up to start the week off right! Happy Monday!

Week 25: All in the Family - Coconut Apricot Sorbet

I entered this year of blogging with the best of intentions. I wanted to start it off with a BANG, but it sort of fizzled. But I'll update you on the past weeks events and tell you whats ahead.

Well for starters I got engaged on NYE! I will figure out how to have ice cream at my wedding, don't you worry. The following week my cousin was supposed to make ice cream with me but the scheduling didn't work out. But she was here with me this weekend to make Oreo for her and we made Coconut Apricot Sorbet from the book. Both are really easy ice creams to get started with so I was happy that it worked out that way. 

For her reference and yours I'd like to go over the process.

Step 1: Make a sugar syrup. In a small saucepan, on medium heat, stir 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup water until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat to cool and refrigerate in a covered container. It lasts for at least a month in the fridge. 

Step 2: Mix 2 cups whole milk, 2 cups heavy cream, 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup sugar syrup in a bowl to combine.

Step 3: Pour into ice cream maker and run for 30 minutes or whatever your machine calls for.

Step 4: Put cookies (as many as you'd like) in a plastic zipper bag and crush them. This keeps the mess to a minimum.

Step 5: In the last 5 minutes of mixing add the cookies to the ice cream mixture. If you use a lot of cookies you may want to mix them in by hand after you have taken the ice cream out of the maker.

Step 6: Enjoy homemade Oreo ice cream!

See how easy it is! And if you have a KitchenAid mixer you can get the ice cream bowl attachment. So you don't have to have another appliance taking up space. It looks great. Direct from the manufacturer it is expensive but I have seen it retail as low as $35 on sale. So its a great investment if your just starting out with making ice cream. I must get one.

Aside from making Oreo we made Coconut Apricot Sorbet. It came out lovely. The coconut milk makes it slightly creamy and the apricot flavor is what you really taste. I couldn't find apricot juice so we pureed canned apricots. I didn't strain it because I like the chunkiness of having bits of apricot in it. It has shredded coconut in it as well which adds to the texture. There is a refreshing icy quality that I love about sorbet. On a day like today it might be a bit too cold to enjoy it but I'll certainly try.

A special thank you to my cousin. I am so happy that she was able to come and make ice cream. I think she really enjoyed it and was surprised by how easy it can be. She is welcome in my kitchen anytime. Maybe someday I will get her started with her own machine!

Week 24: Oh Snap! - Molasses Ginger Snap Ice Cream

This week's ice cream is perfect for Christmastime. I love gingerbread and this has all of those wonderful flavors in frozen goodness. The molasses ice cream on it's own is tasty but the addition of cookies makes anything better in my opinion. The cookies did get soft but I added some fresh ones crumbled on the top for crunch. You could create some great desserts with this ice cream. If you leave out the cookies in the ice cream you could layer it between two gingerbread men and make gingerbread ice cream sandwiches. I may make those for Christmas next year! You could also serve alongside or layer it between gingerbread cake. A frozen ice cream pie would be delicious with a ginger snap cookie crust. The cookie and ice cream combinations are endless.

On the box of ginger snaps I bought there was a cute note. According to Swedish tradition, you place a cookie in your hand, make a wish, then tap the cookie with your finger. If it breaks into 3 pieces then you're wish will come true. So far, every time I've tried this it's broken into 3. I'd like to hope that my wishes will come true. We'll have to wait and see.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I'll be taking a break for New Year's but I'll be back with a special sous chef. My cousin will hopefully be joining me the week after.

See you in the new year!

Week 23: Egg Nog Ice Cream

I have to be honest in saying I really don't enjoy Egg Nog. I wasn't particularly thrilled about making this one. But I'm also sad to report that it didn't blow me away. I thought it might make me like egg nog. To be honest it tastes like an eggier (I'm making that a word if it isn't) version of the cardamom ice cream. I didn't think about it till now but the first thing Rob said after tasting it was that it tasted like a chai latte to him. To be honest it's the same flavors in cardamom as in this, nutmeg, citrus zest of lemon and orange, orange flavor of grand marnier, and almond flavor of desarono. Not being a egg nog drinker I didn't know what to expect. I'm rather supprised that she would duplicate the flavors of a recipe for another recipe. Maybe it was unintentional. The one thing I omitted for severe lack of taste in is the anisette liquor. I hate the flavor Of licorice and maybe the duplicating of flavors is my fault for not adding it. It may have made it taste different. To me not better but others might disagree. To anyone out there who has made egg nog or egg nog flavored anything. What are the associated flavors? My bosses father used to mix egg nog with creme de menthe, so for her I made a bowl where I added peppermint extract. I think I put in a bit too much. It is a little overwhelming. This ice cream is very rich but for mr not in a good way. I like richness of flavor when it comes to a chocolate or coffee base, but a nutmeg, citrus, egg thing - I'll pass. I hate to diss her recipies but I think this would have been better with just putting bottled egg nog in the ice cream maker and flipping the switch. I hate when I make something I dislike, but I didn't have high hopes for this one. Sorry. I'f you love egg nog, I highly suggest experimenting with making your own ice cream with store-bought or homemade egg nog. If you do I'd like to know the results.

