Dec 31

Yes, you read that correct. Champagne sorbet. Elise over at www.elise.com has a great recipe for it.

Champagne Sorbet Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups sparkling wine or champagne
  • 1 cup white granulated sugar
  • 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon of lemon and or grapefruit zest
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh grapefruit juice
  • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (Meyer if you have access to them)

Method

1 Put champagne, sugar, corn syrup, and zest into a saucepan. Bring to a vigorous boil so that the sugar completely dissolves, remove from heat.

2 Strain into a stainless steel bowl (will help cool down faster), add the grapefruit juice and lemon juice. Chill completely. To do this, either place bowl in a larger bowl half-filled with ice water, and stir until champagne solution is completely cold, refreshing the ice in the outer bowl if necessary. Or you can cover with plastic wrap and chill in your refrigerator over night. I put the bowl in the ice compartment of our freezer for a couple hours, because it fits, chills quickly, and is far enough away from the other food in the freezer.

3 Process the mixture in your ice cream maker (like the mega ice cream ball) according to the ice cream maker directions. Transfer mixture to a storage container and freezer in your freezer until firm, at least 6 hours.

Makes about 1 quart.

Happy New Year!

Dec 15

Have you received any fruit cakes this year? If so, here’s a great use for them (besides regifting!).

Fruit Cake Ice Cream Ingredients

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1 1/2 Tbs brandy
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped fruit cake
2 1/2 Tbs finely chopped almonds

Fruit Cake Ice Cream Method

In a large bowl beat eggs and sugar together. In a saucepan bring milk and cream to simmering point. Pour onto the eggs in a slow steady stream beating constantly and continuing to beat until the mixture is very thick and light. Stir in the chopped almonds then fold in the fruit cake and brandy. Spoon the mixture into a container. Cover and freeze until firm. About 20 minutes before serving transfer the Fruit Cake Ice Cream to the refrigerator. Serve decorated with cream and cherries.

Dec 11

I recently sent my friend in Indiana an early Christmas present — an ice cream maker!  She wants to make strawberry ice cream in it tonight and was asking me for some pointers.  Here’s a great recipe from Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Book:

Fresh Strawberry Ice-Cream

sweet cream base
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream (or whipping cream)
1 cup milk

strawberries
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/3 cup sugar
juice from 1/2 lemon
zest from 1 lemon (optional)

Combine strawberries, lemon juice/zest, and 1/3 cup sugar. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Once strawberries have refrigerated, prepare the sweet cream base. Whisk eggs in a bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the sugar and continue whisking for a minute longer. Add the cream and milk, stir until fully combined.

Combine the strawberry mixture into the sweet cream base. Pour into an ice-cream mixer and mix according to mixer instructions.

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Now personally I do not like making my ice cream base with eggs, so here’s an alternative recipe:

  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups mashed fresh strawberries

In a large bowl, combine the milk, cream, sugar, salt, vanilla and strawberries. Pour the mixture into the freezer bowl of an ice cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions.

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My only other suggestion for my friend’s ice cream making tonight: Make sure you taste the mix before you start freezing it!

Dec 3

Peppermint has a long standing tradition of being helpful for relieving stomach ailments.  I, myself, have recently invested in a few boxes of peppermint tea to finally get some control over my years of tummy troubles.  I’m not a big tea drinker, so I’m always on the lookout for alternative ways to use things.

Here’s a great recipe for Chocolate Mint ice cream from The Happy Gelateria using peppermint tea & cashew nuts instead of dairy.

Ingredients:

* 1 cup of cashew nuts, soaked for 4 hours and then drained and rinsed .
* 1/2 - 1 cup of strong peppermint tea (brewed by steeping 2 teabags in 1 cup of fresh boiled water, and leaving until cold).
* 3 baby figs, or 2 standard figs pre-soaked for a few hours.
* 10 mint leaves.
* 2 teaspoons of cacao powder

How To:

* Blend the cashews with enough of the mint tea to form a smooth cream.
* Add the figs, and blend again until smooth.
* Add the mint leaves and cacao powder, and blend one last time until smooth and evenly mixed.
* Either transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions, or follow our steps for making gelato without an ice cream maker.
* Enjoy a blast of choco-minty freshness!

Dec 2

I don’t know how many of you have visited your local Starbucks lately, but they have this “new” flavor of hot cocoa called Salted Caramel.  I found a nice copy cat recipe for the salted caramel hot cocoa drink yesterday and it reminded me of the great recipe I found for salted caramel ice cream.

vs.

The short non-fat no-whip salted caramel hot chocolate from Starbucks packs a whopping 270 calories!  Which would you rather have?  A bowl of ice cream or a small glass of hot chocolate?

Dec 1

In honor of Cyber Monday, we’re offering free shipping on ALL orders December 1st & 2nd!

And any order over $75 gets a free jar of Haven’s Heavenly Hot Fudge