Toasted Coconut with Lime Ice Cream

I'm back! I've been traveling a great deal these past few weeks and I'm finally settled in back at home. It was a busy summer.  There were five states to visit, fly fishing to observe, bison to avoid, family to feed, geysers to smell and plenty of driving--probably a little too much for the kids. I also had the pleasure of cooking for a gathering of family while at a rented lodge in Montana.

I've realized that cooking for large groups is something best done out of one's own kitchen. As no matter how well stocked the brochure claims the kitchen is ("It has absolutely everything you will need for any meal you have planned!"), or how well you prepare, something you need will always be missing. Which results in things like… my trying to make individual lemon tarts topped with torched italian meringue without tart rings, a mixer or a candy thermometer.  Attempting Italian meringue with microwaved syrup and some dodgy hand beaters actually worked.

I didn't plan on making tarts there, it just sort of happened. Still, I think I deserve some sort of medal of recognition.

Anyway, I'm back home and I am working on my plan of attack for this week's baking. For today though, we have some yummy ice cream. Which I will admit is my fall back during busy months as it can be prepared relatively quickly and always looks lovely.

Today's ice cream is a combination of toasted coconut and lime. Yes, that's me holding onto the last scraps of summer with something decidedly tropical in flavor. Though regardless of the time of year, one has to admit it is hard to go wrong with such a combination. Harry Nilsson is nodding his head in agreement--his being alive or not is a technicality we're going to overlook.

Lemon Meringue Ice Cream

Even though it doesn't feel much like summer in Seattle, we're churning out some ice cream today.

This happens to be one of my favorite ice creams, one of the best to come out of my kitchen. Best of all, it only required 10 minutes to throw together.   A bright lemony ice cream with swirls of lemon curd and bites of softened meringue cookies. A pie in a pint (or a quart). No baking or stove top custard making required.

Red Rose Raspberry Sorbet

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

It is one in the morning and I'm up with my newborn. So why not wrap up a little blogging between feeding and bouncing, right? Today we have yet another frozen dessert and a particularly pretty one at that.

I absolutely love the combination of raspberry and rose, so a sorbet featuring those flavors seemed like a natural summer time choice for the blog.

Gorgeous, isn't it? Such an vibrant red it almost makes me want to double check the settings on my camera. This dessert isn't just pretty to look at, it velvety smooth and packs bright fresh raspberry flavor and the sweet fragrance of rose.

Milk & Honey Ice Cream

Milk & Honey
Not just a metaphor for all things good

Believe it or not, I've actually gotten back into my cooking grove this month! I'm completely recovered from my cesarean and sitting on dozens of photographs of many yummy things. All I need to do is settle down at my laptop and do a little blogging. 

Oatmeal Ice Cream Sandwiches

Hungry photographer + delicious ice cream sandwiches = 25 photos of half eaten sandwiches.
Just like this one.

I'm back! Hope everyone had a nice new years and holiday season. Mine was extended by Mother Humble's fashionably late arrival for a post-new years Christmas but now everyone is back in their respective homes/countries and things are settling back into the normal Humble routine.

Routine being my destroying plenty of perfectly good ingredients during mommy-brained addled cooking attempts.

Just last week we had an epic cheesecake failure, which I will not go into detail about. Those of you who follow my occasional ramblings on Facebook know what I'm talking about and no, as I learned the next morning it did not taste good.

Not everything is turning out badly, thankfully. I made these ice cream sandwiches today and oh my goodness they are wonderful. Just sinfully good. Of course, this may be the pregnancy talking, since my feelings towards certain foods lately can be irrationally exuberant.

Brown Sugar Vanilla Ice Cream

Happy Monday, everyone!

Today I have a wonderful vanilla treat for you. While some think vanilla is synonymous with plain or generic, I think it is marvelous, particularly in the form of a well crafted vanilla ice cream. When I tasted today's dessert, I was smitten.

