Flavor #75 - Champagne Sorbet

The final flavor of 2014 brings me to 3/4 of the way through this challenge. There is no better way to ring in the new year than with Champagne Sorbet.

1/12 Cups of Champagne

1 Cup of Sugar

1 Tablespoon of Corn Syrup

1 1/2 Cups of Grapefruit Juice

1/4 Cup of Lemon Juice

1 Teaspoon of Lemon Zest & Grapefruit Zest.

Remarkably simple to make as you take the champagne, sugar, syrup and zest and heat it to a low boil to burn off some alcohol. Add the juice after it comes off the stove and let it all cool before adding it to the machine.

Happy New Year!

Enjoy

Flavor #74 - Jesus Juice Sorbet

I wish I had invented this, but there are recipes everywhere. Alice first pointed this one out to me about the same time I tripped over it on a Thrillist post. For those that do not the origins of Jesus Juice, this is not based on any biblical passages or interpretations. This Jesus Juice is all about the drink Michael Jackson allegedly gave his young male guests when they came to Neverland for a sleep-over. The story is he would hand the kid a can of soda that had wine mixed in. The rest is history.

Wine and Coca Cola sounds terrible. Even mixing this stuff seemed like bad idea as it was going along. However, the flavors all meld very well with none of them really dominating the final taste. In fact every spoonful seems to contain a different set of interesting flavor combinations.

1 Cup of Sugar

1 Cup of Water

1 1/2 Cup of Cola with real sugar

3/4 Cup of Red Wine

1 Tablespoon of Red Wine Vinegar

1 Cinnamon Stick

1 Pinch of Salt

I can usually find Mexican Coke with real sugar with no problem. Shopping for it yesterday, I was not so lucky. However, I did come across Pepsi in glass bottles made with real sugar! It was not a Mexican import and I could not even tell you the last time I saw Pepsi in glass bottles. But it worked! 

A few things of importance; toss the wine in with the simple syrup after the boil begins to allow some of the alcohol to evaporate. This will allow the mix to freeze easier. Don't be afraid of the vinegar smell as it will fade out and neutralize the sweetness of the sugar content. Add the cinnamon stick to the mix after it comes off the boil and take it out after it cools.

I like this flavor and will be giving it another go 'round this summer.

Enjoy!

1 cup sugar  1 cup water  1 cinnamon stick  2 cups cola [Mexican Coke] 1 cup good-quality dry red wine  2 Tbl red wine vinegar  1 tsp salt - See more at: http://matthew-rowley.blogspot.com/2012/09/jesus-juice-sorbet.html#sthash.KV6deFWh.dpuf

1 cup sugar  1 cup water  1 cinnamon stick  2 cups cola [Mexican Coke] 1 cup good-quality dry red wine  2 Tbl red wine vinegar  1 tsp salt - See more at: http://matthew-rowley.blogspot.com/2012/09/jesus-juice-sorbet.html#sthash.KV6deFWh.dpuf

Flavor #73 - Eggnog Ice Cream

I have to say I am not a big fan of the nog. I have never understood it's appeal. A cold glass of thick custard cream, spiked or not, is not my idea of a refreshing drink. It is, however, the base of most ice cream flavors, so BOOM! I am now a fan. At least when it comes to this holiday frozen treat.

2 Cups of Eggnog

1 Cup of Heavy Cream

1 10oz can of Condensed Milk

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla

Include pie at your own risk

The Eggnog is practically an ice cream base on it's own. I've tried running it through the machine on it's own with no luck. Adding the extra cream and sweetness from the condensed milk keeps the nog from freezing into a solid brick. Some of the comments ranged from "Best nog ever" to "It just like Vanilla, only thicker." You decide. All I know is I would rather eat it as ice cream that have to drink it down.

Happy Holidays!

Enjoy!

Flavor #72 - Ginger Snap Ice Cream

Christmas time and Christmas flavor. But what took so long? Two new jobs and a broken fridge have kept me away. Thankfully, I was so prolific earlier in this challenge that I can afford a few weeks off from the challenge.

I had planned this one over six weeks ago and almost forgot that I had already purchased the ginger snaps! This should be the first of several holiday flavors so, Ho Ho Ho.

