Recipe 36: Cardamom Ice Cream

For this week’s recipe I was looking for something relatively simple and inexpensive, and while cardamom is actually a very expensive spice, I just so happened to have some from a recipe I did a few months ago, Chai Pink Peppercorn Ice Cream.  So Cardamom Ice Cream it is!

Cardamom is a spice from the ginger family with a really unique but indefinable taste.  It’s sort of spicy and acerbic but also flavorful and mild.  It’s used in a bunch of different foods from coffee to cookies to curry.  It pairs really well with other sweet food spices like cinnamon and cloves.

I liked this recipe because it was just what I wanted – relatively simple and inexpensive but still good.  The sweetened condensed milk helped smooth out the ice cream, making it sweet and slippery, while the cardamom flavored it pleasantly, making you think you were consuming a milk tea.  It’s a pretty mild and inoffensive flavor and is something you can eat without thinking.  I actually felt very soothed while eating it and just gobbled it up almost without realizing it.  Definitely a win.

Ingredients

• 2 cups half and half
• 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 4 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cardamom (freshly ground is best but not required)
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of kosher salt

Directions

1. Place the half and half, condensed milk, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, and the cardamom in a small pan and cook over low heat, whisking from time to time, until it’s warm – about 5 minutes (Don’t let it burn!).  Once warm, remove from heat.
2. Next, mix together the egg yolks, last 2 tablespoons of the sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in a small bowl.  Whisk until completely mixed.
3. Start adding the warmed half and half mixed into the egg yolk mixture ½ a cup at a time, whisking continuously.  Add about 1 ½ cups of the half and half mixture.
4. Return the egg yolk/half and half mixture to the pan and cook over low to medium heat until the base thickens.  You’ll know it’s done when it can coat the back of a spoon.
5. Strain the mixture into a metal bowl, discarding the solids, and set aside until it reaches room temperature.
6. Once cooled, cover and refrigerate overnight.
7. Once chilled, pour the base into the canister of a chilled ice cream maker and freeze according to directions.
8. Once churned, transfer the ice cream into a covered container and freeze until firm – at least four hours or overnight. 

The resulting ice cream is soft, sweet, and pleasantly spiced.  It can melt fairly easy, making it imperative that you eat it as soon as you can (but why wouldn’t you want to?) and would be an excellent addition to a fall cobbler or pie (or with a warm cup of coffee, tea, or cocoa).  And, best of all, there are no little tweaks that you need to make to this recipe – just whip it up and enjoy!

Overview

• Base prep time: 20 minutes
• Base chill time: overnight
• Ice cream set time: at least 4 hours
• Taste: thick and creamy with a pleasant but indefinable spice taste
• Difficulty level: low
• Expense level: medium (cardamom is expensive)
• Makes: about 4 cups

Recipe 35: Coconut/Pickle Ice Cream

Several weeks ago, a colleague was doing a story time with a group of kids.  She was trying to think of something no one would want to eat and suggested pickle ice cream.  One kid’s hand shot up immediately as he shouted, “I would eat that!”

Which is precisely when I decided to make pickle ice cream.

However, I was also leery of making something incredibly gross.  I wanted a recipe that would be good but unconventional and still taste like pickles.  I decided to incorporate pickles into a coconut ice cream recipe because, surprisingly, coconut and pickles are really good together (added to curry, anyway).  Which is how we eventually got this week’s recipe, Coconut/Pickle Ice Cream.

I decided to adapt a recipe from several months ago, Coconut Ice Cream with Crystallized Ginger.  It was a really good recipe with a high butterfat content and strong coconut flavor.  It was also a pretty small batch, which meant that if this were an unmitigated disaster, I wouldn’t have to waste too much food.  I also combined the baked coconut shavings from another ice cream recipe, Triple Coconut Ice Cream, to give it extra body.  And then I just added some dill pickle juice and waited.

The result is not bad.  The pickle tang is present but not overpowering and pairs well with the coconut flavor.  The juice soured the base a bit, giving it a tart flavor not unlike frozen yogurt.  It’s actually something that you could eat a lot of and not feel sick over.

However, there are several things I’d like to try in the future such as changing around the base and adding more pickle juice.  But I’ll save those musings for the end.  Until then, here’s the recipe for Coconut/Pickle Ice Cream.

