Simply Summer Strawberry Ice Cream

I was in the garden this morning clad in one layer, shorts included (I’ve spared you the photo).  Two hours later, I’m wrapped in three layers including old, but comfy, woolly cardi and long track pants.  Such is the contrary weather we are experiencing at the moment. It could be worse, I could be in the South Island where there have been snowfalls. Hello summer!

On a recent hot and summer-like day, I spied some strawberries locally and knew it was time for ice cream. It was summer in my heart just thinking about it.  I have been a fan of ice cream for a long time thanks to my dad. Each Sunday he would cycle (yes, cycle) several miles to the famous Luca’s (Edinburgh and Scotland have a lot to be thankful for with their wealth of Italian ice cream stores) and bring home a tub of ice cream, strapped to the back of his bike.  When it was finished, the cats (sorry, Lucy) got to lick the empty carton and lid.  Gourmet ice cream lickin’ cats – how spoilt they were.

Whilst this ice cream can’t match the rich creaminess of Luca’s it does have a glorious colour and three simple ingredients - strawberries, cream and sugar – the taste of summer.

Just remember to freeze the strawberries in advance, otherwise you’ll have to wait a few hours before satisfying your craving.

Strawberry ice cream

Serves 4

If you’re serving this with something, have everything ready and work quickly as the ice cream melts fast.

2 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered

½ cup icing sugar

½ cup pouring cream

Place the strawberries in a plastic container and freeze.

Empty frozen strawberries into a food processor (you may need to break them apart if they’re stuck together but do this quickly to keep fruit frozen) and process until finely chopped.  Add the icing sugar and process until well combined.  Keep the motor running and add the cream until you have a smooth ice cream (wipe the sides of the bowl down with a spatula once or twice to blend).  Serve immediately.

You might also want to try this 

Semifreddo with Strawberries and Italian Nougat

Maltesers Ice Cream

Summer has come and gone (although we are still doing well weather-wise) and not once did I use my ice cream maker.  Not that it's a fancy-pancy one, but I did get excited about hauling it out of its box (yes, it lives in its box still) and trying out some of those fruit ice creams I'd been drooling over.  Sadly they never came to fruition (unintended pun!).  So I was kind of excited about this recipe until  I realized it didn't even require an ice cream maker.  Oh well, maybe next summer...

In the meantime, we can make the most of our Indian summer and try this creamy vanilla ice cream with little crunchy nugget bites of malt and chocolate. For those experiencing winter, It will just have to be hot chocolate or malt drinks, I'm afraid.

Maltesers Ice Cream

300ml single cream

40g caster sugar

2 eggs, separated

1 drop vanilla essence

1 small bag Maltesers (40g), crushed

Whip the cream until thick, cover and chill.  

Place the sugar and egg yolks in a bowl and beat until thick and fluffy.  Fold into the cream with the vanilla and chill again.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until thick and fold them into the ice cream mix, ensuring they are fully combined.

Pour into a freezer-proof container (an old ice cream container is perfect!) and freeze for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the ice cream is just beginning to freeze.

Fold in the crushed Maltesers and mix through.  Freeze for at least six hours or overnight.

This ice cream is best eaten within a couple of days.

For a touch more luxury you might like this 

Strawberry semifreddo with strawberries and Italian nougat

Recipe adapted from The Utterly Unrefined Cookbook (Billingtons).

Creamy Orange Ice Blocks

They say never work with children or animals.  Well, I’m adding ice cream sticks to that. While they might not cause as much destruction as tiny tots or pets, it's only a matter of time before it all turns to custard (literally).   

So, with an eensy weensy frame of opportunity to photograph on a hot day, I quickly took 10 consecutive snaps before the ice blocks melted.  Setting up the styling in advance without the star attraction did help, but even so it sure didn't take too long for those little blocks to start disintegrating.

I then had a few messy minutes attempting to squeeze custardy melts into some resemblance of their original shape and back snugly in their moulds.  Don’t suppose there’s any takers for them now?

Although they were fiddly in a photographic sense, they are oh so  simple to make. Despite having cut out this recipe donkey’s years ago, I'd never really given much thought to making ice blocks but, after a few hot and humid days here, I thought I’d give them a go.

These are creamy and custardy with a hint of orange (I'd add more orange zest next time). Not quite as refreshing as a fruity ice block but nevertheless they'd be a cool alternative to dessert on a hot day or simply as a ‘rescue me’ package after a long, hot drive.

I was unable to source sophisticated, classy moulds for these so, apart from one grown-up wooden stick, children’s popsicle moulds it is! 