1 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 1/2 Cups of Milk

1/8 Cup of Cookie Butter

3/4 Cup of Sugar

16 Chopped Ginger Snap Cookies

1 Pinch of Salt

The Cookie Butter inspired me last summer. It was just a matter of waiting until Christmas. Great flavor and a spectacular cookie crunch. And now that I have a working freezer again, there will be more to come!

Enjoy!

Flavor #71 - Slow As Molasses Ice Cream Sandwiches

I found a recipe for an old fashioned New England Molasses Cookie and knew it would go well with Vanilla Ice Cream. It is a simple, old-timey treat.

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon hot water
2-1/2 tablespoons dark rum, such as Gosling's
3-3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1-1/2 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened, plus more for baking sheets
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark molasses

This is one sticky cookie batter. Start be mixing the rum and hot water in a bowl and set aside. Then mix the flour, baking soda and spices in a large bowl. In a third bowl, or better yet, in your mixer, mix the butter and sugar four about 4 minutes until creamy. Add about a third of the flour mix, the rum mix and 1/2 a cup of the molasses. Once suitably mixed, add another third of the flour mix. Finally, add the last of the flour mix and the remaining 1/2 cup of molasses.  If the mix seems too liquid, add more flour then chill for at least an hour.

The recipe I had suggested rolling out the dough and using cookie cutters. I just balled it up and placed them on the cookie sheets.

I used a vanilla ice cream as the smooth nature of the vanilla contrasts so well with the spiciness of the molasses cookie. I would think coffee might go well here too.

Enjoy!

Flavor #70 - Turbo Twix

Now that Halloween is behind us, I can say with confidence that I managed to avoid digging in to the kids Halloween stash this year. However, what I saw did inspire at least one new flavor - Coffee Ice Cream with bite sized Twix mixed in.  This also gave me a chance to use my updated coffee ice cream recipe.

1 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 1/2 Cups of Milk

3/4 Cup of Sugar

1 Pinch of Salt

1 1/2 Cups of Whole Coffee Beans

4oz of Twix Bites

Add all of your ingredients, except the Twix, to a sauce pan and heat until it steams. Do not bring to a boil. Take the mixture off the heat and let it sit for 30 minutes then strain the coffee beans out of the mixture. You will notice a significant loss of liquid as the beans will soak up almost a whole cup! Chill the mix before you add it to the machine. On the transfer to the hardening container, add the Twix bites. I've noticed making coffee ice cream using this method that you will end up making a much smaller batch with the loss of the overall amount of milk and cream lost in the coffee beans. However, the coffee flavor is much improved!

Enjoy!

Flavor #69 - Cranberry Orange Sorbet

Cranberries have been a part of the local cuisine here in New England dating back to the Native Americans. there are cranberry bogs all throughout southeast Massachusetts and have played a big part in the local economy. Most of the time, the bogs don't look line much.

But once the berries are ready for harvest, the farmer will flood the bog and rake out the cranberries, which will float to the surface when they are ripe. 

For years, cranberries were something you only had at Thanksgiving while cranberry juice was considered something you only drank while on a diet. Now, these bitter little berries are everywhere, except in your freezer for desert.

It took me a while before I found a cranberry recipe I liked as I was looking for one where I did not have to over sweeten with sugar to compensate for the tartness of the berry. This is the problem I have always had with cranberry cocktails, there is so much sugar in the drink. The orange juice makes for a nice sweet contrast. Still, there is a lot of sugar in this sucker!

5 Cups Washed Fresh Cranberries

1 1/2 Cup Sugar

1 1/2 Cups Water

1 Half Cup Orange juice

1/8 Cup Lemon Juice

1 Teaspoon Salt

1/4 Cup Light Corn Syrup

All the lot into a sauce pan over medium heat and bring to a low boil. Wait for the cranberries to pop before taking the pot off the stove. Cool the mixture before adding it to a blender. make sure the top is on tight before you liquify the mix or else your entire kitchen will look like a scene from Dexter. Once the mix is liquified, strain the solids out of the mix and chill until you are ready to place the mix in your machine.