The ice cream has an absolutely luxurious mouth feel, one that the recipe's author credits to the use of dry milk powder. It is so amazing that I am tempted to start incorporating the use of a small amount of milk powder into all of my ice creams. The custard and vanilla will remind you of an excellent french vanilla ice cream but the addition of brown sugar sets it apart, giving the ice cream character and richness.

Key Lime with Graham Cracker Gelato

Happy Monday all! I hope everyone had a lovely weekend.

We spend the weekend on a little road trip down to Oregon. We had a family wedding to attend and we decided to drive from Seattle as Oregon always provides a lovely view.



While Mr. Humble and I really enjoy road trips, this was the little Humble's first one and she didn't approve of the long hours spent in a car seat. Toddlers seemingly can't take in sights at a distance, they want to get out and run around.

So we satisfied her when we could, the rest of the time we plied her with ice cream.

Philadelphia-Style Lemon Ice Cream

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone had a lovely weekend, and fourth of July (where applicable).

My weekend was great. Well, ignoring what happened to my car. Which died, suddenly and most patriotically, on the fourth of July.

Naturally this isn't a good thing. Particularly when you're the anxious OCD type like myself. Anything that throws a wrench into your normal routine threatens your sanity. My poor mother had to recruit me away from my car-less pacing and hand-wringing to help her with dinner. This is how the dessert for today's post came to be.

Mother Humble: Can you make me some lemon ice cream?

Me: *twitch* My car died! My universe is collapsing around me!

Mother Humble: *Ignores me*

Me: Okay… but an easy ice cream. No custards or curds.

Mother Humble: I'll zest the lemons…

So I made up this ice cream for Mother Humble's Prosecco apricot soup. It is very simple and requires no cooking. Just the absolute basics. Cream, Sugar, Lemon. It is light, creamy and refreshing. Not quite as dense or rich as a standard custard based ice cream, but the simplicity allows the bright flavor of fresh lemon to shine through.

A few of the things eaten on the 4th (in various stages of done-ness)
Mr. Humble's bread, steaks and stuffed squash blossoms (prior to grilling/frying),
wee-potato salad, marinated shrimp olive and parsley skewers, salmon cakes,
grilled vegetables, prosecco apricot soup with lemon ice cream, sauté morels

So, as soon as I finish typing this up I'm off to visit one of my local car dealerships. I need to consider some of my options. A new car is probably long over due, as my current one uses a coal fired engine. As I write this I'm getting all anxious thinking about it. I don't like car dealerships. I don't speak the language and I walk around with a dumb, frightened look.

I always go in assured of what I want, but my plan and my confidence evaporates the moment one of the staff members starts talking to me about cars.

This is how I expect today to go down:

Me: Hi, Can I see this model? I liked the standard features online and I …

Mr. Car Guy: Oh no, you need the next model up. Without the FV-75 IDO System, the brakes won't work at speeds exceeding 25mph and the steering column will occasionally burst into flames.

Me: Uh…I do like breaks. Wait, flames? Oh… I guess I need that?

Mr. Car Guy: Absolutely. You should also consider the sea mammal seating harness and restraint system.

Me: But I don't…

Mr. Car Guy: Do you want to kill a baby seal?!

Me: No! Of course not, but I don't know if I can afford…

Mr. Car Guy gives me look of horror and disgust

Me: *panic* How much is the harness?!

Mr. Car Guy: Alright. Well, it is part of our mammal safety add-on package…

Yup. That is exactly what is going to happen.



Philadelphia-Style Lemon Ice Cream
from Luscious Lemon Desserts
yields a scant one quart
2 cups heavy (whipping) cream
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup + two tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
1/4 cup finely grated lemon zest
pinch salt

Whisk all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Allow to stand for 20 minutes at room temperature, whisking every couple minutes to help dissolve the sugar. (The recipe now calls for it to be strained and you may do that. However, I love lemon zest and my microplane makes the finest, fluffiest zest so I wasn't too concerned about the affect it may have on the texture of my ice cream).

Chill this mixture for 3 hours until very cold.

Add the mixture to your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. Once finished, place into a lidded container and chill until firm.

