Week Twenty-Two: Biscoff Cookie

This flavor is kind of a cop out. But it's also super delicious, so I don't feel bad. And, as it turns out, it's born to fill an ice cream sandwich...I haven't figured out what the perfect sandwiching cookie would be (Yes, I thought of Biscoff cookies. And no, I don't think it's the right cookie to sandwich said ice cream between.) but I'm going to find out. I'm thinking some sort of chewy gingersnappy sugar cookie hybrid. Anyway, to the point...

I suppose the inspiration came years ago, aboard a Delta Airlines flight. I was given some tasty biscuit-like cookies to snack on during my travels and the flavor stayed with me. Not literally, that would be weird. And unsanitary. But figuratively, I couldn't forget this brilliant little cookie. It was crispy, shortbready, caramely, cinnamony, slightly-gingery perfection. Years went by and one day I stumbled upon these cookies in the grocery store - who knew civilians could purchase them for home consumption?! Well, I knew now...and consume I did. At my home and in other people's homes. They became my go-to accompaniment for things like pumpkin dip and chocolate pot de crème...or whipped cream, in true fat-snacker style.

So a thumbs up to this one. Anyone interested in trying to make it, you can look on the Biscoff website to find out where the spread is sold. And I also recently found out from a friend (Hey, M!) that Trader Joe's makes it's own version, cleverly called Cookie Butter. If you're not up to making the ice cream, at least do yourself the favor of buying the spread and eating it in it's intended form...it's amazing!

Biscoff Cookie Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup Biscoff Spread

1. Pour the milk and heavy cream into a saucepan and heat over medium high until bubbles start to form around the edge.

2. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk to combine.

3. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, slowly pour egg mixture into the milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

4. Pour the hot milk mixture over the Biscoff Spread and whisk until combined. Pour through a sieve into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

5. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. Pour into a freezer-safe container.

6. Spread between some cookies (tell me which one's you try!) or just grab a spoon and enjoy!

Week Twenty-One: Butterbeer

This flavor was intended for the week of May 23rd, aka my fabulous sister-in-law's birthday! When trying to come up with a flavor she'd enjoy, I racked my brain for delicious inspiration. A watermelon lime sorbet? Or perhaps some sort of Chips Ahoy concoction? No, these just wouldn't do. (Although I might come back to that sorbet in some form later this summer...) I kept digging until I thought of something I thought she would love, even though she wouldn't get to taste it this time around. And then it hit me: WWHPE? That is, What Would Harry Potter Eat? And the answer to that, my friends, is Butterbeer Ice Cream. And so that's what I attempted to create!

For those of you who haven't read the perfectly brilliant Harry Potter series, butterbeer is a beverage consumed in the wizarding world. (And for those of you who don't know my sister-in-law, she LOVES Harry Potter!) The drink is never clearly defined in the books but I always imagined it to taste something like liquid toffee...and that's what I kept in mind when creating this concoction. I also made a few alterations to the normal base I've been using: first, I tried using a couple less egg yolks in this recipe, after I found the tres leches ice cream to have a slightly egg-y odor. (Unfortunately, the results weren't as great as I imagined. While the finished product had a great taste, the consistency was kind of icy. So if anyone at home is going to try this flavor at home, I'd suggest bringing it back up to six yolks.) The second change, thought it wasn't actually a change, was to pay attention to the temperature of the milk as I went along. I'm not entirely sure that it made a difference, so I won't go into detail in this post. But rest assured that the heat is on...as far as my milk research goes. I'll keep you posted as I learn more!

Just as a sidenote:I was super excited to use the brown sugar in this recipe. It has been waiting impatiently in the cabinet for almost two years to be used for something very special. My husband brought it back for me from his nine-week stint on the island of Mauritius, where one of their greatest exports is cane sugar. And if a Harry Potter-inspired ice cream in honor of one of my favorite people in the world isn't reason enough to use the sugar, then I just don't know what is!

So here you have it, muggles...

Butterbeer Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup brown sugar
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup toffee bits (I just bought them but feel free to make your own!)
1 cup butterscotch sauce (recipe follows)

1. Pour the milk and heavy cream into a saucepan and heat over medium high until bubbles start to form around the edge.

2. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk to combine.

3. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, slowly pour egg mixture into the milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

4. Pour through a sieve into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

5. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. Just before the end, add the toffee and churn until incorporated. Pour into a freezer-safe container, layering in the butterscotch sauce.