I've found a few things that sets this sorbet apart. First is how the initial taste is that of the orange followed by the weaker bitter cranberry after taste. The second thing is how creamy this sorbet is with its texture. I attribute this to the corn syrup in the recipe.

Enjoy!

Flavor #68 - White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream Pie

As it turns out, October was not a very prolific month for me when it comes to producing new flavors. I expect to be making a fair amount of new flavors the next two months, as well as going back to some old favorites with all the holiday parties on the horizon.

This recipe is one that I took from the folks at Bi-Rite Creamery in San Francisco.  I have featured their book and recipes in the past and have been looking forward to making this one for some time now.

2 Cups of Heavy Cream

3/4 Cup of Milk

5 Egg Yolks

1/3 Cup of Sugar

5 oz of White Chocolate

1/4 Teaspoon of Vanilla

1 Pinch of Salt

1 Pint of Raspberries

1/3 Cup of Sugar

24 Golden Oreos

1/4 Stick of Melted Butter

I found it easiest to start with the pie crust. Stick all of the Oreos in a food processor and chop them finely, drizzling the butter as you go. Dump the mixture in a 9" pie plate and mold them into place for about a 1/4 inch crust all the way around. The combination of the butter with the Oreo filling will keep the crust in place. Place the pie plate to the freezer to harden.

Wash the raspberries and place them in a sauce pan with the sugar on medium high heat, stirring consistently until the raspberries are in a jam-like state. Take the mixture off the heat to cool before transferring to the food processor (I like the nutri-bullet for fruit) to puree the raspberries. Heat again over medium heat until you have a smooth paste and strain into a small bowl to get the last of the seeds out. Set the raspberry mixture in the fridge to cool.

As for the ice cream, start by taking the white chocolate and chopping it into a fine powder eventually putting the white chocolate in a small mixing bowl. Mix your ice cream base with the cream, milk, sugar and salt in a sauce pan until it steams. Slowly add a ladle full of the warm cream mixture into the bowl of egg yolks so the eggs do not cook. Add the egg mixture back into the sauce pan, stirring so the eggs do not cook until the custard coats the back of your spoon. Strain the custard mix into the bowl with the white chocolate. The heat from the custard should melt the white chocolate. Stir the mixture to begin to blend the two together. Clean the sauce pan, the strainer and the spoon and re-add the custard and chocolate mix in the sauce pan over medium heat so the white chocolate blends smoothly with the rest of the mix. Strain the mix again and let it cool for a few hours in the fridge. Add the vanilla to the mix when the mix is cool, otherwise you risk the vanilla flavor getting steamed out.

When the mix is cooled, put it in the machine to process. When it comes out of the machine, add a small amount of ice cream to the pie plate and cover it with a small amount of the raspberry, doing this repeatedly until the pie plate is full. It will take some practice adding the layers and smoothing out the pie without mixing up the two ingredients too much. I have found it is best to place the raspberries in the middle and smooth things in a circle from the inside out. But even if it looks like a mess, it is still a tasty mess! You can eat this straight away or return it to the freezer to harden for a few hours before digging in.

What I love about this flavor is how the white chocolate blends so well within the mix. Regular chocolate won't mix the same way. The reason being that white chocolate is not really chocolate as it is a blend of dairy products and sugar that resembles chocolate. It also explains why there is such a low quantity of sugar and milk in the overall mix. The white chocolate and the raspberries go remarkably well together, so well, that when we were doing an initial tasting as it was all coming out of the machine that I know the pie will not be around for long.

Enjoy!

Flavor #67 - Blueberry Oatmeal Ice Cream Sandwiches

The past three weeks have been absolutely action packed and I will address all of the grizzly details in another post. As I has mentioned in the past, as I have been moving through this challenge, I have been given some great suggestions from a number of friends. When Maura first told me about blueberry oatmeal I was a little curious as I had never seen oatmeal as an add-in for ice cream before. I checked out the place she recommended, saw the flavor description and gave the flavor a spin. Except, I screwed it up. So I tried again, altering the oatmeal to outside of the ice cream as a cookie instead.