Pomegranate Gelato

I will be blogging from the road again next week it seems. Just for a few days, don't worry. Mother Humble is in town again tomorrow and she will be dragging my three siblings and I to Eastern Washington. This is a annual method of Humble family tortu...family bonding. Forcing us Seattle based offspring to get a little vitamin D.

Usually I melt the moment the mercury climbs over 70°F and develop an instant lobster-red sunburn (despite copious amounts of SPF55), while Mother Humble contently suns herself like a lizard.

Mother Humble tends to cook up a storm on these trips, so I will probably have a chance to share one or two of her recipes.


So, today's dish. Gelato. Yum! Though, I'm not exactly certain this is a "gelato" rather than an ordinary "ice-cream". Defining these things is complicated and I'm just happy to eat the stuff, so I'll leave it to the team at Gourmet Magazine (RIP) to label this dessert.



If you're a fan of Häagen-Dazs Pomegranate chip ice cream, you'll enjoy this recipe.

A few notes:

I know some of you will be tempted to omit the booze and use something else. However we're not just using it for flavor, like the air in the ice cream, the alcohol helps give this dish a softer texture. Alcohol has a freezing point below that of water, temperatures below those of an ordinary home freezer. So, where ordinary juice would freeze solid, alcohol stays fluid.

Also, if you don't wish to drop $50 on a bottle of PAMA pomegranate liqueur, feel free to use an off brand. I'm using PAMA's ridiculously named cousin: Luscious Pomegranate Pleasure. I don't really drink so I can't tell you if one tastes better than the other, but I do think the Lusci...LPP's garish red hue helps boost the color of the ice cream.


Gourmet's Pomegranate Gelato
adapted Gourmet 2006 as seen at Epicurious
yields 1 quart
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/4 cups Pom-Wonderful*
1/3 cup pomegranate liqueur
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
pinch salt

1/2 - 1 cup chopped dark chocolate (optional)

*You may use other brands of pomegranate juices, just make sure it is 100% pomegranate juice. I've seen several brands that are diluted with grape juice.

In a medium, heavy-bottomed sauce pan, whisk together the cream, milk, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking occasionally, then once boiling, whisk constantly for two minutes. Remove from heat, pour through a mesh strainer into a large bowl and add the remaining ingredients.

Chill this mixture in the refrigerator until very cold.

Once cold, add the mixture to your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. If using, add the chocolate during the last 5 minutes of churning. Once finished, transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm.

Soften gelato slightly in refrigerator, about 20 minutes, before serving.

Enjoy!

Honeycomb Ice Cream (Hokey-Pokey)

Yesterday was a marathon of cooking, cleaning, and candy making. All to recreate a dessert I enjoyed while in London.

I admit it requires some effort to make all the components from scratch, but is was worth it. Honeycomb ice cream is awesome. Or, as it is called in New Zealand, Hokey Pokey. Over in my neck of the woods, the Hokey Pokey is a dance for the young and uncoordinated. I think I prefer the ice cream version as, unlike the dance, there are few embarrassing memories associated with the ice cream.

For anyone unfamiliar with honeycomb or hokey pokey ice cream, it contains bits of a light airy toffee. This gives the ice cream a wonderful caramel crunch. With the cookies and a drizzle of caramel sauce, it is even better.

I'm going to help myself to a bowl later today. After I go be an adult and take on the laundry monster. (sigh)

So today's dessert is made up of four parts.

1. Honeycomb candy
2. Vanilla Ice Cream
3. Butter Cookies
4. Caramel Sauce

If making each component from scratch seems overwhelming, that's okay. Even writing out the instructions for all this seems a little overwhelming. So, do feel free to substitute danish butter cookies, store bought caramel sauce or even good quality vanilla ice cream. After all, you can always sprinkle the candy on top of your scoops.

You can also pace yourself and make some of the components in advance. The butter cookie dough can be kept chilled or frozen before slicing and baking and the caramel keeps well in the refrigerator.

So, lets get down to this monster post, starting with the honeycomb candy...

