Tag: ice cream

Roasted Rhubarb and Dark Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

So, here’s the story on this ice cream. It was delicious, it has the subtle but unmistakable tangy taste of rhubarb, with chunks of dark chocolate to keep it from being too retiring. But my fresh rhubarb was on the pale side, and so the color didn’t come through in the finished ice cream as vibrantly as I’d hoped. It’s actually a little pinker
than it shows up in the photos, but without the visual cue you probably
can’t imagine the flavor. So from a blogging/photographic standpoint this was a failure, but otherwise, it was fun to make, and tasted really good. If you can find yourself some bright red rhubarb this spring, I recommend giving it a try.

The dark chocolate chunks were a last minute whim. I was watching the pale cameo pink ice cream churn around in the machine and my chocoholic side got the better of me. I grabbed a couple of dark chocolate bars, chopped them up and threw them in.

I broke out my new ice cream maker for this recipe. It’s the same one I used to have but got rid of in a fit of ‘lightening our load’ when we moved a couple of years ago. It’s so quick and easy and I love that you can watch the whole process through the open top. I dipped my spoon in a couple of times while it was churning.

Roasting the rhubarb brings out and intensifies the flavor. It only takes a few minutes in a hot oven. The puree is added to sugar, heavy cream and milk and then into the machine. If you don’t have an ice cream maker you can make this with a food processor or good blender. Check out my Blackberry Ice Cream post for details. Basically you freeze the mixture in a large zip lock baggie and then break it up into your processor and process till smooth and creamy. It works!

Roasted Rhubarb and Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
oven to 400F
1 lb fresh rhubarb, washed, trimmed, and cut in 2 inch chunks.
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped, pod reserved
1 cup sugar
juice of half a lemon
10 oz dark chocolate, chopped

Put the rhubarb on a silpat lined baking sheet and roast for about 15 minutes, just until it softens and starts to release its juice.
Puree the hot rhubarb in a blender or food processor. Process until very smooth. Add the lemon juice and set aside.
Heat the cream, milk, vanilla seeds, and pod to a simmer. Take off the heat and let steep until cool.
Strain the cream mixture to remove the vanilla pods, and whisk it with the rhubarb puree. Chill in the refrigerator until very cold.
At this point taste the mixture. Add a little more lemon juice if needed. Pour into the bowl of your ice cream maker and process according to your machine’s directions. When it is almost finished, add in the chocolate chunks.

I know most people would have started off with plain vanilla or chocolate for their first try. But I couldn’t resist jumping right in and experimenting. If you’re going to make flavors that you can easily find in every grocery store, what’s the point of having an ice cream maker?

Amaretto Poppy Seed Ice Cream

I’m sending up a flare here — If you like ice cream, almond, Amaretto, and poppy seeds, you have to try this. If you like almond poppy seed muffins, you’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven.

I stood over the ice cream maker as it was churning and added the almond extract and Amaretto until it was just perfect. I said it before, but I just love the way you can interact with the ice cream as it freezes, through the open top in this Cuisinart machine. You can actually create a flavor as you go. For someone like me who loves experimenting with unusual combinations, this is a blast.

The almond flavor in this ice cream is dreamy. The crunch of the poppy seeds is so unusual and so delightful. You will love it!

Amaretto Poppy Seed Ice Cream
makes about 4 1/2 cups
3/4 cup whole milk
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cups poppy seeds
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tsp Amaretto liqueur
1/2 tsp vanilla paste or extract

Heat the milk, cream, sugar and poppy seeds in a saucepan on the stove, just until it comes to a simmer. Take off the heat and add the almond extract, Amaretto, and vanilla. Let it cool and then refrigerate for several hours until completely chilled.
Pour the chilled mixture into the bowl of your ice cream maker and process according to your machine’s directions. Mine took just 20 minutes of churning.
Eat right away or keep in the freezer for a firmer texture.

I really like that my ice cream maker makes very manageable sized batches of ice cream. It’s just right for a small family, an intimate group of friends, or just you and your partner. Or just you. In any case you’re not going to be swimming in extra ice cream, which is a good thing.

You know, every minute you waste staring is a another minute you can’t be putting this in your mouth.

Follow me on Pinterest, I have an Ice Cream board filled with inspirational flavors to try. I scoured the internet for the best recipes, from the most common to the most outrageous, so you don’t have to.

One year ago today—

Pasta with Fresh Peas, Lemon and Mint

Chunky Apricot Ice Cream

I can’t stand to see my new ice cream maker sitting there unplugged! As long as I’ve got potential ice cream ingredients hanging around, I can’t help myself. It’s such a nice change from baking, too, where everything has to follow an exact formula. Ice cream making is a forgiving, fluid process, just go with the flow and enjoy!

I didn’t fool around with this one, there’s a pound of fresh apricots in this
recipe. I didn’t cook or peel them—there is so much flavor in the
peels, and I was going for a fresh fruit taste. Just a touch of sugar and a little lemon juice is all they needed. At the last minute I threw in a few handfuls of chopped fruit to give it a chunky texture.

Chunky Apricot Ice Cream
makes about 5 cups
1 lb fresh apricots, plus 3 or 4 more for chopping and adding at the end
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon

Halve the pound of apricots and give them a rough chop. Put them in the bowl of a food processor, add the lemon juice, and process until you have a smooth puree. Pulse the machine and scrape down the sides as necessary. Give the extra 3 or 4 apricots a rough chop and set aside. You will add them into the ice cream later.
Add the sugar to the cream and milk, and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. This will take a couple of minutes. Stir until you feel no more grains of sugar left.
Combine the apricot puree and the cream mixture. Whisk until it is competely mixed. Refrigerate until very cold, at least 2 hours.
Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and run according to your machine’s directions. When the ice cream is thick and almost done, add in the reserved chopped apricot chunks, and let the machine run until they are well incorporated.
When the ice cream is done, it will be very soft. You can eat it as is, or put it in the freezer to firm up. Take it out of the freezer 15 minutes before serving to allow it to soften enough to scoop.

Note: Like any fresh fruit ice cream, this one is best served on the soft side. The heavy amount of apricots means that it will be slightly icy when it gets rock hard. (There is a lot of water in fresh fruit which contributes to the icy texture) Eat it within a few hours of being made, or let it sit out for a bit before scooping. This is quite tart, which I like. If you don’t like that you can omit the lemon juice.

Like my Rhubarb ice cream, the color of this one is a soft, almost vintage looking hue. It makes me aware of how much artificial food coloring goes into so much of the food we eat. Don’t be fooled by the subtle appearance, this ice cream packs a real apricot punch.
What’s your favorite flavor?? I have to keep my machine busy…

One year ago today—

Chef Gordon Ramsay Recipes

Tag: ice cream

Roasted Rhubarb and Dark Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

Amaretto Poppy Seed Ice Cream

Chunky Apricot Ice Cream

Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms and Hazelnuts