1 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 1/2 Cups of Milk

3/4 Cup of Sugar

4 Eggs Yolks

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla

1 Pinch of Salt

1 Cup of Pureed Blueberries

24 Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

Lots of blueberry goodness. The cookies are chewy and the ice cream is exceptionally sweet with the added sugar from the berries, almost to the point where I may scale back the sugar content the next time around as it took the ice cream several extra hours to harden in the freezer.  Another worthy suggestion!

Enjoy!

A Mid-October Update

It has been two weeks since my last entry - by far the longest I have gone without producing a new flavor since I started this challenge. Rest assured, I am not slacking. The machine has been churning as I have been working on a few things.

Nice pie. Just not mine.

I made my first ice cream pie last week. Although there is no photo evidence, the 9" coffee ice cream (with a new recipe) and Oreo crust was gone in a single serving at a recent family dinner. I have also gone back to tweak a few earlier recipes while also discovering that a recipe I had for Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream was perhaps the most foul thing I have ever developed - ever!

I have also been looking into what it would take to open my own store. Although, the initial reaction from the people I have been working with has been positive, there is still a whole lot of work that needs to happen on my part to make this a reality. I thank all the folks who have taken meetings, answered my emails and offered assistance and encouragement.

I have a lot of work a head of me.

More flavors to come.

Flavor #66 - Ricanellas Ice Cream

I know, I know, what the heck is Ricanellas and how did it get here? As I have been looking at various flavors and different ice cream shops around the country, I found this great shop in San Francisco, Bi-Rite Creamery. As I have been on this challenge the past few months, friends from around the country have let me know their favorite flavors and their favorite places to go for a scoop. I have been going through different books and sites and found Bi-Rite initially through their book earlier this summer while buying my popsicle maker at Williams-Sonoma.

I didn't buy the book initially as I was already dropping a bundle on the new gear, but then came across Bi-Rite again while looking at ice cream sandwiches and again while looking at small batch shops. Having never been there, it is hard for me to give them a resounding recommendation. However, everything they do is pretty much how I have envisioned running an ice cream business for the past decade. Good natural products with a line around the block, and Ricanellas is one of their top flavors.

I know there are lots of flavor enthusiasts who love to go to extremes to develop a new flavor. I prefer to stick with the simple classics. This flavor jumped out at me as one that combines some simple flavors with an added twist of another desert classic - rice pudding. As far as I can tell, this is a take on Mexican Horchata as well as a popular Mexican Cinnamon cookie. After paying tribute to Canada earlier, this will be the first of a few recipes I plan on presenting from our neighbors to the south.

20+ Blanched Almonds
1/2 Cup Long Grain Rice
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 1/2 Cups of Milk
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon
1 Pinch of Salt
5 Egg Yolks
1-2 Snickerdoodle Cookies

I made the cookies a few days earlier and had to fight the boys off to save a few for this recipe. Although the recipe has simple ingredients,  there are more than a few steps to get to the final product.

• If you do not have blanched almonds, boil some water and pour the water over the almonds in a small bowl. Leave the water there for about a minute before rinsing the almonds in cold water. This will make peeling the skin off the almonds very easy.
• Take the almonds, rice and cinnamon stick and place them in a sauce pan on medium heat, stirring occasionally for a few minutes until you can begin to smell the nuts and the cinnamon.
• Add the milk and cream and allow the mixture to steam. Do not let the mix boil.
• Remove the mix from the heat once the steaming begins and let the mix sit for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to steep while stirring occasionally.
• Strain all the solids out of the mixture. Be prepared to see the rice almost cook up!
• After placing the solid free mix back in a clean sauce pan, add the sugar, salt and ground cinnamon over medium heat, stirring occasionally to allow the sugar to dissolve. 
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolk together.
• Once the mix begins to steam again, take the mix off the heat and add slowly to the egg yolks to keep the eggs from cooking.
• Once the eggs are suitably mixed in, add the mix back into the sauce pan and heat until the mix coats the spoon, again, stirring consistently to keep the eggs from cooking.
• Cool the mix for a few hours and toss it in the machine.
• Chop the cookies and add them to the mix as it is transferred to the freezing container.

There is an interesting cinnamon rice pudding flavor here that is made even better with the snickerdoodle. Unlike other flavors with cookies in the mix, the snickerdoodles add a chewy quality that is very unique. I still don't know about the name Ricanellas but I am glad I found it.