Some recipes for this candy use a lot of of honey. However all that fructose will make the candy hopelessly hygroscopic (it will absorb a ton of moisture from the air and turn quickly into a sticky mess). The amount of honey called for here isn't much, but it provides a good balance of flavor for the candy-chemistry trade-offs. It won't turn to goo and you'll still be able to smell the warm honey throughout the cooking process and you will taste it when you are finished.

Honeycomb candy
yields enough to make your dentist send me hate mail
400g granulated sugar
20g honey
30g light corn syrup (or invert/golden syrup)
80g water
1 tablespoon baking soda

Ready a heat safe pan with a little nonstick spray.

Combine the sugar, honey, light corn syrup and water in a large heavy bottomed sauce pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. Once boiling stop stirring and wash down the sides of the pot with a damp pastry brush. Continue to cook over medium-low heat until the sugar begins to caramelize (turn a light blond color). Cook until it darkens just a little bit (a light gold color). Watch it carefully, if it gets too dark your candy will be bitter.

Color is almost there...

Add the baking soda and mix quickly using a whisk. The candy is going to foam up and triple in volume. Working quickly, pour the fluffy mixture into your prepared pan.



Allow it to cool completely before breaking and storing in an air tight container.




Vanilla Ice Cream with Honeycomb
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
2 cups (500ml) heavy cream
pinch of salt
1 good quality (moist) vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
6 large egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup crushed honeycomb candy

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, 1 cup (250ml) of the cream and the salt. Place the pan over medium heat. Cook until very warm but not boiling. Add the seeds of the vanilla bean and the bean itself to the pot. Cover and remove from heat. Allow the mixture to steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Whisk the 6 egg yolks together in a medium bowl. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the medium sauce pan and place over medium heat.

Stir the mixture constantly, scraping the bottom, until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Strain the custard through a mesh strainer and add the remaining cream. Stir in the vanilla extract. Pick the vanilla bean out of the strainer and return it to the custard.

Place this bowl into an ice bath and stir until cool. Cover and chill the mixture in the fridge until very cold.

When you are ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean. Add the mixture to your ice cream maker and chill according to the manufacturer's instructions.

In the last few minutes of churning, add the honey comb. When finished spoon the ice-cream into a storage container and freeze until solid.




Turbinado-Sugar Butter Cookies
adapted from Simply Ming
yields 2-3 dozen cookie sticks
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup + tablespoon granulated sugar
pinch salt
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup turbinado sugar (also called 'raw' sugar)

In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg yolk and vanilla, beating until combined.

Stop the mixer, add the flour and then mix on low speed until the flour is completely moistened and the dough comes together in a ball.

Turn the dough out onto a piece of waxed paper or parchment paper. Form into a foot-long log. Wrap in the paper and then flatten with a rolling pin until it is roughly 1/2"-3/4" thick. Chill the dough until firm.

When firm and ready to bake, preheat your oven to 325°F.

Pour the turbinado sugar onto a small plate and set aside. Unwrap the dough from the parchment and using a sharp knife cut 1/4" thick slices from the log. Dip one side of the cookies into the sugar and place, sugar side up, onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.




Bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.




Warm Caramel Sauce (Recipe posted here)

To assemble the dessert... does this really require instructions? Anyway, warm the caramel sauce in the microwave (or gently on the stove top). Scoop the ice cream, drizzle with caramel and serve with the butter cookies.


Enjoy!

Perfect Ice Cream Sandwich

These are for Dimitri, who emailed me requesting an ice cream sandwich recipe.

Today I had eight of these ice cream sandwiches ready to photograph and six of them mysteriously disappeared from my freezer, violating the Humble Household Rule: If you don't see it on the blog then you probably shouldn't eat it without asking.

Oh well. I still have two left and I can hardly blame the hungry thief. They do look and taste quite good.

I love making ice cream sandwiches from scratch. This is one dish I never have to fuss over to make look pretty. They are just naturally gorgeous. I also enjoy how customizable they are. There are nearly endless possibilities for shapes and fillings. I can roll the sandwiches in crushed candy or dip them in chocolate. I can cut the chocolate wafer dough into any shape I like. I could even use my crazy lobster cookie cutter...

