Swiss Swirl Icecream Cake for DB Challenge!

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

I finally got around to attempting this challenge last weekend. I was disappointed that I couldn't do last month's challenge, so I made sure that I did this one.. The baking part with the two swiss rolls went fine. I should say that never before have my swiss rolls been this soft and tasty. I particularly loved the fact that the filling was light Chantilly cream and not the heavy over-sweet buttercream or jam! The only thing that I felt I would change was the amount of cream used because I felt that the recipe given kind of over-stuffed the roll. But nevertheless, it was delicious and light! I guess since I used a smaller bowl to assemble the icecream cake, almost the whole second roll was excess for me (no regrets there, anyways!!).

I didn't get to go too creative with the icecream flavors. I went with the recipes given kind of "settling" for the vanilla icecream and chocolate icecream as the two flavors (eventhough my longing was to make rose-flavored and pistachio flavored icecreams!!). I used icecream maker to make both icecreams! I really didnt like the taste of the fudge sauce alone, but everything came together in the end. I felt that it tasted just like it was- sweetend water with cocoa! Maybe it would have been better if we had made some chocolate ganache for the filling!

I assembled the cake slices and the vanilla icecream on Sunday. I also made the Chocolate icecream. I was planning to make the fudge sauce and assemble the rest of the cake on the evening before the challenge reveal date. Unfortunately, when I came back home I found that the freezer wasn't closed properly and that the cake/vanilla icecream was soft!!! I still made the fudge sauce, waited a while for it to cool down and keeping my fingers crossed added the slightly warm sauce on top the vanilla icecream! Ofcourse, there is a reason for every instruction in the recipe, the sauce melted the icecream a bit and kind of became gooey. But I just hoped that too much damage wasn't done. I waited for an hour, but the icecream/fudge had still not set, but I added the softened chocolate icecream on top and just hoped that I would still have the three separate layers when I cut into the icecream cake.

I had to wait till evening today so that the cake could harden and I could take pictures once I came back from work. The unmolding was quick, and I decorated the cake with some cherries, shaved chocolate and sugar-frosted cherries on top. My cake slices were not clean - maybe I should have partially frozen the swiss roll before cutting into slices which would have made lesser smearing of cream on the cake. But other than that everything looked good and I was happy with the icecream cake.

VERDICT: Today was the best day for this icecream cake because the weather was unbearably hot in MN and there even was a heat advisory!! The thought of the icecream cake got me through the harsh evening commute! The icecream cake was perfect for this hot day. It was delicious, sweet and cold, everything you would expect from an icecream cake. Maybe its just me, but I wasn't "wow"ed by it though! I felt that the cake was a little bland tasting once it absorbed a bit of moisture or maybe it was because of freeze thawing!? Who knows, maybe it was because my swirl slices almost completely thawed because of the freezer mishap! A delight for sure for the eyes because of its layers, but somehow didn't rise to my expectations. I honestly felt that the individual elements worked better for me separately... We would give a 7.5/10 for this cake..

But one thing is for sure, it was a hit with my daughter! She rarely asks for seconds (be it any kind of food, including desserts!) but she wanted an additional piece of the icecream cake!

Swiss roll ice cream cake

inspired by the recipe of the same name from the Taste of Home website)

Swiss rolls - Recipe

Preparation time- 10 minutes
Baking time- 10-12 minutes
Rolling and cooling time- at least 30 minutes
Filling-5-8 minutes
Filling and rolling- 5-10 minutes

Ingredients-

6 medium sized eggs
1 C / 225 gms caster sugar /8 oz+ extra for rolling
6 tblsp / 45gms/ a pinch over 1.5 oz of all purpose (plain) flour + 5 tblsp/40gm /a pinch under 1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted together
2 tblsp /30ml / 1 fl oz of boiling water
a little oil for brushing the pans

For the filling-

2C / 500 mls/ 16 fl oz of whipping cream
1 vanilla pod, cut into small pieces of about ½ cm (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
5 tblsp / 70gms/2.5oz of caster sugar

Method-

1. Pre heat the oven at 200 deg C /400 deg F approximately. Brush the baking pans ( 11 inches by 9 inches ) with a little oil and line with greaseproof baking paper. If you have just one pan, bake one cake and then let the pan cool completely before using it for the next cake.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat till very thick; when the beaters are lifted, it should leave a trail on the surface for at least 10 seconds.