6. Accio, spoon! Now, put down the wand and enjoy!

Butterscotch Sauce

Ingredients

1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter.

2. Once melted, add the brown sugar, heavy cream, and salt to the butter and stir to combine. Let simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract. Pour into heatproof container and keep refrigerated until use.

Week Twenty - Tres Leches Cake

Boy oh boy...what a back injury and a heat wave can do to your desire to make ice cream! Here's a post from a May flavor:

For Mother's Day, I wanted to make something I knew Proud Mary (my mom!) would love to eat. This would be tricky, however, considering the woman eats like a bird. A bird who doesn't like sweets. But if there is one dessert my mom cannot pass up, it's a piece of tres leches cake! Each month, she and her lady friends from the office go out for their night on the town, agreeing on a restaurant and having a real wine and gossip fest. It seems like every other time I hear about this event, they're ending up at one of two restaurants that serve tapas-style food and they're always sharing a piece of tres leches cake for dessert. I will say here and now that if I am sharing one piece of cake with three or four women at any point in my life, I sure hope that piece of cake is the size of a microwave. But I digress...

Back to tres leches cake. This tasty treat is typically a sponge cake (or in this case, Entenmann's Butter Loaf) soaked with three different types of milk, or tres leches: condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream. (I believe it can vary, but that's the recipe I went with.) Done right, it's a moist and delicious treat! In making the ice cream version, I decided to cube up some cake (enter the Entenmann's) and soak it, then layer that into the finished ice cream base. The results were pretty delicious, if I do say so myself! And I'm pretty sure Proud Mary agrees...

Tres Leches Cake Ice Cream

 
Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
3 cups cubed cake, soaked in mixture of 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1/8 cup sweetened condensed milk, and 1/8 cup evaporated milk

1. Pour the milk, heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk into a saucepan and heat over medium high until bubbles start to form around the edge.

2. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk to combine.

3. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, slowly pour egg mixture into the milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

4. Pour through a sieve into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

5. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. Just before the end, add the cake and churn until incorporated. Pour into a freezer-safe container.

6. Grab some friends and some spoons and dig in!

Week Nineteen - Saffron and Honey with Macerated Figs

Holy crow! This one was a real doozy, folks. A real doozy. The inspiration for this flavor came from a jar of honey harvested by one of my father's family members. I don't know who, exactly, otherwise I would credit them directly. Nevertheless, a relative of mine has honeybees and jars their honey and it's tasty...so I said to myself, "Let's make an ice cream out of this gold!" Around the same time that the honey came into my life, the spice shop near my work mentioned a new saffron powder on their Facebook page. Yadda yadda yadda...a flavor was born! Or at least, the idea for a flavor.

Fast forward to Tuesday of this week, when I finally had the time to play in the kitchen. I started measuring, pouring, mixing, snapping pictures...all the while, dancing to Arcade Fire. I get to the point where I need to pour the egg mixture into the milk mixture and all hell breaks loose. More specifically, I am left with a giant curdled mess. So I get rid of the smelly, nasty stuff and head to meet my mom and friend to go shopping. Yay!

Upon returning home that evening, I am rejuvenated. I had some tasty spaghetti squash for dinner, I got a cute outfit to wear to my birthday party this weekend, and I'm ready to take another crack at this...let's mise en place! Again, I start pouring and mixing, certain that the issue earlier was a few bad eggs. These new eggs are looking good...and pour and mix and mix and...CURDLETOWN! Again! At this point, it's almost 10pm and I'm not pleased. A dozen eggs, $10 worth of saffron, a pint and a half of cream, and the entirety of the honey...all gone. Into the trash this batch goes and I'm off to watch Downton Abbey and eat some string cheese.

I let a day go by so I could collect my thoughts and replenish my supplies. Tonight, with a belly full of weird Weight Watchers casserole and the sweet sounds of Weezer to cheer me on, I stepped back up to the plate. I had replaced the honey my dad gave me with some store-bought version, convinced that the raw honey I had been using was the culprit. I also reduced the number of egg yolks from six to four, thinking mostly that if there are less eggs then there is less of a chance they'll curdle. (Brilliant, right?) Lastly, I decided to add the honey to the milk rather than the eggs, which is what I had done both times earlier, and I was sure the honey was curdling the eggs. Well, readers, it worked. Whether it was the eggs or the honey or Rivers Cuomo's voice, the stars aligned in my tiny kitchen tonight and this flavor finally came together!