A lobster shaped ice cream sandwich would probably be the coolest thing on the planet. (Pun not intended.)

Unfortunately, I was feeling rather conformist when I baked these and chose a fluted biscuit cutter. You will find tall cutters work best--like biscuit cutters--as you'll be using the same cutter to cut your ice cream as you do your cookies.



To keep this simple I decided to omit ice cream recipes from this post, instead giving the wafer cookie recipe and then discuss how to make these using either homemade or store bought ice cream. Yes, that's right no need for special kitchen equipment for these cuties.



The following is my favorite cookie recipe for ice cream sandwiches. They're crisp, rich with chocolate flavor and stay true to shape when baked. Be sure not to substitute plain non-alkalized cocoa for dutched cocoa. For the best color and flavor you need an extra dark dutch processed cocoa powder (sometimes labeled "extra-dutch" rather than extra dark). In the U.S. Hersey's Extra Dark Baking Cocoa is easy to find in most well stocked grocery stores.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
from Fran's Pure Chocolate
yields 3-4 dozen 2.5" cookies
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup extra dark Dutch processed cocoa, sifted
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

extra flour and cocoa for dusting

In your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for several minutes until light and fluffy.

Add the cocoa powder, mixing on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Then add the vanilla and the egg and blend on medium speed until thoroughly combined.

Add the flour on low speed, mixing until uniform and comes together like a dough.

Remove the cookie dough from the mixer, wrap in plastic and chill until firm (4 hours to overnight). You can store the dough wrapped like this for 2-3 days if you wish to make it in advance.

When ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 350°F.

Remove your dough from the refrigerator, if it is hard as a rock allow to stand at room temperature for a little while before exercising your rolling muscles on it.

In a small bowl, mix together enough flour and cocoa to dust your cutting board and your dough to keep it from sticking (a mix of 50/50 flour/cocoa). Using cocoa powder to dust will keep the surface of your cookies dark and chocolaty looking.

Roll out your chilled dough to about 1/8" thickness and cut out your shapes. If anyone is curious, I used the largest of the fluted cutters from this set: R & M Biscuit Cutter Set. Arrange the cutouts on parchment paper or silpats, they spread only a little so don't be too concerned about crowding.

Bake for 10 minutes, until the surface is no longer glossy. Allow to cool completely on wire racks. They will be soft fresh out of the oven but will crisp up as they cool.

Once cool, place the cookies in a ziplock baggie or other container and freeze until ready to use.

To make the sandwiches with homemade ice cream:

Line a baking dish (or other flat container with 1.5" sides) with plastic wrap. How large a dish will depend on both how thick you want your sandwiches and the capacity of your ice cream maker. A 9"x9" pan or a 9"x13" pan should work well.

Whip up your desired ice cream flavor, according to your machine's instructions. When ready to chill, pour the ice cream into the bottom of your prepared pan. Spread the ice cream to fill the pan evenly (aim for a thickness between 1/2" or 1 1/4") and then place another sheet of plastic wrap on top, pressing it onto the surface of the ice cream. Chill this in the coldest part of your freezer until very, very firm (ideally 24 hours).

When the ice cream is cold, remove the top layer of plastic and using the same cookie cutter you used for the chocolate wafers, cut out shapes from the ice cream. Working quickly, place the ice cream cutouts between two frozen chocolate cookies and return to the freezer.

If desired, roll the ice cream sandwiches in sprinkles, chopped nuts, crushed candy or any other delicious topping you can think of.

Chill until firm and then they are ready to eat.

To make the sandwiches with store bought ice cream:

The easiest way to do this is to choose an ice cream that comes in a box, one that you can unwrap completely and slice. Cut out the shapes from these ice cream slices in the same way you would the homemade method.

You can also attempt to line a pan with softened store bought ice cream, as you would with the homemade version. However you need to be careful how soft the ice cream gets, or the texture will suffer when it refreezes.

Again, while cutting your ice cream, place each cutout between two frozen chocolate cookies and return to the freezer.