3. Add the flour mixture, in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula. Fold in the water.

4. Divide the mixture among the two baking pans and spread it out evenly, into the corners of the pans.

5. Place a pan in the centre of the pre heated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the centre is springy to the touch.

6. Spread a kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle a little caster sugar over it.

7. Turn the cake on to the towel and peel away the baking paper. Trim any crisp edges.

8. Starting from one of the shorter sides, start to make a roll with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped roll on a rack, seam side down.

9. Repeat the same for the next cake as well.

10. Grind together the vanilla pieces and sugar in a food processer till nicely mixed together. If you are using vanilla extract, just grind the sugar on its own and then add the sugar and extract to the cream.

11. In a large bowl, add the cream and vanilla-sugar mixture and beat till very thick.

12. Divide the cream mixture between the completely cooled cakes.

13. Open the rolls and spread the cream mixture, making sure it does not go right to the edges (a border of ½ an inch should be fine).

14. Roll the cakes up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge till needed, seam side down.

Vanilla ice cream

Preparation time-5 minutes+freezing

Ingredients-

2 and ½ C / 625 ml / 20 fl oz of whipping cream
1 vanilla bean, minced or 1 tsp/ 5 ml/ .15 fl oz vanilla extract
½ C / 115gms/ 4 oz of granulated sugar

Method-

1. Grind together the sugar and vanilla in a food processor. In a mixing bowl, add the cream and vanilla –sugar mixture and whisk lightly till everything is mixed together. If you are using the vanilla extract, grind the sugar on its own and then and the sugar along with the vanilla extract to the cream.

2. Pour into a freezer friendly container and freeze till firm around the edges. Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.

Hot fudge sauce

Preparation time-2 minutes
Cooking time-2 minutes

Ingredients-

1 C / 230gms/ 8 oz of caster sugar
3 tblsp / 24gms/1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tblsp /15gms/ 1 oz of cornflour/cornstarch
1 and ½ C /355ml /12 fl oz of water
1 tblsp /14gms/ 1 oz butter
1 tsp/5 ml / .15 fl oz vanilla extract

Method-

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, cornflour and water.

2. Place the pan over heat, and stir constantly, till it begins to thicken and is smooth (for about 2 minutes).

3. Remove from heat and mix in the butter and vanilla. Keep aside to cool .


Chocolate ice cream

Preparation time- 5 minutes + freezing

Ingredients-

2C/ 500 ml whipping cream
1 C/230gms/8 oz caster sugar
3 tblsp/ 24 gms/1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder

Method-

1. Grind together the sugar and the cocoa powder in a food processor .

2. In a saucepan, add all the ingredients and whisk lightly.

3. Place the pan over heat and keep stirring till it begins to bubble around the edges.

4. Remove from heat and cool completely before transferring to a freezer friendly container till firm around the edges. If you are using an ice cream maker, churn the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s instruction, after the mixture has cooled completely.

5. Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.

Assembly

1. Cut the Swiss rolls into 20 equal slices ( approximately 2 cms each ).

2. Cover the bottom and sides of the bowl in which you are going to set the dessert with cling film/plastic wrap.

3. Arrange two slices at the bottom of the pan, with their seam sides facing each other. Arrange the Swiss roll slices up the bowl, with the seam sides facing away from the bottom, to cover the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till the slices are firm (at least 30 minutes).

4. Soften the vanilla ice cream. Take the bowl out of the freezer, remove the cling film cover and add the ice cream on top of the cake slices. Spread it out to cover the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till firm ( at least 1 hour).

5. Add the fudge sauce over the vanilla ice cream, cover and freeze till firm . ( at least an hour).

6. Soften the chocolate ice cream and spread it over the fudge sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4-5 hours till completely set .

7. Remove the plastic cover, and place the serving plate on top of the bowl. Turn it upside down and remove the bowl and the plastic lining. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water. The bowl will come away easily.

8. Keep the cake out of the freezer for at least 10 minutes before slicing, depending on how hot your region is. Slice with a sharp knife, dipped in hot water.

Thank you Sunita, for a wonderful and interesting challenge!

style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Thanks for visiting me today! Have a great week ahead! I will be back soon with the decorating details of a cake that I made for a dinner party!!