And after all the hullabaloo, I am pleased to finally share with you...

Saffron and Honey Ice Cream with Macerated Figs

Ingredients:

1 cup dried figs
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp saffron threads
1/2 cup honey
4 egg yolks
1/4 sugar

1. Cut the stems from the dried figs and cut into 1/2" pieces. Put in bowl along with water and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate.

2. Pour the milk and heavy cream into a saucepan and add the saffron. Warm milk slightly then cover and remove from heat. Allow to steep for twenty minutes.

3. After twenty minutes, strain milk mixture and return to clean saucepan. Heat at medium high and add honey, stirring to combine. Heat until small bubbles begin to form around edge of pan.

4. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk to combine.

5. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, slowly pour egg mixture into the milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

6. Pour through a sieve into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

7. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. Just before the end, add the figs and churn until incorporated. Pour into a freezer-safe container.

8. Put on some cool plastic frames and a cardigan (a la Rivers, of course) and snack away!

Week Eighteen - Chocolate Almond Brittle

I shall begin this long-overdue post with a giant hug and an apology: I'M SORRY I AM THE WORST AT BLOGGING! I've had quite the busy May, beginning with a back injury, then a trip to Florida and a trip to our nation's capital, then a thirtieth birthday (eek!) and a few friends' birthdays sprinkled in between all that fun. So I haven't forgotten about you, my loyal readers. I've merely been selfishly concentrating on me. And for that, I am truly sorry. I promise to make it up to you by writing multiple spellbinding posts this week! And we'll start with this one, Chocolate Almond Brittle...

This flavor was intended for the first week of May, during which my big brother had a birthday. In deciding on a flavor fit for this Canadian King (This shall henceforth be your nickname, brother. At least, for the length of this post.), I wracked my brain for something that reminded me of him: Pizza Goldfish-flavored ice cream? I'd probably eat that but I fear I'd be alone. Perhaps something inspired by the Chunky candy bar, which he would oddly accept in a monumental candy swap at Halloween for four delicious Fun Size Snickers bars? I didn't like Chunky bars then and I'm sure not changing my tune now. But wait! What was that silly salad he tried to pawn off on the family at Christmas a few years back? It was his infamous "Chocolate and Almond Salad", a salad that sounds most delicious but is quite deceiving in its title. Allow me to further explain...

I take you now to Christmas Eve, circa 2005ish, at my parents' house in New Jersey. For a few years now, my family has been eating Christmas Even dinner at the Chinese buffet. Gross and classy, I know. But it was my grandfather's only Christmas wish and we were happy (through gritted teeth) to grant the man this much. This year, however, we were taking a stand. You see, my grandfather has passed away at this point and it had come out in the past day or so that none of us actually enjoyed eating at the Chinese buffet. Why then, we wondered, would we keep the tradition alive? We would not! We quickly scrapped the Chinese buffet plan and began working on a new one, one that involved all of us cooking a different course of the meal and then voting on the best - because we're glory hogs like that. At this point, it was 4pm on Christmas Eve and we all piled into the car to head to the grocery store to procure the necessary ingredients. Alas, friends, grocery stores don't stay open this late on Christmas Eve. Up the river we went, utterly paddle-less.

It was at this point that my darling mother remembered a beloved tradition from her childhood, whereby my Nana would decide she didn't feel like cooking for her family of eight and she would loudly declare "EXPERIMENTAL DINNER!" This declaration would bring her six children barrelling into the kitchen on a mission to create the most delectable dishes the could using only what they could find in the cabinets. As she finished the explanation, my siblings and I let out an astounding "Yes!" in unison. "This is a challenge we are willing to accept!" (Note: We didn't actually say that but I'm building the story so bear with me.) So off to the kitchen we scurried, tearing open cabinets, drawers, and refrigerator doors. The youngest of us took off to prepare his favorite, Chicken Francaise. I zeroed in on a box of graham cracker crumbs and a package of instant chocolate pudding...to the wine glasses for a tasty parfait dessert! My sister began to pile up the veggies and in steps the Canadian King with the suggestion of his "Chocolate and Almond Salad". "That sounds great! What is it?" we asked, excitedly. And then he showed it to us: a cereal bowl filled with a sad melange of slivered almonds and chocolate chips. We scoffed at him, because obviously that is no salad, and then gladly ate the entire contents of the bowl.