If desired, roll the ice cream sandwiches in sprinkles, chopped nuts, crushed candy or any other delicious topping you can think of.

Chill until firm and then they are ready to eat.

Enjoy!

Orange Chocolate Baked Alaska

Top 10 "Most Difficult" Recipes: #8 Baked Alaska
Total Batches: One
Time: 24 hours
Difficulty: Making it is easy, photographing it before it turns into a puddle is difficult.

Still working my way through the most difficult recipes. I've been looking forward to doing the baked Alaska, it is just so fun to make and eat.

Mr. Humble is actually pretty grumpy he isn't home right now to share this dessert. Though, I do have the components ready in the freezer for a second baked Alaska all ready to go. Maybe I could bake a second, you know, if somebody does all the dishes tonight...

Anyway, I'm not sure if this recipe deserves the title 'most difficult'. All things considered, it really isn't that hard. The trick is having everything frozen solid before covering it with meringue and transferring it to the oven. The meringue acts as an insulator and keeps the ice cream cold throughout the baking.

This version of baked Alaska uses orange ice cream atop a brownie in a pool of dark chocolate sauce. Feel free to substitute store bought orange sorbet for the ice cream if you lack an ice cream maker. You simply need to soften the sorbet/ice cream and fill a mold and let it freeze until solid (usually overnight).

Hemisphere molds are commonly used for baked Alaska. Though, once you take a simple stainless bowl and slap the name 'hemisphere mold' on it, they get expensive. I'm not really sure why, they're absurdly priced at my local baking store. However, I found some inexpensive metal bowls that can serve the same purpose at Ikea and for a lot less. Metal hemisphere molds are not a requirement for this recipe, you can chill your ice cream in any container you wish, lined with a little plastic wrap for easy removal.



The Day before:


Orange Ice Cream
Yields enough for two 5" hemisphere molds (roughly 1.2 quarts)
1 cup frozen orange concentrate
2 1/2 cups heavy cream (ideally 40% milk fat)
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup + one tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 drop orange gel food coloring (optional)

Place your molds into the freezer to chill.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until thoroughly combined.

Add the mixture to your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.

When the ice cream is done, divide between your molds (if using a ceramic or plastic mold line with a bit of plastic wrap). Press a little plastic wrap onto the surface of the ice cream and freeze until solid (this will take at least overnight).



The Next Day:

Start by preparing the dark chocolate sauce:

Fran's Deepest, Darkest Chocolate Sauce
from Pure Chocolate
yields 1 1/2 cups
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup corn syrup (or liquid glucose)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted

Add the cocoa to a large heat-safe mixing bowl and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the cream and sugar and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the corn syrup and then bring to a boil over medium heat.

Remove from the heat and pour half of the mixture into the bowl with your cocoa. Whisk by hand until smooth and then add the remaining cream. Whisk the mixture until uniform and then strain though a fine sieve back into the sauce pan.

Cook the mixture over low heat until glossy and large bubbles form (roughly 5 minutes).

Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Serve warm.

Store any extra sauce in an air tight container for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.

---

Now you're ready to prep the ice cream (provided it is frozen solid).

Warm the molds in a little hot water to melt the surface and press them out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Or, if they were lined with plastic wrap, use that to remove from the mold.

Place the unmolded ice cream into the freezer once again and chill until solid.

Bake a pan of brownies (I'm using Ghirardelli brownie mix because I'm an unforgivably lazy food blogger today) and cut out 5" rounds, one for each mold. Allow to cool to room temperature and then transfer to the freezer for 30 minutes.

When the 30 minutes is up, preheat the oven to 345°F and whip up the meringue.

Meringue
yields enough for two 5" baked Alaskas
6 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2/3 cup granulated sugar

In large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture forms stiff but still glossy peaks.

To assemble the baked Alaskas, place the brownie onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Working quickly, top the brownie with the orange ice cream and slather on a thick layer of meringue.

Now some freeze the baked Alaska for a couple hours before baking. However I don't like my meringue frozen, so I bake immediately for 10 minutes or until the meringue has a golden blush. If you're ice cream is solid and you work quickly, baking it immediately will not be a problem.