Ingredients

• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 tablespoons dill pickle juice
• ½ cup sweetened coconut shavings 

Directions

1. Pour the coconut milk into a heavy medium saucepan, making sure to scrape the thick part at the bottom; whisk to homogenize.  Whisk in the cream, sugar, and salt.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for approximately 5 minutes or until the sugar dissolves and the coconut cream is hot.
2. Beat the egg yolks lightly in a medium bowl.  Gradually whisk in about ½ cup of warm coconut cream at a time until you’ve added about 2 cups.  Then return the egg yolk mixture to the saucepan, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (If it won’t thicken, raise the temperature to medium.).  Do not let boil or the egg yolks will curdle.
3. Remove the coconut custard from heat and let cool to room temperature.  Cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 6 hours.
4. Approximately an hour before you transfer the mixture into an ice cream maker, toast ½ cup of shredded sweetened coconut.  To do so, preheat the over to 350 degrees F.  Place the coconut on a baking sheet and bake until lightly colored and fragrant – about 10 minutes.  Flip after five minutes.  Once done, set aside to cool.
5. Once the custard is cold, stir in the vanilla and pickle juice (You may have to strain beforehand to get out any seeds.  Also go slowly so you can add to taste.).  Pour the custard into the canister of an ice cream maker and freeze according to its directions (Before it’s completely churned, add in the coconut shavings.).  Transfer the ice cream to a covered container and freeze until it is firm enough to scoop, at least 3 hours or overnight.

The resulting ice cream has a thick, creamy texture with a strong coconut flavor and the unmistakable tang of pickle.  It’s a bit tart and will linger on the tongue, but I assure you that it’s quite good and won’t harm you in the least.

However, as I said before, there are some things I’d like to try with this recipe.  One would be to turn the base into a Greek yogurt base as I think the pickle would pair well with it.  Another would be to up the pickle taste, possibly be adding the flavor in earlier and letting it sit overnight (or just adding more juice).  Finally, I think it’d be fun to add just a little green and yellow food dye to really hammer home that you’re about to eat pickle.  I think doing so will increase people’s enjoyment of this weird little treat.  Keep an eye out for other pickle-related recipes, but until then, enjoy!

Overview

• Base prep time: 30 minutes
• Base chill time: at least 6 hours
• Ice cream set time: at least 3 hours
• Taste: thick and creamy, strongly of coconut with a sweet tartness and a tang of pickle
• Difficulty level: low
• Expense level: low to medium
• Makes: about 4 cups

Recipe 34: Orange Chocolate Decadence

So far this year, I haven’t made any chocolate ice creams.  I’ve made ice cream with chocolate in it like S’mores Ice Cream and Turtle Cheesecake Ice Cream, and I’ve made ice cream that tastes good with chocolate on it like Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Triple Coconut Ice Cream, but I’ve never made any chocolate ice cream.  The reason for this is that no one in the apartment really likes chocolate.  My sister and I are fairly indifferent to it, and my girlfriend is pretty repulsed by it, so we were all a little leery when we decided on Orange Chocolate Decadence Ice Cream from a Scoop Adventures recipe.  Would it be too chocolately?  Too sweet?  Not enough orange?  Would it languish at the back of the freezer like other, less successful samples had?

There was really no need to worry: it turned out perfectly.  The chocolate base was rich and dark like a semi-sweet dark chocolate bar, and the orange flavor was a tang at the edge of the tongue that grew with each sweet, rich spoonful.  The butterfat and sugar content was well balanced, mostly because I tweaked the original recipe (If you learn nothing else from this blog, learn this: YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE MORE CREAM THAN MILK.  NEVER NEVER NEVER.).  It was simply perfect.  In fact, this will probably be my go-to base in the future – why mess with perfection?  ;)

Ingredients

• Chocolate liquor
• ½ cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s 100% cacao natural unsweetened)
• ¼ cup water (you will probably have to use more – maybe 1/8 cup more)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• Ice Cream Base
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 orange
• 2 ½ cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 