Happy holidays!

What Would You Do-oo-oo?

So I'm stepping it up a notch this week with homemade Klondike bars. But not just any Klondike bars, Triple Coconut Klondike bars. They have great coconut flavor and crunch from toasted coconut, sweetened flakes coconut, coconut milk, and I added cream of coconut to make it even more rich. So if you want to be technically correct its Quadruple coconut. Once I thought about the process it was really easy to make. You make the ice cream as usual, when it's still soft you spread it into a baking dish lined with wax paper (so the ice cream doesn't freeze to the pan). I used a 9x13 pan but if you had more ice cream you could use a deep cookie tray or sheet cake pan. I would just suggest that the mixture fill the container at least an inch high. Let it freeze until it's set enough but not too hard. Remove from pan with wax paper an cut into squares. My mom suggested that the new brownie pans that have inserts to make them precut would work great. I dont make brownies that often to need a pan like that, but they do seem neat. Once they are cut you can return the pan to the freezer if they thawed out too much, if not it's time to dip them in chocolate. I used magic shell! I love this stuff. I've used it before to make carvel-like ice cream cake. This stuff is amazing. I read online that you can make your own (see recipe below) by melting chocolate with coconut oil. Coconut oil is rather expensive, but maybe I'll try it sometime. You coat the bars in magic shell and then refreeze. It takes more magic shell than I thought, but it didn't solidify as quickly as I imagined. You have a little time to top it with nuts or cookie crumbles if you wish to add more texture or flavor. I meant to top some with almonds but forgot in the process of making them. You have to work somewhat quickly because if the bars get too soft the chocolate doesn't stick as well to them. The melted ice cream sort of seizes up the choclate a bit making it harder to get an even coating. But they're handmade, they don't have to be perfect. Mine certainly aren't but they sure taste like it. This is a great thing to try with any store bought ice cream too. You can come up with lots of different flavor combinations. The one benefit to making your own magic shell would be that you can make it with any type of chocolate. White chocolate would be beautiful with mint ice cream for Christmas. This is too easy and too good a treat not to try. It's one of those simple but fancy things that wow people. There's not much I wouldn't do for a Klondike bar, how about you?

Magic Shell Recipe:

1 1/4 Cups Chocolate Chips

1/2 Cup Coconut Oil (measured when solid)

Melt the coconut oil over very low heat. Slowly stir in the chocolate until completely melted and blended. Add a dash of salt. Store your topping in a jar or squeeze bottle. You don't need to refrigerate it, but if it does solidify, just nuke it for a few secs to make it all melty again.

Thankful for Butter Pecan Ice Cream

Per request from my family, I made Butter Pecan ice cream for Thanksgiving. I ended up making two different recipes. One was from Paula Dean on the food network, the other I found online was an adaptation from the joy of cooking. Both were pretty easy recipes. I've provided them below. Paulas was by far the easiest but didn't really provide enough real butter pecan flavor. It has pudding mix which is mostly what I taste when I ate it. It is less sweet than the other but tastes more like cake batter ice cream. The other recipe is really, amazingly good. Very rich in flavor and a lot of nuts which I loved. Both are creamy and smooth. Most of my family ate the one I favored, probably because I sold it better. But to be honest if I had just made Paulas recipe they would have loved it anyway. (A) because I made it and (B) it does taste good. One thing I will say I liked about Paulas recipe besides being ridiculously simple is that the pudding mix gave the ice cream a great buttery yellow color. So try both and see what you prefer.

Recipe Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

Butter Pecan Ice Cream on the Food Network

Back by Popular Demand...

So Oreo was a big hit last week except there wasn't enough of it for everyone to try. So I'm making it for a second week. I'll make a double batch this time so I can bring some to my dad. I'll be posting again when I make Butter Pecan for Thanksgiving. Stay tuned.