Meals were plated, food was pushed around, and eventually a winner was declared. It had been decided that the egg hadn't been given enough time to drip from the chicken before breading it in the Chicken Francaise dish, thus leaving us with Lemon-Flavored, Scrambled Egg-Coated Chicken Surprise. Slight fail. My sister's dish mustn't have been too horrible, nor too memorable, because I have no idea what it was. (Sorry, sis.) The red beans and rice that my older brother eventually decided upon were palatable, though they lost the bulk of their points when he explained that "you can tell when they're done when the go from looking like baby vomit to baby poop." Mmm. And my beautiful parfaits were enjoyed for at least two minutes before I declared that they were disgusting and everyone loudly agreed: while an inch-thick layer of graham cracker crumbs might look nice, it ends up creating the sensation of ingesting sawdust. So in the end, the winner of this sad meal was my father's cornbread. Cornbread that came from a ten cent box. Dinner was served.

So there you have it. The inspiration and insanely long tale behind it. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I've enjoyed eating this new flavor...

Chocolate and Almond Brittle Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 1/2 cups almond milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
2 cups almond brittle (recipe to follow)

1. In a saucepan, combine the cocoa powder, 1/3 cup sugar and the water. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about three minutes.

2. Chop the chocolate and add to the cocoa mixture, stirring until smooth.

3. Pour the almond milk and heavy cream into a saucepan and heat over medium high until bubbles start to form around the edge.

4. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk to combine.

5. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, slowly pour egg mixture into the milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling.

6. Add the chocolate mixture and continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

7. Pour into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

8. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. When done, mix in the almond brittle and pour into a freezer-safe container.

9. Enjoy after dinner, preferably not an experimental one.

Almond Brittle, adapted from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
3/4 tsp salt
8 tbs butter
1 1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 tsp baking soda

1. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat and spray lightly with cooking spray.

2. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt and heat over medium-high, stirring constantly.

3. Once the sugar is dissolved, insert a candy thermometer and add the butter, allowing the mixture to come to a boil.

4. When the temperature comes to 300 degrees, remove from heat and add the almonds and baking soda, stirring quickly to fully combine.

5. Pour the mixture onto the prepared sheet and spread with a silicone spatula. Allow to cool.

6. When completely cooled, break the brittle into smaller pieces and put in a zip top bag. Using a mallet (or ceramic spoon rest, in my case) break the candy into bite-size pieces.

7. Keep two cups aside for the ice cream and enjoy the rest! Beware, it is probably not good for those with fillings or crowns. Or anyone who cares about their teeth, I suppose.

Week Seventeen - Sweet Corn with Blueberry Compote

This past week's flavor was Jersey-inspired! My manager at work just left to move to Boston so I wanted to make him something to represent the great state he's leaving behind. Pork roll-flavored ice cream was definitely not an option so I looked to the Garden State's produce offerings and decided that these two flavors would work perfectly. (Full disclosure: Jersey corn and blueberries aren't quite in season yet...so this batch was made with some imposter produce. I'll have to remake it later this summer when the good stuff is bountiful. But for now, it's the thought that counts...right?)

Most of you, my lovely-and-loyal readers, are either current or former New Jersey residents. For those who aren't, let me let you in on a little secret: this state is so much better than reality television leads viewers to believe! While Seaside Heights does have its fair share of raunchiness and there are definitely some killer accents, the majority of this state has much more to offer. The beaches are beautiful. Well, most of them are beautiful. Our waters are home to Ellis Island. We were also home, at one point or another, to Thomas Edison. And David Copperfield. And Whitney Houston. AND THE BOSS! Our state is so good, in fact, that we have sports teams from other states residing here. (In your face, New York!) And to top it all off, Jimmy Hoffa is probably buried here.

All this is to say that for as much bad publicity that New Jersey gets, it's still an okay place to be. And if you're gonna be here, you may as well eat some delicious produce. Either in the healthy way that nature intended or in a delicious ice cream...

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sweet corn, cut from the cob

1. Pour the milk and heavy cream into a saucepan and heat over medium high until bubbles start to form around the edge.

2. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk to combine.

3. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, slowly pour egg mixture into the milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling.

4. Add the corn and continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

5. Pour into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

7. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. When done, layer into a freezer-safe container along with blueberry compote (recipe below) and freeze.

8. Enjoy this one...'cause it's pretty delicious!

Blueberry Compote

Ingredients:

2 cups blueberries
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until blueberries start to pop.