In the end, I had more mix than I had ice block moulds, so I poured the remainder (after adding a shot of Malibu coconut liqueur to it!) in a small oval container (similar to a mini-loaf tin), lined with cling wrap and popped it in the freezer.   That may do as a dessert one evening.

Creamy Orange Ice Blocks 

400g carton chilled custard (I used Vanilla Custard)

grated zest and juice of 3 small oranges (use more zest if you like)

250g mascarpone cheese

175g icing sugar

In a food processor, mix all the ingredients until smooth. Pour into the moulds and tap gently on the work surface to release any air bubbles.  Insert the sticks and freeze until required.  Yes, it is that simple.

This is the difficult part.  To remove, dip the moulds briefly in hot water and gently ease the blocks out. 

Serve individually as required, or arrange on a bowl of ice and decorate with some extra orange zest grated on top for a summer dessert.  Quick, before it melts!

I can’t think of a more summery, sweet New Zealand than this, so it’s my entry for this month’s Sweet New Zealand, hosted by someone who lives not too far from me but who I haven’t yet met, Arfi at HomeMadeS.

vanilla panna cotta with Piopio blueberries … and a year older

♫ Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me … ♫

That’s the blog singing, not me.  My birthday was lost somewhere between Christmas shopping, Christmas organization and travel plans. Either way, we’re both a year older.

Yes, last Tuesday 10 January was the first anniversary of eat, etc…

And, as if Food Gawker somehow knew 10 January was a special anniversary, my first attempt at a photographic submission, succeeded. Oh, happy days.  Click on the Food Gawker badge in the right hand column if you have no idea what I am talking about. There’s only one photo as yet but first birthdays are kind of special, don’t you think?

Thank you to each and every one of you who has taken the time to stop by.  Sometimes I feel like such a fraud being a food blogger, especially when others have so much more talent.  So I remind myself that I’m not pretending to be anything other than what I am – someone who likes to cook and bake and wants to write about it.  There. Now you know.

Okay, on to the main idea, a creamy little dessert. 

After the Christmas rush (refer paragraph two above and/or my last post if you really want to relive the details. I don’t.), New Year’s Day lunch was a combined celebration – my birthday, Christmas AND New Year - with my sister and her partner, and most of all it was going to be simple.

Panna cotta is one of those easy yet impressive desserts that you make in advance.  It is velvety smooth on the palate and creamy to taste. The cream should be flavoured softly to give just a delicate hint of what’s inside.  Then use what’s in season to accompany it or to decorate. 

We had purchased a 1-litre box of big fat blueberries from the Piopio Orchard on our trip back from Taranaki (and on our way down!). The blueberries are juicy, sweet and better than any blueberries I’ve ever tasted.  No bruised or shriveled ones here and they last really well.  They also sell strawberries, fruit ice creams and coffees.  No wonder they’re so popular. I texted a friend to say the only traffic jam we’d encountered on our way south was the one in the car park at the orchard! 

Back home on New Year’s Day, I didn’t bother to use moulds for the panna cottas (stressless lunch, remember?) but you are welcome to try.  They look just as appealing served in little glasses or ramekins.  Plus, you don’t have the “will they, won’t they slip out whole” factor. I served them with fat blueberries and star shaped sweet shortbread.

Another fine start to a New Year.

vanilla panna cotta with blueberries

3 tsp gelatine

2 tbsp warm water

375ml (1 ½ cups) cream

375ml (1 ½ cups) milk

75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar

1 vanilla pod (or substitute with 1 tsp vanilla essence)

1 small punnet blueberries (or use seasonal fruit of your choice)

Optional: sweet shortbread or similar dessert-type biscuit to serve

Soak the gelatine in the 2 tbsp warm water.  Stir briskly with a fork until the gelatine is completely dissolved.

Using a sharp knife split the vanilla pod lengthways to open but don’t cut right through. 

Place the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla pod in a saucepan and bring slowly to the boil. When it comes to the boil, take the pan off the heat.   Remove the vanilla pod (you can rinse this in water, dry and re-use) and whisk in the soaked gelatine until it is well combined.

Lightly butter or oil* six ramekin dishes or moulds, then pour in the mixture.  Leave to cool, and then chill in the fridge for at least two to three hours until set.

Arrange the blueberries on top of each dish or alongside and serve with a suitable dessert biscuit such as sweet shortbread.

*Use a light, flavourless oil. 

semifreddo with strawberries and Italian Nougat

Looking for inspiration for dishes for a family Christmas in Taranaki, I came across this recipe by Ray McVinnie from a 2003 issue of Cuisine magazine.  I think it would make an easy but memorable special occasion dessert for summer.