Week 22: Or-eo-eo Ice Cream

Perhaps the hardest thing about making this ice cream was scraping the cream filing off the cookies. Yes, I said it! I was shocked that the recipe said to do so, but I think it would have made it too sweet. And I get what she was trying to do here, the ice cream is the cream filling. I hated throwing that filling out but really couldn't stand eating it. I'm not really into eating frosting, and thats basically what it is. This ice cream was so easy to make, you could make it for any late night craving. You just make a simple syrup ahead of time (one cup of sugar and one cup of water, simmered till the sugar dissolves). It lasts for a couple months in the fridge. Equal parts whole milk and heavy cream, and you could really add the sugar syrup to taste. The recipe called for 1/4 cup for the 3 cups of heavy cream and milk together, and a dash of vanilla extract. Put this into a maker and then five minutes before its done churning, add the crushed oreo cookies. You could try it with the filling if you want it more sweet but I went for what the recipe said. If you do try it with the whole oreos, I'd like to know how it comes out. I wonder if Nabisco has thought of selling just the cookies. They would be great for desserts or people like me who just love the cookies. I'll have to make my dad a batch of this sometime, he loves oreos! I'm attempting to eat healthier and cook more at home, besides ice cream, but its hard to have the leftover sweets in the house. I still have most of the package of oreos left. I think I'll bring the cookies into work tomorrow so as not to tempt me.

I decided to make an oreo ice cream sandwich when I tasted it. It was delicious. Most people like oreos - they are the cookie of your childhood. They're nostalgic and comforting. This is a perfect combination of chocolate and vanilla. Its so easy you have to try it.

Week 21: Its the Great Pumpkin Gelato, Charlie Brown

I apologize for the huge delay in posting. I'm not having great luck lately. I wrote out a post yesterday and then lost it due to a blogger error on the iPad. Last week we were out of power as a snowstorm hit CT. I had to decide between plugging in the lights or running the ice cream maker. Sadly I chose the lights. Because of this I wasn't able to make my last week of pink ice cream for October. I feel disappointed for not being able to finish it but a donation will still be made to Susan G. Komen.

It was a week of adjustment. You don't realize how much you depend on power until you loose it for a week. I feel for those who are still without power. Because this was such a different week I was totally out of my routine. We stayed with my parents who had a generator and then got their power back mid week. I am so grateful for not having to sleep in a freezing house and see my homemade ice cream melt.

I had great plans for this weeks post but those didn't seem to work out well either. I downloaded an app called Dragon Dictation which types out what you speak into it. I thought this might be a fun and easy way to speak/write these blog posts. I was having some difficulties with the app. You dont have the ability to see what the program is typing as you are saying it, so you dont know what it has picked up until you stop the recording and look at the text. I had to speak very slowly to achieve accuracy and that gets kind of annoying after awhile. This app is great for short sentences or phrases, like a facebook status or tweet. I know they make a computer version which I think works better as it trains the program to learn your voice. I'll have to look into getting that. Anyway enough about that - Lets get to the ice cream!

It seemed perfectly fit to make Pumpkin Gelato as Thanksgiving is a few weeks away. Its also a very comforting and homey flavor that helps when you've had a stressful week. I had made pumpkin ice cream last year for Thanksgiving and didn't have great results. This was before I had this book of course. The texture was never quite right. I thought by adding butter cookies it would taste more like pie but it ended up making it gritty. On another attempt I think I added too much pumpkin and that was too strong a flavor and made it less creamy. But third times a charm I guess. This is creamy without too much spice to be overwhelming. Its not too sweet which I like. If you preferred it sweeter, to be more like pumpkin pie, I would drizzle some maple syrup on top or even better make maple whipped cream. Pecans on the top would add a great crunch. This would be nice to serve alongside pumpkin pie or any pie at Thanksgiving. Its easy simple ingredients will impress your holiday guests and make them very thankful for you and your ice cream.

Week 20: Oh So Tart - Cranberry Lime Sorbet

Continuing with my pink ice creams for breast cancer awareness month I've made Cranberry Lime Sorbet. It has a beautiful pink color and deliciously tart. This sorbet definitely packs a pucker. I like it for a change but I know that some who try it will say it needs to be sweeter. It uses fresh cranberries, which were surprisingly easy to use. I had never made cranberry sauce or anything with fresh cranberries before. Its fun to hear them pop when you cook them. This was such an easy sorbet to make and has great cranberry flavor. I'm really happy that this didn't just have cranberry juice in it. Sorbets with fresh fruit always taste better and have better texture I think, than when they just use bottled juice. Its the perfect time to make this as fresh cranberries are readily available in the grocery store this time of year. I really need to make more with them. The lime juice and lime zest gives a great refreshing citrus punch to this sorbet. I love citrus flavors. Cranberries are really good for you. This sorbet is pretty healthy. There isn't a huge amount of sugar in it and all of the natural goodness of the fruits are there, especially the whole cranberries themselves. 

