Tag: ice cream maker

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—

Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms and Hazelnuts

Double Oreo Ice Cream

I have a really bad habit of making food to post on my blog and then accidentally eating it all before taking pictures. This is especially true when I make something that I love…like this ice cream, which is my favorite ice cream of all time. The base comes from Jeni’s Ice Cream, so of course you know it’s good. The Oreos take it up a notch. First, a few Oreos are infused into the ice cream base to add to the flavor while it’s cooling over an ice bath. Then, so that you get swirls of crunchy Oreo pieces in the scoops, you layer the freshly made Oreo ice cream with layers of crushed Oreos. It’s perfect.

Now, here’s the bad part. I’ve made this ice cream five times, and I’ve never posted it. Sorry for holding out on everyone. The good news is that now you have it, and it can quickly become your favorite ice cream recipe as well! My favorite time to try ice cream is right when it comes out of the ice cream maker. I always make myself a big bowl of it at this point because it tastes like soft serve. The great thing about this recipe is that it stays relatively soft and easy to scoop. If you don’t have an ice cream maker I highly recommend investing in one. Homemade ice cream is a game-changer. Enjoy!

Double Oreo Ice Cream

Recipe from Scoop Adventures, made using ice cream base technique from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home

2 cups whole milk

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 ½ oz. cream cheese softened

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

2/3 cup cane sugar

1/8 cup light corn syrup

12 to 14 Oreo Cookies

Fill a large bowl with ice water. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch. In another large bowl, whisk together cream cheese and salt. Set a fine mesh sieve over the bowl and set aside.

Combine the remaining milk with heavy cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a large saucepan. Bring milk mixture to a boil. Cook over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves, 4 minutes. Off the heat, gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a boil and cook over moderately high heat until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 1 minute.

Gradually pour the hot milk mixture through the sieve into the cream cheese. Whisk until smooth. Break up 6 Oreos and put in the bowl with the hot milk mixture. Steep for 30 minutes to dissolve cookies and impart flavor. Whisk to incorporate cookies. Set the bowl in the ice water bath and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cool.

Chill the mixture thoroughly (at least 4 hours or overnight). Once chilled, whisk ice cream base to break up any remaining cookie pieces. Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Break up remaining cookies and sprinkle a layer of cookies into a plastic container (or other container for ice cream) and lightly spoon a layer of ice cream on top. Continue to alternate layers of cookies and ice cream until the container is full, topping with a sprinkle of cookie pieces.

Place plastic or parchment over ice cream (to prevent ice crystals) and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

Double Butterfinger Ice Cream

I’ve been on an ice cream kick recently. I like to make at least one
container of homemade ice cream every week. It’s cheap to make. It can
be made ahead. Varieties are endless… What’s not to love? Well, the
answer is that I make a container of homemade ice cream every week, and I
eat a container of homemade ice cream every week (with a little help
from my friends). I’ve determined that I’m a diet-killer for anyone
around me.

A few weeks ago I shared the amazing Double Oreo Ice Cream that I’ve
declared my all-time favorite ice cream. I love the Jeni’s bases, so
the Oreo layers just really took it over the edge. Since I make
that ice cream all the time, I began wondering how I could mix it up in
other incredible ways. Then it hit me: Butterfinger Ice Cream.

The key is to have a candy that can crush up easily and is super
flavorful. Butterfingers are my all time favorite candy. I don’t even
really know what they are. What is the flavor of a Butterfinger? “Crispety,
Crunchety, Peanut Buttery!” …their tagline is obviously no help. Anyways, I started with
the Jeni’s ice cream base, infused it with crushed Butterfingers, put
the base in the ice cream maker, and then when it came out, layered the
Butterfinger-flavored base with more crushed Butterfingers. So, it
was crushed Butterfingers, Butterfinger ice cream, crushed
Butterfingers, Butterfinger ice cream, etc.

I’m not sure it’s even necessary for me to tell you this was heaven in ice cream form. Every scoop has swirls of Butterfinger
combined with the already flavorful, smooth, creamy Butterfinger base.
Sorry for being a diet-killer, but you need to make this as soon as
possible. And once again, if you don’t have an ice cream maker, it’s a fantastic investment.

Double Butterfinger Ice Cream

Recipe made using ice cream base technique from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home

2 cups whole milk

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 ½ oz. cream cheese softened

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

2/3 cup cane sugar

1/8 cup light corn syrup

3-4 king size Butterfingers (3.7-ounce each) bars or 5-7 regular sized Butterfingers (2.1 ounce)

Crush up all Butterfingers and place in
bowl. Butterfingers should crush easily, so you can do this by breaking
them up while in the wrappers, or placing in a plastic bag and crushing
them in there.

Fill a large bowl with ice water. In a
small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch. In
another large bowl, whisk together cream cheese and salt. Set a fine
mesh sieve over the bowl and set aside.

Combine the remaining milk with heavy
cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a large saucepan. Bring milk mixture to
a boil. Cook over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves, 4 minutes.
Off the heat, gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a
boil and cook over moderately high heat until the mixture is slightly
thickened, about 1 minute.

Gradually pour the hot milk mixture
through the sieve into the cream cheese. Whisk until smooth. Place 1/4
cup crushed Butterfinger in the bowl with the hot milk mixture. Steep
for 30
minutes to dissolve candy and impart flavor. Whisk to incorporate. Set
the bowl in the ice water bath and let stand, stirring
occasionally, until cool.

Chill the mixture thoroughly (at least 4
hours or overnight). Once chilled, whisk ice cream base to break up any
remaining candy pieces. Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze
according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Sprinkle a layer of crushed Butterfinger into a plastic container (or
other container for ice cream) and lightly spoon a layer of ice cream on
top. Continue to alternate layers of candy and ice cream until the
container is full, topping with a sprinkle of candy pieces.

Place plastic or parchment over ice cream (to prevent ice crystals) and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.