Enjoy!

Flavor #65 - Maple Bacon Crunch

Most American will tell you that everything goes better with bacon. I love bacon too, but this leaves me with two speed bumps in this challenge. The first speed bump here is the obvious one, how to work bacon into an ice cream flavor. The second is finding bacon that fits my goal of having healthy, if not organic ingredients in my flavors. You can get organic milk and grass fed beef, even free range organic eggs, but bacon? Organic bacon exists. I have just never seen it. Although I do love the idea of free range pigs.

1 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 /12 Cups of Milk

1 Cup of Grade B Maple Syrup reduced to 3/4 of a Cup

5 Bacon Strips

3/4 Cup of Sugar

1 Tablespoon of Butter

1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Soda

1/8 of a Teaspoon of Ground Chili Pepper

The Maple Ice Cream base was simple enough. Prior to getting that mix in the machine, cook your five bacon strips, I suggest using a thick cut. Let the cooked bacon cool and dry, then chop it into bite sized chunks and spread evenly on a silicon sheet or even wax paper. Then heat the sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly to make a caramel. Once the sugar is melted, take it off the heat, adding the butter while stirring constantly. Then add the baking soda and pepper and pour the mixture over the bacon, flattening out the mixture to make a sort of bacon brittle. 

Let it cool until it is safe to touch and break it apart into little bits with a knife or a meat hammer. Mix your bacon brittle with the ice cream on the transfer to the hardening container and you will have awesome bacony goodness ready to go.  You can even save some of the bacon brittle to sprinkle over the top of a serving. Truth be told, you barely taste the bacon as it goes so well with the maple and the caramel crunch!

Enjoy!

Flavor #64 - Andrew's True North Maple

I love Canada. Beautiful country with great people. Perfect neighbors. I'd live there if it wasn't so bone chilling cold for most of the year. The one problem with Canada, as I see it, is they don't have much to offer the world when it comes to a unique cuisine. Jokes abound about donuts, beer, round bacon and Poutine. Unfair? Maybe, as it could show our common culture than it does our differences. Still, why doesn't Canada have more unique food offerings?

The Maple Leaf is the highly recognizable symbol on the national flag for our neighbors to the north. In many locations here in New England and reaching across the border in to Quebec and the Maritimes, harvesting maple syrup is a tradition that goes back to the original European settlers. Authentic maple syrup is so vastly superior to the crappy synthetic kind you find at most markets that I am shocked anyone buys anything but the original. Well, the maple leaves in my yard are beginning to change from green to hues of red and yellow, so I thought it was time to work on some Maple Ice Cream.

1 Cup of Grade B Maple Syrup reduced to 3/4 Cup

1 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 1/2 Cups of Milk

You will rarely find any recipe that will be this simple. Yes, you can add eggs if you are making a larger batch and need it to bind for a longer period. But this stuff moves so quickly around my house that adding eggs is not necessary in my small batch world. Heat the syrup to reduce the cup to 3/4, then blend in the milk and cream while it cools. Simple.

As for the name, back when I began this challenge, a number of my friends let me know their favorite flavors. Andrew is not Canadian, although he is an interesting combination of Jim Carrey and Michael J. Fox with the swagger of Greg Kinnear (who is not Canadian). He should have been a radio star but came along at a time when a great medium died. Much like the rest of us, he is stuck working for the man rather than entertaining the rest of us. This flavor is for him.

And I love Poutine and promise that I will never try to make it into an ice cream!

Enjoy!

Flavor #63 - Cinnamon Mocha Chip

I recently was given book for flavor inspiration that sparked a series of ideas for me. Cookies and Cream is the book and it certainly has me thinking.

I started making some Snickerdoodles today in preparation for another flavor I will have ready in a few days. But I also thought they would go great with some Mocha Chip. Add a little more cinnamon and we are off and running!

1 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 1/2 Cups of Milk

3/4 Cup of Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla

1 Pinch of Salt

2 Cups of Coffee reduced to 1/3 of a Cup

1/4 Cup of Cocoa Powder

2oz of shaved Belgian Chocolate

Reducing the coffee always takes some time as will the baking of the cookies. The key here is to allow the cookies to cool and to let the ice cream begin the hard freeze for a good hour. At that point, take a small scoop of ice cream and make your sandwich. Any earlier and the ice cream is too soft and any later and it will be too hard.

The will be more ice cream sandwiches to come. The Snickerdoodle will reappear soon!

Enjoy!

Flavor #62 - Strawberry Blackberry Sorbet

Here is another flavor that came about when it came time to clean out the fridge. Easy to make and tasty too.

1 Half Pint of Strawberries

1 Half Pint of Blackberries

1 Cup of Simple Syrup

Heat the fruit over low heat with a small amount of water until the fruit is translucent. Strain the juice and add the Simple Syrup and chill the mixture before you toss it in the machine.

I love sorbet and am consistently amazed how fast it all disappears.

Enjoy!

Flavor #61 - Cinnamon Toast Ice Cream

I was pretty excited when I found this recipe as I had never seen it in a store before. Cinnamon Toast is such comfort food that it seems like it would be a great ice cream flavor.

2 Cups Milk
2 (3-inch) Cinnamon Sticks
5 Slices Firm White Sandwich Bread
1/2 Stick (1/4 cup) Butter, Melted
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
6 Large Egg Yolks
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Molasses
1 Cup Heavy Cream

This took about 2 hours to put together, so plan on putting time aside to get this ready.  

• Start by heating the milk with the cinnamon sticks over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Take the pan off the heat once the boil begins. 
• Heat the oven to 300° and put the racks towards the bottom and the top. 
• Take 3 slices of bread and cut them down to 1/4 inch cubes. Take the remaining two slices and pulverize them in a blender to get bread crumbs. Place both the crumbs and the cubes in separate bowls.  
• Whisk together butter, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon in another bowl. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of the butter mixture over bread cubes and stir to lightly coat. Spread in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan. Add bread crumbs to remaining butter mixture and stir to evenly coat. 
• Spread the cubes out on a baking sheet while you spread crumbs evenly in another shallow baking sheet. Toss the sheets in the oven for 25 minutes, stirring each occasionally and switching the racks at the half way point. 
• While the toasting is going on whisk the yolks, sugar and molasses. 
• Once the toast is done, put the crumbs in a bowl and pour in the warm milk and let the mix sit for 10 minutes before straining all the solids out and reheating the milk. 
• As the milk reheats, slowly add the egg mixture making sure not to cook the eggs. Bring the mix to a near boil until the custard begins to stick to the spoon.
• Take the mix off the heat and transfer to another bowl and chill before tossing it in the machine. Add the toast cubes to the mix as you transfer the ice cream to the freezing container.

I am told it tastes a lot like Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. Try to eat this one quick as I am also told the toast does not stay crisp for more than a few days. From the looks of things, I won't have to worry much about that!

Enjoy!

Flavor #60 - Grape Sorbet

I had been trying how to figure out how to make a grape sorbet that tasted like Kool Aid since I first got the machine. 

There were always barriers to me getting it how I wanted it since I do not use artificial flavors. the key is to use Concord Grapes, which don't grow everywhere and need to be in season. Since I began this challenge, I have been waiting for autumn, when the grapes are in season. However, I had not been able to find them until this week. I wasn't even looking for them and there there were!

1 Quart of Concord Grapes

1/4 Cup of Water

2/3 Cup of Simple Syrup

1/2 Lemon, juiced

The grape flavor is the same grape flavor you find in Kool Aid, Grape Jelly and just about every other artificial grape food stuff you've ever had - except this is the real deal!  Great color too!. A little labor intensive as you need to de-stem the entire quart, boil it down with a little water, strain the heated mixture, chill, add the syrup and lemon juice and toss in the machine.  Totally worth the wait!

Enjoy!

Flavor #59 - Cookie Overload

Over the weekend I was down on the Connecticut shore and had a chance to stop by The Old Lyme Ice Cream Shoppe. I would normally avoid any place called a Shoppe, but this place had a great reputation and made all their flavors on site. I same the name and had to ask about the flavor "Class of 2014". Turns out it is a combo of two of the most popular flavors in the country; Oreo and Cookie Dough. I have dubbed it Cookie Overload.

1 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 1/2 Cups of Milk

3/4 Cup of Sugar

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla

1 Pinch of Salt

12 chopped Oreos

One batch of Cookie Dough (See #37)

I like sweet ice cream but I do have my limits. This is about as sweet as I like it.  The crunch of the Oreos go better than I would have expected with the cookie dough, which also makes me wonder why I didn't think of this earlier!

Enjoy

Flavor #58 - Pumpkin Spice Latte

This time of year pumpkin flavor shows up in just about everything. When I was initially plotting out recipes for the challenge, I considered pumpkin as a fall flavor never realizing how many ways I could do it. This will be the first of several variations on the flavor of the Jack-O-Lantern.

1 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 1/2 Cups of Milk

3/4 Cup of Sugar

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla

1 Pinch of Salt

1 Cup of Coffee Reduced to 1/4 Cup

1 1/2 Teaspoons of Cappuccino Powder

1 1/2 Teaspoons of Pumpkin Spice

Much like going to one of the big corporate coffee shops, there is no actual pumpkin in my Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Enjoy!

Flavor #57 - Boston Cream Pie

The Boston Cream Pie, with origins going back to the 1850's at the Parker House Hotel, is not a pie, but a cake. Two layers of yellow sponge cake with a layer of custard in the middle and the top covered with thick chocolate. It's really not that popular here in the Boston area, but you do see it around. I have been a fan of this desert since I was young, so why not turn it into an ice cream.

1 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 1/2 Cups of Milk

3/4 Cup of Sugar

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla

1 Pinch of Salt

1 8" Pan of Yellow Cake

3/4 Cup of Custard

1/2 Cup of Milk

2 Tablespoons of Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla

2 Egg Yolks

1 Tablespoon of Flour

1 Tablespoon of Butter

1 Pinch of Salt

Chocolate Sauce to Taste

This is a labor intensive recipe as you need to make the chocolate sauce, custard, cake and ice cream base. I suggest starting with the chocolate sauce if you are not buying a store bought brand. The sauce needs to cool for a while, so this needs to go first. Cake and custard can be made at almost the same time with the ice cream mix prep coming while the cake is in the oven. Everything will need to cool suitably before you begin to make the ice cream or the other ingredients will melt the ice cream as you put it all in the container.

This is one of the few recipes I have with a prescribed way of adding things to the freezing container, making things almost look like a trifle. Start with a small layer of ice cream at the bottom, followed by a thin layer of cake. I cut the cake into 1" cubes and layered them across the container. Custard goes next, followed by chocolate sauce. You should have enough material to run a similar series of layers with it all topped off by a final layer of ice cream. Do not stir everything together or it will become a mess. Same with putting down the second and third ice cream layers as you will need to be very careful when adding the ice cream and smoothing out the layer prior to adding the cake. In the future, I am considering doubling the custard for a thicker layer while also making the cake even thinner to mix things up a little.

This recipe certainly catches the flavor of Boston Cream Pie. The custard layer is icy and gives the recipe an interesting mix of consistencies with the creamy ice cream, spongy cake and icy vanilla custard.

Boston's Parker House Hotel has a very cool history that includes contribution to the culinary world, global politics, US race relations and English and American literature. The lobby is well kept and loyal to its original 1920's style and Parker's Bar is a great place for a pint or two while taking in a song from the pianist in their classic American dining room.

Enjoy

 

Flavor #56 - Chocolate Angel's Wings

I have had many requests for this particular flavor. Guinness is known the world over for its unique drinking experience. Why not make it into an ice cream?  There are somethings to consider while preparing. First, the carbonation can make mixing with the other ingredients a challenge, as it was when I made the Root Beer ice cream. Second, too much Guinness in the mix will keep the mix from freezing well. Third, adding some additional flavor is key as the Guinness flavor will be light, yet bitter. It will be important to try not to overtake the flavor of the Guinness or what's the point of doing this to begin with?