This would be great for the holidays. I still like to eat ice cream even when its cold out. This would taste wonderful with a berry crisp or cobbler. It would also be a great side to a creamy desert like a cheesecake or custard pie. 

Only one more pink ice cream to finish out October. Again, any suggestions are welcome. 

Guinness Ice Cream for Robs Birthday

Yesterday was Robs birthday and I was so excited to make a special ice cream flavor for him. I've wanted to make an ice cream with beer for awhile and since Rob loves beer it was only perfect. Not every beer lends itself well to an ice cream form but Guinness is perfect. The Guinness itself is creamy and rich and didn't take much to transform it into a wonderful sweet desert. I was really surprised that it still tasted like beer, I was nervous that the sugar would make the beer taste too sweet but this seems perfectly balanced. Beer and non-beer drinkers liked it. It has great coffee and chocolate flavored undertones that make it appealing to all. This is a seriously awesome treat that will wow anyone at your next St. Patty's Day celebration. Its a must make for all the Guinness lovers in your life.

he had ice cream for breakfast

I stumbled upon a blog recently called Ice Cream Ireland by a guy who owns an ice cream shoppe in Ireland. I figured this would be the best place to look. I searched his blog for Guinness Ice Cream and I wasn't disappointed. His recipe uses a different technique than I was used to but it was perfectly suited for this concoction. I've provided his recipe here:

Murphys Guinness Ice Cream
1 Cup (237ml) Sugar
5 Egg Yolks
1 1/8 Cups (266ml) Cream
1 1/8 Cups(266ml) Milk
500 ml Guinness
A handful of dark chocolate chips.

Yield: 6 Servings

1. Measure out 100ml of Guinness and set aside.

2. Boil the remaining 400ml Guinness until it reduces to 100ml in volume. Cool.

3. Beat the sugar and egg yolks together until thick and pale yellow.

4. Bring the milk to a simmer.

5. Beat the milk into the eggs and sugar in a slow stream.

6. Pour the mixture back into pan and place over low heat. Stir until the custard thickens slightly (around 70C). Use a thermometer, as at 75C the eggs will scramble!

7. Allow the custard to cool.

8. Stir in both the reduced and non-reduced Guinness.

9. Whip the cream.

10. Gently fold in the custard.

11. Freeze using a domestic ice cream machine, or cover and place in the freezer.

Notes:

1. I haven’t made this recipe for home use, so I would love any feedback if you try it!

2. The photo of 3 litres of Guinness is what I used. Don’t pay any attention to the volume!

3. I combine reduced and non-reduced Guinness because using just reduced loses a bit of freshness in terms of flavour.

4. You don’t have to use the chocolate chips of course, but I do think Guinness and chocolate go well together. You could also use this as a companion to a chocolate cake.

Watermelon Sherbet

Well I knew it would happen eventually, I would make an ice cream so bad that even I wouldn't eat it. Such was the sad case of the Watermelon Sherbet. So let me preface my thoughts by stating that this was not in the book. If it was I would have been more upset as Sue hasn't let me down yet. The main problem with this recipie was the gelatin. I did as it said to proof the gelatin in cold water before heating it and adding it to the watermelon puree. Somehow when it cooled in the freezer layers of gelatin formed in the mixture. I didn't see clumps of gelatin when i took the sherbet out of the ice cream maker this morning. The surrounding non gelatinous parts tasted good. It had nice watermelon flavor and the cream made it smooth. But when you hit a chunk of gelatin ( and there were some pretty big chunks in there! ) it left an awful taste in my mouth. Like you chewed on a piece of fat in your ice cream! I was so disgusted with the look and taste of the chunks, I threw it away. I don't think I will make an ice cream with gelatin in it again.

All you can do is try and that's what counts. On a better note moms pie was delicious! The French Vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce was the perfect addition to it. It more than made up for the awfulness of the sherbet.

Let's hope next weeks pink concoction is better. If anyone has a suggestion, I'm all for trying new things. You just never know.