If you, like me, have a family member who is allergic to nuts, simply prepare the mix and fold in the strawberries then set a portion aside without the nougat.  The remainder lucky people will now have more nougat in their dishes!

Semifreddo with strawberries and Italian Nougat

3 eggs

100g caster sugar

200g Italian soft nougat*

300g strawberries

350mls cream, whipped

extra strawberries to serve

* I used Torrone Siciliano Classico, (pictured below) which contains almonds, green pistachio and Sicilian honey.

Chop the nougat into small pieces.  If you can get past this stage without eating all the lovely nougat, well done!  If not, well strawberry semifreddo is the name of the dish now.  De-hull, chop and then mash the strawberries.  Don’t overmash as they get too juicy.

Using a hand beater or cake mixer with a beater attachment, beat the eggs and sugar until very pale.  The mixture should be tripled in size.

Carefully fold in the nougat and strawberries until well combined.

Pour the semifreddo mix into a plastic-wrap lined small loaf tin or silicone mould (if you want a nice shape) or into a container (I used an ice cream container) and chill for several hours.  Slice with a knife into slabs or use an ice cream scoop to serve (depending on what container you've used).

And that’s it!  Simply serve with fresh strawberries. I like mine with a little extra whipped cream!

If you make it a few hours before serving, it will be at its best.  Best made in small amounts and eaten within a couple of days.  Remove from freezer and allow it to soften before serving. 

Serves 6

brown bread ice cream

I met my friend, Sally, when we both worked for a property development company in London some years ago.  She cooked for the directors and I used to love hanging out talking to her in the kitchen, poking my nose, but more often my finger, into something tasty.  That last habit pretty much came to an end when I sneakily dipped my finger into what I thought was cream but turned out to be horseradish cream.  Whoa, hot…! 

I must have liked this ice cream recipe, as I wrote it down.  I hadn’t heard of brown bread ice cream then and haven’t seen it anywhere since.  I know it’s out there because when I googled it there were recipes abound with a variety of methods and ingredients.  That, of course, only confused me.  As did its origin – so I’ll leave it to the experts to decide whether it came from England, Ireland or someplace else.

There’s minimal information in the recipe so I’ve muddled along with what I’d written. It turned out quite good but I’d have liked it more creamy and with a smoother texture. 

I didn’t have enough cream so topped it up with milk, which I’d seen used in another version.  I was also trying to overcome the overindulgence of pouring 300ml cream and then some more into the bowl!  Go figure…this is why it is not as creamy, isn’t it? Still, with less fat and wholemeal breadcrumbs, don’t you just feel much better?  No?  Thought not.  Neither do I.

My (ahem) drinks cupboard - not that I have one you understand, just a collection of odd, seldom-used bottles – consists of Limoncello and Malibu (the youngest inhabitants) and sherry, port and Frangelico (so old I can’t even remember what that is), but not regular rum, so Malibu it was.  (Aren’t liqueur bottles such weird shapes?  They really stand out, screaming, “look at me, look at me”, then obviously no-one does because they sit there for years until you’re required to use a drop in some dish.)

On the web, some brown bread ice cream recipes used ice cream makers, some used a custard base and a lot were caramelizing the breadcrumbs with sugar before toasting.  

I'll leave the breadcrumbs coarser next time (I got a bit carried away on the pulse button!).  I’m also keen on caramelizing them to see how it changes the taste.  

Whizzing up breadcrumbs from leftover wholemeal bread and putting them in a plastic bag in the freezer means they’re ready for use when you want to whip up this dessert.  Then all you just have to do is wait until it freezes.

Take the ice cream out to soften about 30 minutes before serving. 

Note: I decorated the scoop in the photograph with some fine strips of candied kumquats.

This is my September entry for Sweet New Zealand hosted this month by Pease Pudding.

brown bread ice cream

75g/3oz wholemeal breadcrumbs

300ml/1/2 pint double cream*

250ml/8 fl oz of whipping cream*

75g/3oz demerara/pale brown soft sugar

2 egg yolks

1 tbsp rum (optional – I substituted with Malibu)

2 egg whites (stiffly whisked)

1 tbsp honey

*As I’ve never seen double cream here in New Zealand, I suggest using single cream for both types mentioned.

Spread breadcrumbs on a baking tray and roast in a moderately hot oven (180°C) until crisp and lightly browned.  Leave to cool.

Beat the creams with the sugar.

Mix the egg yolks with the rum and add to cream.

Gently fold the cooled breadcrumbs into the cream mixture.

Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into the mixture with the honey.

Freeze.  Remove from the freezer about 30 minutes before serving.