Directions

1. First make the chocolate liquor.  Combine the cocoa powder, water, and sugar in a medium saucepan over low heat (You may have to add a bit more water but don’t over-saturate.  It should be a thick liquid like chocolate syrup.).  Bring to a low boil, whisking constantly until combined.  Remove from the heat and seat aside.
2. Next make the ice cream base.  First whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Now prepare the orange juice.  Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest of the orange in large strips and set aside.  Squeeze the orange and pour the juice into a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the juice is half its original volume – about 4 minutes.  Remove from the heat and set aside.
4. In another medium saucepan, combine ½ cup cream, the milk, sugar, orange zest, and a pinch of salt.  Place the pan over medium heat and warm until the mixture is hot and the sugar dissolves – about 4 or 5 minutes.
5. Temper the eggs by slowly pouring the warmed milk mixture on them ½ cup at a time, whisking constantly until combined.
6. Return the warmed yolks to the pan with the milk mixture.  Heat this over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens and coats the back of the spoon – do not let it curdle.
7. Remove the custard from the heat and pour into the saucepan with the chocolate liquor.  Add the reserved orange juice and remaining ½ cup cream and stir to combine.  Set aside to cool.
8. Once cool, add the vanilla extract and stir.  Then cover and refrigerate until well chilled – at least 4 hours or overnight.
9. Once chilled, remove the zest from the base by pouring through a fine-mesh sieve.  Pour the base into an ice cream maker’s canister and churn according to directions.
10. Once churned, transfer the ice cream into an airtight container.  Seal and freeze for at least 4 hours.

The resulting ice cream is a real treat – dark and semi-sweet with a pleasant, tang of orange that grows with each spoonful.  It tastes remarkably like one of those Terry’s Milk Chocolate Orange Balls but far less cloying.  This ice cream is best eaten alone or, at most, with a little crystallized orange candy and perhaps a touch of whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Overview

• Base prep time: at least 1 hour
• Base chill time: at least 4 hours (preferably overnight)
• Ice cream set time: at least 4 hours
• Taste: semi-sweet and dark with a pleasant orange tang
• Difficulty: medium (a lot of little steps)
• Expense level: low to medium
• Makes: at least 5 cups

Recipe 33: Watermelon Sorbet

Before the summer winds down, we have one last watermelon season.  In celebration of that glorious moment when watermelon drops to only $2.99 apiece, I chose to make Watermelon Sorbet, which was modified from a Jeni’s Ice Cream recipe.

Watermelon Sorbet is good though a bit thin and utilitarian.  It smells and tastes strongly of watermelon, but the combination of watermelon, corn syrup, and sugar made it very sweet.  Unlike some of the other sorbets I’ve made, it lacks body, and it’s actually pretty difficult to eat a lot of solo.  But there is a solution!  If you mix it with vanilla ice cream, the cream fills it out and smoothes out the flavor, creating this incredibly delicious (and oh-so-cute!) Dreamsicle-esque treat.  If you want to make this recipe, I absolutely recommend grabbing some vanilla ice cream to eat it with.  You’ll be glad you did.

Ingredients

• 1 medium watermelon
• 1/8 cup lime juice (actually, I would probably half this)
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup light corn syrup 

Directions

1. Cut enough watermelon chunks to make about 4 cups.  Remove the seeds and puree the melon in a food processor.  Add in the lime juice to taste and blend.
2. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and ½ cup of the watermelon mixture in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Remove from heat.
3. Combine 2 ½ cups watermelon puree with the syrup in a bowl.  Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
4. Once chilled, pour the sorbet base into an ice cream maker’s canister and churn according to instructions.
5. Once churned, transfer the sorbet into an airtight container.  Seal and freeze for at least 4 hours. 

The resulting sorbet will be crumbly and taste a bit thin but will have a strong watermelon flavor and scent.  It will also be a very cute pink color.  Like I said above, it works best when paired with vanilla ice cream, making a delicious and colorful parfait or milkshake.  It’s the perfect treat to have on a hot summer’s day with a glass of lemonade.  Enjoy!

Overview

• Base prep time: 30 minutes
• Base chill time: at least 2 hours
• Sorbet set time: at least 4 hours
• Taste: on its own, it’s sweet and thin with a strong, fruity flavor and scent of watermelon with a hint of lime; works best paired with vanilla ice cream
• Difficulty: low
• Expense level: low
• Makes: approximately 4 cups