1 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 1/2 Cups of Milk

1/3 Cup of Guinness

3/4 Cups of Sugar

1 1/2 Teaspoons of Ground Cappuccino

1 Pinch of Salt

1/4 Teaspoon of Vanilla

1/2 Cup of Chocolate Chips

Mix it all together, except the chocolate, and put it in the machine. You should find that the mix will be lighter and fluffier as it comes out of the machine because of the carbonation of the Guinness. The flavor will be light, as expected, and will compliment the coffee and the chocolate that is mixed in during the transfer to the container. Feel free to add more Guinness when serving, as I have in the picture above, much like a traditional float. Additional chocolate syrup can be added too.

Sláinte!

Flavor #55 - Apple Cider Donut

When I first started on this quest I asked my Facebook friends for their favorite flavors. As it was June, Apple Cider Donut was one I was looking forward to, but only in the Fall. I had the recipe planned when Zach walked through the door the other day with a big sack of apple cider donuts a friend gave him from one of the local farms in North Andover. The race was on at that moment to get this together before the donuts went stale.

 1 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 1/2 Cups of Milk

1/2 Cup of Sugar

1 Pinch of Salt

1/2 Teaspoon of Mace or All Spice (Optional)

4 Cups of Apple Cider

2-3 Apple Cider Donuts

This all starts with the reduction of the 4 cups of apple cider down to 1/2 a cup. This will take a good 90 minutes of carefully heating and stirring, keeping the cider from burning, scalding and eventually from sticking to the sauce pan.  The reduction will need to cool but be sure to take it our of the pan before it sticks. I used a Pyrex measuring cup to hold it while it cooled and became a sticky ball of goo, which made it easy to reheat in a hot water bath over the stove. Put the ice cream mix together and warm that in a sauce pan adding the cider sludge over the heat. Heat is the only way to get the sludge back into liquid form and mix well with the milk and cream. Once the mix is smooth, cool the mixture again and toss in the machine.  I chopped 2 1/2 donuts to get the amount I was looking for. As donuts can be different sizes use as many as you like. I like mine a little stale and crisp around the edges and these made for a great addition to this flavor.

Thanks Travis!

Enjoy!

Flavor #54 - Apple Pile

Fall is apple season here in New England and if you live far enough outside of the city, chances are there is a decent orchard close by. For me, it's Mann Orchards in Methuen, MA. Although their orchard is not as big as it was a few years ago before they sold off some land to Target, Mann Orchards has a nice selection of apples, apple products, produce, baked goods and does a bang-up lunch business with a deli on the premises. 

Mann Orchards has a great selection of pies, including several different styles of apple pie. Apple pie ice cream was one of the first flavors I made without using a recipe almost 10 years ago. There has been a fair amount of tweaking my technique since then, but the basic formula has remained pretty true throughout.

1 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 1/2 Cups of Milk

3/4 Cup of Sugar

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla

1 Pinch of Salt

1/2 of an 8" Crumb Top Apple Pie, Chopped

As always, mix the pie in with the ice cream when you transfer the ice cream from the machine to the container. Apple Pie a la Mode. It is an awesome fall flavor whose name come from a failed attempt to make a homemade pie. The crust was too thin and not crisp enough, so when you tried to get it out of the pie plate you did not get a slice of pie, you ended up getting a pile of what was supposed to be apple pie.

Enjoy!

Flavor #53 - Peaches & Cream

Moving to the country. Gonna eat me a lot of peaches.

Rounding out my summer flavors, peach is something I have been toying with for a while and although I like the way this came out I still think there is room for improvement. This version of Peaches & Cream is a true blend of the two flavors where some might say the peach is almost too mild. The recipe is a DJ BC style mash-up of a number of other recipes.

1 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 1/2 Cups of Milk

3/4 Cup of Sugar

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla

1 Pinch of Salt

4 Georgia Peaches, Juiced and reduced to 1/2 Cup

The juicing of the peaches will take some time and, much like reducing coffee down to a stronger flavor, there is a lot of room for error. You have to keep an eye on this. The change for me is that you would typically cut up the peaches, add about a 1/4 cup of sugar and a dash of water and simmer it all in a sauce pan to yield more than a cup of juice after straining out the fruit.  The juice really should be reduced down to a stronger half a cup.

Sweet Peaches & Cream.  Good thing it will be hot this weekend!

Enjoy!