To serve, coat a plate with the prepared chocolate sauce and place the baked Alaska in the center. Serve immediately.

One 5" baked Alaska should serve 2-4.

Raspberry Ginger Ice Cream Float

Spring is officially here and I'm feeling it.

I spent the weekend cleaning. Reorganizing the Humble pantry, finding rogue splatters of macaron batter in the kitchen and attempting to remove it without the aid of a chisel.

I'm also craving warmer weather desserts, like yummy ice cream floats. Of course, since buying a new ice cream maker, I now have plenty of ice cream around that needs a use. Today's Raspberry Ginger Ice Cream Float is Mr. Humble's favorite (that man loves ginger), creating a frosty drink that is creamy, spicy and tart. Sounds interesting, right?

It is and it is good.



This is my easiest ice cream base, a simple mix of fruit, milk, cream and sugar that never lets me down. It requires no cooking, uses no eggs and is ready to churn in less than 5 minutes.

For the non-ginger lovers, you're welcome to omit the candied ginger. Just substitute a teaspoon of vanilla extract for an equally delicious, creamy raspberry ice cream (Try topping it with a cream soda for an amazing float).


Not So Humble Ginger Raspberry Ginger Ice Cream
yields 1.2 quarts
2 cups frozen raspberries
2 cups heavy cream (I'm using 40% milk fat)
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup plus one tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon candied ginger, finely minced

Toss the raspberries into your food processor and blend until pebbly. Add the sugar and the milk and mix until a slurry forms. (You can strain this mixture if you want a smoother ice cream, however I actually like having the seeds in there.) Add the heavy cream and then blend for a little under 10 seconds. This beats a little air into the ice cream and results in a smooth, creamy and easier to scoop ice cream.

If you're working with frozen berries and chilled ingredients, the mixture is ready to be added to your ice cream maker now. If you substituted fresh berries, chill the mixture in the refrigerator for roughly 30 minutes before churning.

Add the mixture to your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions. During the last few minutes of churning, add the finely chopped ginger.

Pour the finished mixture into a container and chill for at least an hour, until firm.



This picture brings out my inner girlie-girl. I love this color.

Okay, turning this into a float...

Does making a float require instructions? Well for those in need of directions: take a couple scoops of the ice cream and top with ginger ale or ginger beer (these are non-alcoholic beverages, mind you).



Pour slowly as it will foam up.




Serve it up in a tall glass with an old fashioned spoon-straw and you've got that ice cream parlor experience right at home.

For an even prettier presentation, toss a couple fresh/frozen raspberries into the bottom of the glass before adding the ice cream.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Covered Espresso Bean Ice Cream

I'm still blogging with my laptop from my sick bed. Good times!

Like most viruses I catch, my body's plan of attack is to simply kick back let the virus ravage me until it gets bored and leaves on its own.

I fear if I don't get better soon, I won't have my St. Patrick's Day dessert finished in time and then I will get emails from disappointed readers (like I did for Pi Day). For the record the lack of a Pi day post was not an oversight, I was just too sick to get any cooking done this weekend.

Besides, everyday is Pi Day at Not So Humble Pie! We don't need a special day around here to engage in baking nerdery.



So today's treat: Chocolate Covered Espresso Bean Ice Cream.

I got a hold of a huge bag of chocolate covered espresso beans in bulk last week and naturally they were involved in the ice cream making spree. I took my favorite super-rich chocolate ice cream recipe, from Fran's Pure Chocolate cookbook, tarted it up with a little instant espresso powder and the chopped chocolate beans.

So good.

Of course I have nearly 10lbs of the beans left over and as much as Mr. Humble insists that he can eat them all, I think I need to find another use for them. If anyone knows of a good recipe that includes chocolate covered espresso beans, do send them my way. I would be most grateful.