2. Lower heat to a simmer and continue to cook for 20 minutes, until thickened. (Note: my compote wasn't as thick as I would have liked by the end of cooking so I made a cornstarch slurry - 2 tbs cornstarch and 1 tbs water - and mixed that in, then heated the mixture for another ten minutes.)

3. When done, allow to cool then place in a container and refrigerate until use.

Week Sixteen - Quisp Cereal

Welcome to the long-overdue "I HAVE A NIECE!!" post! As I mentioned ever-so-briefly in a previous post, my husband's sister had a baby on Easter! Not just any baby, the first grandbaby in the family! And not just any first grandbaby, but the cutest little girl in the whole wide world! (Note: To any future daughters I may have, Mommy loves you and thinks you're just as cute as her niece!) The past few weeks have been filled with lots of baby-cuddling and a few fun shopping trips and I am loving every minute of it!

Now, why, you might ask, am I making an ice cream based on a weird 1960's breakfast cereal in honor of my new niece? Fair question. To answer this question, I must first rewind to the weekend we all first found out about this beautiful baby. This past August, my husband and I had planned a trip to the New Jersey Shore along with his sisters and their significant others. While composing our grocery list, it was decided that each couple would bring three different types of breakfast cereals. (We're a cereal-lovin' bunch and didn't want to be left hungry!)

 Our most-impressive selection

Upon arrival, my husband and I proudly displayed our selections: Corn Pops, Golden Grahams, and Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch. As the other cereals made their way to the kitchen counter, we all wondered aloud about a strange blue box with a peculiar alien-like fellow on the front. My sister-in-law's husband immediately grew wide-eyed and happily frantically described Quisp cereal and it's honorable mascot, Admiral Quisp. He listed the many reasons why it is awesome, including the fact that it tastes like Cap'n Crunch but doesn't stab the roof of your mouth - which Cap'n Crunch most certainly does. Also, Admiral is a higher rank than Captain (or in this case, Cap'n) so obviously this is a superior breakfast treat.

 The Admiral - pretty lame mascot, no?

Quisp was the first cereal to go that week, though I won't agree that it is the best. (Golden Grahams! You're not just good, you're golden!) I should also add that all nine of the other cereals were finished by the end of the week - cereal slobs! But if one thing was clear by the end of it all, it was that we found the world's #1 Quisp fan. And that guy is now a dad. And if he is anything like my dad, I know he'll be feeding his baby Quisp as soon as humanly possible.

So in honor of the new Dad (and Mom, and Beautiful Baby Girl)...

Quisp Cereal Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
2 cups Quisp cereal

1. Pour cereal into a bowl and crush with your hands, just to break it up a bit. Add milk to cover and top with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for three hours.

2. After three hours, remove plastic wrap and pour cereal mixture through fine sieve. Clean sieve and pass mixture through again to ensure all the solids are removed. (That scrambled egg-looking mess was most delicious and I'm certain it could have a second life - I just haven't figured out what. But don't waste it!)

3. Measure out two cups of cereal milk (Drink the rest! You won't regret it!) and combine with heavy cream in a saucepan. Heat over medium high until bubbles start to form around the edge.

4. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk to combine.

5. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, slowly pour egg mixture into the milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

6. Pour through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

7. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. Add the cake halfway through, allowing it to mix throughout the ice cream. When completely incorporated, transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze.

Week Fifteen - Red Velvet Cake

This flavor serves as a very late birthday present to one of my sister-in-laws. She loves red velvet cake so I figured I'd try to create a flavor of ice cream she could enjoy for her birthday. Her birthday was almost two weeks ago but it's the thought that counts, right? So Happy Belated Birthday, C!! Hope you enjoy!

In trying to decide how to make a flavor of ice cream based on a flavor of cake, I went back and forth between flavoring and coloring the ice cream itself to mimic the flavor and deep red color of traditional red velvet cake...or just adding cake to the mix. Although it might seem like the easy way out, I opted for the latter for two reasons: one, I thought the flavor would be more authentic (and more interesting) than if I were to try to make a (probably gross-looking) red ice cream that had that slightly-chocolatey-yet-not-chocolate flavor; and two, I wanted to mash ice cream and cake together. Because it's fun. And because who doesn't like ice cream and cake mashed together? Haters, that's who.