Iced Chocolate Nut Gateau

I have been eyeing this dessert since I bought the "Desserts 500 delicious recipes" book. It has all the stuff that I love - its sweet, its frozen, it has nuts and whipped cream with delicious sponge fingers. I finally got a chance to make it last weekend. My dad was visiting us from my brother's in Seattle, on his way back to India. I took it as a chance to try out a new dessert as it was an excellent chance to divide the calories ;-).... Am I evil, well, I dont think so! It was an awesome dessert, perfectly sweetened and light. The whipped cream made fresh at home and the light sweetness imparted by just the right amount of confectioner's sugar is remarkable. I personally love the taste of hazelnuts and this reminded me of the delectable Ferrero Rocher, one of my favorite kind of chocolate. The sponge fingers lend the spongy texture of a cake, and the whipped cream gives the feel of an icecream. The chopped hazelnuts and morsels of chocolate were exceptional, making for a delicious bite among the light and fluffy whipped cream! My favorite part of this dessert was the hazelnut bits and the soaked sponge fingers.

I believe that this will taste just as delicious with almonds or cashews as well. Once the gateau is thawed in the fridge for about 10 minutes, the dessert will be ready to be sliced and served. I served the dessert with a simple decoration of cool whip swirls and a few cherry chocolate chips and hazelnuts. Try these out and I am sure you will love it. It makes for a really simple dessert with which you can impress your guests. Dust with a little cocoa and sugar and it will look stunning. Enjoy!!

Recipe (Serves 6-8) :

Hazelnuts - shelled, 3/4 cup
Sponge fingers - about 32
Cold strong black coffee - 2/3 cup
Brandy - 2 tbsp
Double (heavy) cream - 2 cups
Confectioner's (icing) sugar - 2/3 cup, sifted
Semi-sweet chocolate - 5 oz, chopped into small pieces
Icing sugar and Cocoa powder (for dusting)

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Spread out the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for 5 minutes until golden.

Turn the nuts onto a clean dish towel and rub off the skins while still warm.

Cool, then chop finely.

Line a 5 cup loaf tin with cling wrap and cut the sponge fingers to fit the base and sides.

Reserve remaining fingers.

Mix the coffee with the brandy in a shallow dish.

Dip the sponge fingers briefly into the coffee mixture and return to tin, sugar side down, to fit.

Whip the cream with the icing sugar until it holds soft peaks.

Fold half of the chopped chocolate into the cream with the hazelnuts.

Use gentle figure-of -eight action to distribute the chocolate and nuts evenly.

Melt the remaining chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Cool, then fold into the cream mixture. Spoon into the tin.

Moisten the reamining fingers in the coffee mixture - take care not to soak the fingers, otherwise they will collapse.

Lay the moistened fingers over the filling.

Wrap and freeze until firm.

To serve, remove from the freezer 30 minutes before serving to allow the icecream to soften slightly.

Turn out onto a serving plate and dust with icing sugar and cocoa powder.

Source: Desserts 500 delicious recipes; Edited by Ann Kay.

Tips:

1. I didnt use brandy with coffee. I used a bit of hot cocoa powder along with the coffee powder to make the dipping.
2. I used about 4 oz of semi-sweet chocolate.
3. I just had 24 sponge fingers (while the sponge fingers were in storage at my home, some in-home thieves stole the rest!), so I didnt top the dessert (when served, it lines the bottom) with moistened sponge fingers.
4. The gateau was served decorated with whipped cream, whole hazelnuts and cherry chocolate chips.
5. The dessert is very lightly sweetened. So if you are into sugar-high desserts, add more confectioner's sugar to the cream before whipping.

Have a great day!!

Mango Kulfi & Kudos to Blogger Aid

As many of you know, the food bloggers from across the globe have joined forces and have formed a group named BloggerAid. The growing group of international food bloggers have united in efforts to alleviate World Hunger. "Our vision is a world which provides for and protects the welfare and human dignity of all of its people. A world in which all children can grow, learn and flourish, developing into healthy, active, caring members of society".

BloggerAid has decided to support World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations frontline agency, in its goal to provide food to the less fortunate. For nearly 40 years, WFP has been the largest operator of school meals programs in the developing world.

BloggerAid members are planning to publish a cookbook with the help of all the food bloggers and YOU! and 100 % of the profit from the sales of the cookbook will be directed to School Meals. The cookbook is targeted for sale on Amazon by November/December 2009. Check out the announcement for more details. Non-bloggers can also submit a recipe.

I thought that since I have a strong sweet-tooth, I should be submitting a Dessert!! My contribution to this cookbook is Mango Kulfi. This is the result of my experiment in submitting a recipe to this endeavour. I must say that it was very succesful and I am proud to be contributing this recipe to the book.

As I am not allowed to publish the recipe before the book is released, I can only give you some tempting pictures and a description of how it turned out. The mango kulfi was really creamy and decadent with the perfect texture of authentic Indian Kulfi. The tantalizing flavor of mango turned out to be in an excellent balance with the other ingredients. The flavor of the "spices" added make the kulfi all the more delicious. I garnished it with some chopped mango and pistachios. It is a must-try for all the dessert lovers out there. JM was asking for more every time he tasted it. I am sure he would've finished the entire thing if would've had let him!! I have also fallen in love with this recipe. I definitely will be making more of this. For now, I hope you all like the pictures of this awesome dessert.

The cookbook will contain contributions from many of your favorite food bloggers. I will update you all on the progress of this effort and you can also help by supporting the cause in ways that you can. Thank you all for reading this post with a cause! ;-)

The round-up for Lets go nuts : Almonds will be posted this week. So stay tuned for all the amazing entries from our participants!!


Have a great day!!

Chocolate Valentino with Fig & Honey Icecream

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. In their words - "We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge".

Chocolate Valentino is a flourless chocolate cake inspired by Malaysia’s “most flamboyant food ambassador”, Chef Wan. The recipe comes from "Sweet Treats" by Chef Wan.

My story :

The challenge by itself was pretty straight forward and simple in that we were to make the Chocolate Valentino cake accompanied with either whipped cream or cool-whip and/or home-made icecream.

I actually quartered the recipe and used 4 oz of chocolate with 2 1/2 tbsp of butter and 1 egg (and not 1 1/4!). I followed the steps as per the recipe and used a small double-heart pan for baking. As I was using a very thin aluminium pan for baking I was a bit scared if the batter would burn. So I baked the cake at 325 F in a water bath for about 20 minutes. As I had no thermometer at hand, I allowed the cake to sit for a few minutes. The top appeared to be crusty with wet middle area, but I was doubtful if it would withstand unmolding. So I preheated the oven to 375 and kept the cake for another 10 minutes, after which it seemed the same, but I felt better! Unmolding went without any glitch and it looked awesome!!

I decided that I would try to make home-made icecream for this challenge. I actually tried out three different recipes for the Icecream challenge part. Initially I planned a Coconut and Saffron Icecream from David Lebovitz. For some, it might taste exotic with coconut milk and saffrom, but for me it tasted like the sweetened version of the usual coconut milk curries that our family used to make back in Kerala. So I decided to go with Wendy's Vanilla Icecream recipe which was simple and very quick to put together. I reduced the vanilla essence to about 3/4 tbsp and scraped the seeds from a vanilla bean pod and added to the concoction. The vanilla icecream was very authentic, with distinct vanilla flavor and tasted almost like the popular Classic Vanilla Icecream!

I whipped the icecream mixture at intervals to make it smooth and uniform, since I didnt have an Icecream maker. Then I transferred half of the mixture to another bowl for experimenting!

I have been wanting to make Fig & Honey Icecream (the ones I used to order in Baskin & Robbins in India where we havent even heard or seen the fruit -fig!! So Fig & Honey was as exotic as it would get back then!). I found few recipes on the net and some were very elaborate.

I decided to experiment with Wendy's recipe, transforming it into a Fig & Honey Icecream. Please find the recipe towards the end of the post. It was awesome, I am not kidding, I was very very pleased with the results!! It had the granulated sugar and the added sweetness of honey but it was not overwhelming at all. Next time, I would probably reduce the vanilla essence and granulated sugar a little bit so that I can add more honey and balance the sugar.

The cake at first seemed a little too bland, not to sweet for me, but on further samplings in the subsequent days it seemed to taste better and finally, it was awesome! JM and I both loved and have become die-hard fans of the Fig & Honey Icecream which was gone in a matter of minutes! I should have made the whole batch of Vanilla Icecream into the Fig & Honey one!

In the end, I should say that I was very pleased with the cake and the icecream and both turned out to be excellent treats! The cake was smooth, velvetty and rich just as it should be and the icecream was the best accompaniment to the cake. I am happy that I got to do this challenge succesfully. Yet another successful challenge, one more proud moment being a Daring Baker!

Chocolate Valentino

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.

2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.

3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.

4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).

5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.

6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.

7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}

8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C.

9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.

10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Dharm's Ice Cream Recipe - Classic Vanilla Ice Cream

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Recipe comes from the Ice Cream Book by Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis (tested modifications and notes in parentheses by Dharm)

Ingredients:

1 Vanilla Pod (or substitute with vanilla extract)

300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Semi Skimmed Milk – in the U.S. this is 2% fat (or use fresh full fat milk that is pasteurised and homogenised {as opposed to canned or powdered}). Dharm used whole milk.

4 large egg yolks

75g / 3oz / 6 tbsp caster sugar {superfine sugar can be achieved in a food processor or use regular granulated sugar}

5ml / 1 tsp corn flour {cornstarch}

300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Double Cream (48 % butter fat) {in the U.S. heavy cream is 37% fat){you can easily increase your cream's fat content by heating 1/4 cup of heavy cream with 3 Tbs of butter until melted - cool to room temperature and add to the heavy cream as soon as whisk marks appear in the cream, in a slow steady stream, with the mixer on low speed. Raise speed and continue whipping the cream) or use heavy cream the difference will be in the creaminess of the ice cream.

1. Using a small knife slit the vanilla pod lengthways. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla pod and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuseLift the vanilla pod up. Holding it over the pan, scrape the black seeds out of the pod with a small knife so that they fall back into the milk. SET the vanilla pod aside and bring the milk back to the boil.

2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and corn-flour in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy.

3. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time

4. When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.

5. By Hand: Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a plastic tub or similar freeze-proof container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating it twice (during the freezing process – to get smoother ice cream or else the ice cream will be icy and coarse)

By Using and Ice Cream Maker: Stir the cream into the custard and churn the mixture until thick (follow instructions on your ice cream maker)

Wendy's Ice Cream Recipe - Vanilla Philadelphia Style Recipe

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups (473 ml) of half and half (1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of whole, full fat milk)

1 cup (237 ml) heavy cream

2/3 (128 grams) cup sugar

Dash of salt

1 (12 grams) tablespoon of vanilla

Mix all ingredients together (we do this in a plastic pitcher and mix with an emulsifier hand blender-whisking works too).

Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer.

Mix in your ice cream maker as directed.

JZ's Fig & Honey Icecream

Ingredients:

Heavy cream - 1 cups
Whole milk - 1/2 cup
Granulated sugar - 1/3 cup
Cool whip - 1/2 cup
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tbsp
Dried California figs - 5, chopped
Honey - 2 - 3 tbsp

Method:

Mix together the cream, milk, sugar, cool whip and vanilla essence. Freeze for an hour.

Whip the mixture together for a few minutes. Freeze again.

Repeat this a couple of times every hour.

Once the mixture is almost frozen and in a slush consistency, mix in the chopped figs.

Pour honey in swirls and gently mix once or twice.

Transfer to the freezer until it can be scooped.

Tips:

1. Reduce the amount of sugar added to the cream if you would like to reduce the sweetness.
2. Reduce the vanilla essence by a bit if you wouldnt like to have a pronounced vanilla flavor.

Hope you all are having a great weekend!! Dont forget to check out other dreamy combinations whipped up by my fellow Daring Bakers here. Enjoy!!

Banana Icecream, CLICK and some awards!!

After my experiments with the Cheesecake icecream, I made this Banana icecream, quickly followed by the Strawberry Icecream. I had already posted the other two icecreams, so I thought of this when I wanted to post a dessert! Again, I've made this icecream without an icecream maker, so it lacks the smoothness and fineness in texture that an icecream maker would impart. The flavor of bananas were strong and I had thrown in a few white chocolate chips which was enjoyable. It didnt turn out as creamy as the strawberry icecream did, probably because I was careless!! I just covered the bowl with plastic wrap (silly me!!). It sure was creamy and delicious when I whipped it. Anyways, I hope you all would give this a try. I am certain that banana lovers would looooove this icecream. For the picture, I've poured a bit of melted chocolate over the scoops of icecream with a cherry on top, and a banana split lengthwise on either side. Enjoy!!

Recipe ( Makes 1 quart) :

Bananas - 3, very ripe
Whipping cream - 1 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Eggs - 2
Vanilla extract - 2 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 cup, optional

Method:

In a blender or processor, puree bananas and cream.

Stir in remaining ingredients.

Freeze in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

Source: The Donvier Icecream Dessert Book by Anna Creery.

Tips:

1. I dont have an ice-cream maker, so I used a handmixer to whip the icecream every hour for 3 hours.
2. Store in an air-tight freezer-safe container.

The Banana Icecream is on its way to the "Icecreams and Milkshakes" event at Srilekha's Me and My Kitchen along with my,

Cheesecake Icecream
Strawberry Icecream
Carrot Milkshake
Cappuccino Shake
Sharjah Shake

"CLICK : August 2008 Citrus" entry:

The first picture of Petite Orange Cake that I made earlier on is my entry to "CLICK : August 2008" themed Citrus! What could be more cirtus-y than a sponge cake which is orange flavoured with orange cream cheese frosting and topped with a slice of mandarin orange and a drizzle of melted dark chocolate!? It sits on a puddle of chocolate sauce to form a perfect, delectable and irresistible dessert. Dont forget to check out the recipe for Petite Orange Cakes.

Awards galore:

Vani of Illatharasi , EC of Simple Indian Food and Trupti of Recipe Center passed the "Brilliant Weblog" Award to me.

Brilliant Weblog is a prize given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design. The purpose of the prize is to promote as many blogs as possible in the blogsphere. Here are the rules to follow :-

When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog’. Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional). All the bloggers have wonderful work and content in their blog and all deserve to get this.

I am more than happy to pass this onto,

Laavanya of Cookery Corner
Madhuram of Eggless Cooking
Sukanya of Hot n' Sweet Bowl
Trupti of Recipe Center
Sujatha of Spicy Khazana
Maheswari of Beyond the Usual
Rachel of Tangerine's Kitchen

Trupti of Recipe Center and Sireesha of Mom's Recipes passed on the "Beautiful Site" Award and "Zpremios Dardo 2008 Best Blog Darts Thinker" Award to me.

I would love to pass these onto,

Ranji of Ranji's Kitchen Corner
Bhags of Crazy Curry
Sia of Passionate about Life n' spice
Cham of Spice-club
Laavanya of Cookery Corner

Thanks to everyone who thought about me while passing on the awards and congrats to all who received it! Enjoy your awards, girls!!

Homemade Strawberry Icecream

Only recently did I start to experiment with preparing icecreams at home. After the intial success of the Cheesecake icecream, there was a break before I tried another one. I made Banana icecream (yet to be posted) and immediately after, this Strawberry Icecream (I mean yesterday!). This turned out above my expectations and was really creamy, soft and melted in our mouths! I dont have an icecream maker, so I was apprehensive while making it! But everything worked out great. I really should say that homemade strawberry icecream has more flavour and fresh fruit taste than store-bought ones. It also had the tiny crunch of the seeds which was a delight! I had just made half the recipe and now I only have a few scoops left. I wish I had made more!! This recipe is super easy and within hours you can have fresh homemade icecream!! Do try this out as soon as possible! Check out the tips for those who dont have any icecream machine and for tips on how to make a chocolate cup for serving the icecream. Enjoy!!

You scream I scream we all scream for icecream.... Do you know that it is also the lyrics of a song? Anyways, with many events in the foodie blog world about icecreams, I got to know that July is the National Icecream month! What a tasty month! Had I known that before, July would have been my favourite month!! WINK!

Recipe (Makes 1 quart) :

Whole fresh strawberries - 2 1/2 cup
Whole milk - 1/2 cup
Eggs - 2
Sugar - 2/3 cup
Vanilla - 1 tsp
Whipping cream - 1 cup

Method:

In a blender or a food processor, add the milk, eggs and strawberries.

Puree until smooth and well-blended.

Transfer into a large bowl.

Add the sugar, vanilla and whipping cream.

Stir well.

Transfer to an icecream maker.

Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

Tips:

1. I only made half the recipe.
2. If using frozen strawberries, use unsweetened frozen fruit, thawed before pureeing.
3. I dont have an icecream maker and I used a handmixer to whip the icecream to a creamy consistency. Trust me, it works!
4. Once you stir in the cream, vanilla and sugar, mix the icecream using the whip attachment (not the beaters) of an electric mixer or use an ordinary whisk.
5. Mix for 2-3 minutes every hour for 3 hours and then freeze until set.
6. Chocolate cup was made by lining a small bowl with plastic wrap and then spreading melted chocolate over it and freezing until set.

I am sending my Strawberry icecream to,

1. Fresh produce of the month - Strawberries hosted by An Italian in the US.
2. Sweet Series - Cool Desserts hosted by Mythreyee of Paajaka.

Cheesecake Icecream and an award!

I am pleased to announce that this is my 75th post on "Tasty treats". I would like to thank all my readers, my friends for their continuing support and encouragement. If it were not for your comments and compliments, I doubt that this blog would have been a part of my life to the extent it is now. Thanks again for your support!

Yesterday I received the "Nice Matters" award from Sangeeth of Art of cooking Indian food. I am so thankful to you for your thoughtfulness!! I really appreciate your nice gesture. I would like to pass this on to

Sukanya of Hot n' Sweet bowl
Bhags of Crazy curry
Hetal of Isha's kitchen
Asha of Aroma

On that sweet note, lets move on to today's post.

As warmer weather started creeping into our lives, I saw many ice-cream recipes cropping up here and there in the blogging world. As many of you might know by now, I love desserts, especially cold desserts. So for me the most obvious choice of recipe for a cold dessert was that of an icecream. Most of the blogs have recipes with mangoes in them (one among my most favourite fruits) and I saw a recipe for mango icecream on Deeba's blog. When I went grocery shopping, I gathered up the ingredients for the mango icecream but surprisingly forgot to pick up fresh mangoes.

By the time I came back home, I was itching to make an icecream. So I decided to improvise with what I had on hand. I had a JellO Cheesecake-flavoured Instant pudding mix and decided to experiment with it. Since this was my first trial for a home-made icecream and that too without an icecream maker, I was nervous. Anyhow, I mixed all the ingredients together and froze it, beat it at intervals for a smooth and fluffy texture. Thus came about the creation of a cross between icecream and pudding! Coming to the point, the final result was marvelous!!! I never thought I could create such a tasty marvel, but then who can go wrong when you mix tasty stuff with tastier stuff!!

The good points about the icecream were 1) it was made without cream cheese but had the cheesecake flavour and 2) since it was made with the pudding mix, it set pretty quickly. 3) Another high point is that since it has the thickening agent in the pudding mix, it did not melt into a complete puddle even when kept at room temperature. It had all the taste and texture of a creamy and rich (more so because of the pudding mix) icecream. I think this would make an ideal filling for ice-cream sandwiches. We all enjoyed our first home-made icecream happily. I hope you all would try this at home. Let me know what you think of the recipe. Until then, enjoy the pictures of our cheesecake icecream. Cheers!!

This icecream obvioulsy is a calcium rich dessert and is on its way to the Beautiful Bones: An Osteoporosis Food Event hosted by Susan of the Food Blogga.

Recipe:

Cheesecake-flavoured Instant pudding mix - 1 packet (3oz)
Sweetened condensed milk - 14 oz
Whipping cream - 1 pint

2% milk - 1 cup

Method:

Mix the condensed milk and whipping cream together in a large bowl.

Beat them using an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes.

Add the pudding mix into the whipping cream - condensed milk mixture and beat for 2-3 more minutes or until the mixture is airy, fluffy and smooth.

Freeze the mixture for 30 minutes to an hour.

Beat the icecream mixture using a electric hand mixer or in a food processor until smooth, creamy and fluffy.

Again, keep the mixture in the freezer and repeat the whipping/beating every 1 or 2 hours for a couple of times.

Freeze the icecream overnight or until completely set.

Soften the icecream in the refrigerator before serving.

Serve in scoopfuls, garnished with fruits, nuts or dessert sauces of your choice.

Enjoy!!

Tip:

1. I beat the icecream mixture for a total of 4-5 times (first-time prep anxiety). You dont need to do it that many times because unlike regular icecream I dont think there will be a lot of crystal formation. But just to be sure, process it atleast for a couple of times.

I am also sending this icecream to You scream, I scream, we all scream for frozen desserts hosted by Mike of Mike's table.