Chocolate Covered Espresso Bean Ice Cream
adapted from Fran's Pure Chocolate
2/3 cup dutch processed cocoa, sifted (use extra-dark or 'extra-dutched' cocoa)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream (I'm using 40% min milk fat)
6 large egg yolks
5 ounces semi sweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder (using Medaglia D'oro)
1/2 cup chocolate covered espresso beans, roughly chopped

In a large heavy-bottomed sauce pan, whisk together the cocoa powder and half of the sugar. Pour in a half cup of the milk and whisk together for a couple minutes until a smooth paste forms. Add the remaining milk and the heavy cream, whisking well and place the pot over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes. Don't let the mixture come to a simmer or a boil, you simply want to cook the dry raw taste out of the cocoa powder. Once the mixture has the smoother flavor of cooked chocolate, remove from the heat.

In a bowl, whisk together the remaining sugar with the egg yolks. Temper the eggs with 1 1/2 cups of the warm chocolate-cream mixture, stirring constantly. Pour the tempered mixture back into the pot with the remaining chocolate-cream, stirring constantly and set over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon (roughly 160°F). Remove from heat and add the chopped semisweet chocolate. Allow the mixture to stand for a minute and then stir until smooth. Add the espresso powder and vanilla and mix.

You can then refrigerate this mixture, with a coating of plastic wrap pressed down onto the cream so a skin doesn't form, for about an hour until chilled. Then it is ready to be added to your ice cream maker.

However, if you're impatient like myself, you can pour the mixture into a stainless steel bowl sitting in an ice bath and stir occasionally until the mixture is chilled (10-15 minutes) and add to your ice cream maker.

Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the chopped espresso beans to the mixture during the last five minutes of mixing. Pour the mixture into an air tight container and freeze for at least an hour until firm.

(Note: Fran's Ice creams are extremely rich, dense and freeze to a solid consistency. The best way to approach this ice cream is to allow it to sit at temperature for roughly 5-10 minutes. Then it will be ready to scoop, serve and be enjoyed.)

Blackberry Brown Sugar Mascarpone Ice Cream

Happy Monday everyone!

I do hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Mine didn't go exactly to plan. You see, I caught Mr. Humble's virus. The one I had avoided catching all week (was feeling quite immunologically superior), and then of course it finally hit me. Apparently the virus was just waiting for the weekend so it could take me down when I need to be my most productive.

Go figure.



I had planned to do the Croissants Part Two today but my 4th batch of laminated dough is still chilling, waiting to be cut, proofed and baked. I didn't get any of my projects completed this weekend so I will be playing catch up this week. Don't worry though, I'm not without plenty of food to post. You can still get your vicarious Not So Humble Pie sugar rush even if I am out sick.

Today's treat: Blackberry Brown Sugar Mascarpone Ice Cream

Of the five flavors I produced this week, this one is probably my favorite. I'll be nursing myself back to health with several bowls today. Actually, in all honesty I will probably end up helping myself to several of the flavors.

I can't help it! My freezer is stocked with half a dozen of these cute containers filled with brightly colored ice creams. If I wasn't ill I would be making caramel and chocolate sauce and creating a little at home Not So Humble Ice Cream parlor. Oh yes.



Not So Humble Blackberry Brown Sugar Mascarpone Ice Cream
yields roughly 1.3 quarts
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries
1/4 cup golden brown sugar (or light brown)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups heavy cream (I'm using 40% minimum milk fat)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1 large egg*
splash of lemon juice

In your food processor, combine the blackberries and the brown sugar and mix until well blended. You can then sieve the mixture for a smoother ice cream. I just left it be because sometimes I don't mind a few blackberry seeds.

Then add the remaining ingredients to the food processor and blend for roughly 15-20 seconds.

Chill the mixture for 30-60 minutes (if you're using cold ingredients and frozen blackberries, go ahead and just skip this step) and then prepare in your ice cream maker according to the manufacture's instructions.

Pour into a container and chill for at least an hour, until firm.

* this recipe contains a raw egg. While generally I'm not concerned about eating raw unpasteurized eggs in a small quantity, I won't recommend serving raw eggs to young children, the elderly and those who are immunocompromised. So, feel free to use pasteurized eggs to eliminate the risk of foodborne illness.