My love of mashing ice cream and cake together started early on in my childhood, when I was seven or eight, and witnessed the fine folks of PeeWee's Playhouse mix a cake with ice cream to create a "pudding" treat. My siblings and I were charmed by this idea and would make our own "pudding" at every birthday celebration from then on. It was and continues to be a totally awesome way to eat cake and ice cream. So check it out, haters:

Red Velvet Cake Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
3 cups red velvet cake (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)

 1. Pour the milk and heavy cream into a saucepan and heat over medium high until bubbles start to form around the edge.

2. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk to combine.

3. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, slowly pour egg mixture into the milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

4. Pour through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

5. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. Add the cake halfway through, allowing it to mix throughout the ice cream. When completely incorporated, transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze.

 I need to figure out how to take non-blurry photos.

Week Fourteen - Pistachio

As I sit here by the computer painting my nails a pastel green, I just realized that I never posted this past week's flavor. In a week where I made three ice creams in five days...and then ended the week by going to see my fabulous sister-in-law and her husband kick out the jams Friday night, worked Saturday morning then went to see the Queen tribute band (whoa!), and spent the day Sunday at the hospital MEETING MY NEW NIECE (!!!!!) this post just slipped my mind. Stay tuned for more on my niece...for now, my nails are done and I have a few minutes to spare so let's go!

I believe I was 23 or 24 years old before I tried anything pistachio-flavored, the nut or otherwise. I'm not entirely sure why I avoided it for so long. Green is my favorite color and I love most other nuts. Those seem like good enough reasons to try one, right? Wrong. Something about pistachios always seemed weird to me. Maybe because I associate them with the lame five pound burlap sack of nuts my dad always gets at Christmas from a client. That stupid bag would sit in our house for months before finally we'd just throw it away. It was a nuisance and I wanted nothing to do with it! Little did I know how truly delicious that dumb bag's contents were. If only I could motivate myself to pick it up and open it those many years ago, I might be leading a very different life these days. Alas, my tastebuds missed out until one fateful day when I decided to taste (read: steal) my husband's Pistachio & Honey ice cream from Jeni's. "What's this?" I thought to myself. "Pistachios aren't the gross old-person-only flavor I had imagined in my mind; pistachios are TOTALLY AWESOME!"

A new day had dawned, friends. And I'm delighted to be able to share that with you here today. Feast your eyes on this:

Pistachio Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup pistachio paste (I bought mine at Whole Foods)

1. Pour the milk and heavy cream into a saucepan and heat over medium high until bubbles start to form around the edge.

2. In a food processor (or the super convenient mini food processor attachment to your immersion blender!) combine the pistachio paste with a couple tablespoons of water. Pulse, adding additional water, until smooth.

3. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk to combine.

4. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, slowly pour egg mixture into the milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

4. Pour through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

5. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze.

Week Thirteen - Mango Lime

Alright, alright...I'm almost all caught up! This is last week's flavor...

Spring has sprung. Totally. And I'm very happy about it. I think every season is my favorite season, at one point or another. And the beginning of Spring is certainly some kind of wonderful. The days when you can go outside without a coat, looking cute in a flannel and flip flops. Cute? Maybe that actually looks dumpy...but whatever. So you're hanging out in your flannel and flip flops, windows open, music up (this week was all Queen, all the time in preparation for the super cool Queen cover band I'm going to see with my in-laws tomorrow night!) and nothing can stop you! ("Don't stop my nooow!")

Now let's think about how you feel in that particular moment (or create your own moment, if my dumpy Freddy Mercury mood doesn't suit you) and try to put a flavor to it. It's warm, but it's not Summer-y peach or melon warm. And you're on top of the world, but not in that chocolate-smothered-in-caramel kind of way. You're just havin' a good time (havin' a good time!) and you don't wanna stop at all. You're mango, baby. You're mango with a touch of lime, and you look goooood. Good enough to eat. So let's get down to it...

Mango Lime Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup mango puree (I purchased puree at Trader Joe's but you could just cut up a mango and puree it)
1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1 tsp lime juice (I was scared to put too much, in fear of curdling the milk. But you can't really taste it so I'd recommend either putting more in, carefully, or adding some zest)

1. Pour the milk and heavy cream into a saucepan and heat over medium high until bubbles start to form around the edge. Add the mango puree and stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil.

2. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, sugar, and lime juice in a bowl and whisk to combine.

3. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, slowly pour egg mixture into the milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

4. Pour through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

5. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze.