Ice Cream Archives - Page 2 of 5

Mango Lassi Popsicles

30|06|2015

I grew up watching my Mum make yogurt at home. A warm corner of the house was permanently reserved for this. As I child I was fascinated by the process by which a little yogurt could create more yogurt. And then the the same yogurt would make subsequent batches of yogurt. An impressive cycle! The sweltering heat of the tropics was always a great excuse to feed on yogurt and yogurt based dishes and drinks. But everyone’s favourite way of consuming yogurt was Lassi. It was not just a drink..it was a way of life! The yogurt was churned by hand and the not-so-thick consistency of home-made yogurt made it ideal to turn it into a drink.

I discovered the hype about mango Lassi after coming to Australia. For us, it was plain lassi. Good, old, humble Lassi in tall steel tumblers. It was either sweet or salted with a pinch of cumin. My kids are only fond of the sweet version so the salted one rarely gets made. Freezing this Lassi in popsicle form is a fun way of enjoying the drink without having to worry about shelf-life.

Initially, I was about to blend the mango and the yogurt together but then I thought it would look brighter with the two layers. You could add all the ingredients together to be blended if you prefer the regular mango lassi. Double up on the mango if you need a stronger taste of mango.

Mango Lassi Popsicles
Makes 6

2 cups Greek Yogurt
1 cup milk
4 tbsp sugar (more if you prefer it really sweet or 1/4 cup maple syrup if you want to avoid refined sugar)
425 g canned mangoes (or fresh)

Blend the mangoes with a tbsp of sugar in the blender until smooth. Refrigerate till needed.
In a large bowl place the yogurt, milk and remaining sugar and blend with a whisk or a hand blender. Pour into a jug. Pour from the jug into popsicle molds till about 2/3rd full. Freeze for 45 minutes. Remove from freezer, add the mango puree, gently stir and insert a stick in the centre (If the stick is hard to place at this stage, place the molds in the freezer for 20 minutes first and then attempt to place the stick). Freeze for at least 4 hours.

Caramel Ice Cream Cheesecake With Salted Butterscotch Sauce And Meringue

12|05|2015

There was a time when I would buy a can of condensed milk only to dip my flat breads into. On Sundays when breakfasts could be a bit elaborate and I could stand in front of the sizzling frying pan, patiently turning flat breads one at time whilst simultaneously rolling out the next one, I would always make a few extras. Flat breads as you know are best served immediately. But I couldn’t resist the idea of savoring them later with a few tablespoons of creamy condensed milk. Then I discovered Delce de Leche. After that, the only reason condensed milk came into my kitchen was to make Dulce de Leche. A simple process but time consuming and requiring a fair amount of supervision. The taste was however so worth the effort that sometimes I would make the flat breads only to finish up the Dulce de Leche. After that, I discovered Caramel Top n Fill and that was the end of my Dulce de Leche making. The thick, rich caramel sauce is so similar in taste to Dulce de Leche minus the effort to make it. My flat breads found a new partner. Nope! This is not a sponsored post. I am sharing this because I figured out another favorite way of eating it. In this cheesecake.

During summer this year, I discovered the convenience, ease and delightful taste of an ice cream cheesecake that I shared with you here and here. I was thinking of make-ahead recipes for Mother’s Day that would involve ice-cream and I hit upon this idea. The fact that there is no use of gelatine or no need to whip up heavy cream gives me all the more reasons to make it. It’s as simple as opening a few containers, placing them together, mix, fold and place it in the freezer. I made this a couple of days before Mother’s Day because I knew I would be busy. After lunch, I served it to the boys who wanted to eat the entire cake.

If you do not want to use Caramel Top n Fill or do not have access to it, any thick caramel sauce would work. A thinner consistency may thin down the cheesecake mix that will melt faster when you leave the ice cream cheesecake at room temperature. To top the cheesecake, I have used salted butterscotch sauce and torched meringue. You can skip this if you find it difficult to make, and just drizzle with chocolate sauce or decorate with shaved dark chocolate.

Caramel Ice Cream Cheesecake With Salted Butterscotch Sauce And Meringue
Serves 6-8

180 g chocolate cookies
75 g unsalted butter, melted
500 g cream cheese, room temperature
500 ml vanilla ice-cream, softened (I used store bought)
380 g can caramel top n fill

Line the base of a 19 cm round Spring-form pan with baking paper.
Place the cookies in a food processor. Process until fine crumbs. Add melted butter and mix to combine. Alternatively, you could crush the biscuits with a rolling pin inside a zip-lock bag. Using your fingertips, press biscuit mixture over base of prepared pan. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes or until required.

Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl (with a mixer or a whisk) until light and fluffy. Add the ice cream and mix well. Gently fold in the caramel top n fill. Pour over the prepared crust. Freeze for at least 6 hours (preferably overnight)or until firm. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving.
Before serving, drizzle with salted butterscotch sauce and pipe the meringue. Brown the meringue with a blow torch.

Salted Butterscotch Sauce

25 g salted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup thickened/heavy cream
1/8 spoon sea salt

For the butterscotch sauce combine butter, sugar, cream and salt in a saucepan over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 5-6 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly. Cool to room temperature. Pour over caramel ice cream cheesecake.

Meringue

2 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 cup castor sugar
cream of tartar, a pinch (optional)

To make the meringue, place the egg-whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl that is placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk continuously till the sugar dissolves (about 2-3 minutes). Remove from heat and whip up the mixture with a electric or hand mixer to stiff peaks.
Fill up a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe meringue kisses on top of the cake. Using a blow torch, brown the meringue.

Blackberry, Pistachio And Rose Semifreddo

18|02|2015

I hope you had a lovely Valentine’s Day weekend. Are you tired of roses yet because I have some more coming up for you? No, not a Valentine’s Day hangover! I think I may be a bit old for that. This is just love.. plain and simple love for you guys, in edible form. Well, if you follow me on Instagram you might have seen these photos way back in January. I had so many treats to share with you that I had to hold on to this one. Which is a good in a way because while the weather in the southern hemisphere is still warm, my friends in the northern hemisphere are going to experience warmer temperatures soon. And this is a recipe worth making. It tastes beautiful and looks impressive!

I have had so much fun this summer making frozen delights without my ice cream maker that I doubt if it is going to see the light of the day at all. A semifreddo is a frozen Italian dessert much like an ice cream but the texture is richer and creamier like a mousse. It’s like eating a slab of frozen mousse. The base of this dessert is made of eggs and cream, much like a mousse. Since it takes up flavors really well, you can experiment with and have fun with many different combinations. But here’s my favorite bit, you do not need an ice cream machine!

Pistachios and rose water are like a super hit pair from my childhood. With the addition of blackberries, there is slight tartness and bite to the creamy semifreddo. You can also replace the blackberries with strawberries or raspberries with similar results.

You can serve the semifreddo in slices.

Or scoop it up like ice cream.

Blackberry, Pistachio And Rose Semifreddo (adapted with variation from here)
Serves 10

2 eggs
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 3/4 cups thickened cream, whipped
1/2 cup pistachio nuts skinned, roasted
1 tablespoon rosewater (or 1 tsp rose essence
250 g fresh blackberries
Rosebuds, to serve (optional)

Line a 6 cm-deep, 25 cm x 15 cm (base) loaf pan with plastic wrap/cling film, allowing a 5 cm overhang on both long ends.

Place eggs, egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl. Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water over low heat. Whisk for 4 to 5 minutes or until thick and creamy. Remove from heat. Whisk for 4 to 5 minutes or until cool.
Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Gently fold in cream, pistachio, rosewater and two-thirds of the blackberries. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Cover and freeze overnight or until firm.

Stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before turning out onto a plate. Top with remaining blackberries and rosebuds (if using)

Aussie Summer Ice Cream Tart For Australia Day

23|01|2015

Super easy ice cream tart with a biscuit base, vanilla ice cream and fresh summer fruits. No baking and totally delicious.

I was not born is Australia. Neither was I raised here. I have not lived as many years in Australia as most of the people I know do but long enough to call it my home. My stay, memorable enough to take up a gigantic amount of hard disc space on my laptop, filling it with precious memories of little boys making sand castles in different beaches and eating apples from adopted trees. My experiences, promising enough to make me dream of a great future here. A place where I can envision my children turning into teenagers and us (my husband and me) retiring into a farm-life sort of scenario, raising chickens in our backyard and planting fields of strawberries and lavender. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

When we first stepped into Sydney, we didn’t know a soul here. With 9 suitcases, some hand baggage and two sleeping toddlers in our arms, we walked out of the airport on a cold winter night. There was anxiety and ache in the heart. Of leaving behind what once meant ‘everything’ to us..moving ahead in the dark. Quite literally. Unsure of what those decisions would be worth. Decades worth of possessions suddenly mere tangibles. Equated only to baggage allowance. Upon weighing, the kids were allowed to take 2 toys each (out of the sea of toys they owned). Only one baking pan and a tray for me. Everything was weighed. Also evaluated for volume. Luggage was packed, repacked, re-organised, lists crossed out and re-written so many times that everything was a jumble in the end.

The friendly taxi driver told us ‘It’s a beautiful city but life is not easy here. Everyone has a story’
We were approaching the Harbour Bridge that stood mighty and tall against a glittering skyline. I looked out of the window at the many pedestrians hurrying past in jumpers thinking about what the taxi driver just said. It was late when we went to bed that night. A bowl of instant noodles was our dinner in the serviced apartment that we had pre-booked from overseas. I lay awake in bed for a long time, clouds of doubt filling up my mind, the reality slowly sinking in that we were in a different country among total strangers. When I opened my eyes in the morning, I was stunned. At a bright, sunny, cheerful Sydney, the one I love and relate to so much today. It is hard not to fall in love with a place so vibrant and so complete in every way. Within days, the doubts vanished. Seasons changed, experiences grew, faces became familiar and I felt belonged. Like we were always meant to be together. Sydney and me. And so like everybody else, I had a story. A good story!

I came up with this ice cream tart recipe for Australia Day as it is summer time here and I could use a lot of the gorgeous summer bounty we are blessed with to top up an otherwise super simple tart. The tart base is made of Anzac cookies (told you it’s very Aussie!) then filled with vanilla ice cream (store brought), drizzled with passion fruit puree and decorated with fruits. You could use any biscuit of your choice..even chocolate cookies. Depending on the season, feel free to use seasonal fruits that available on your side of the world. The ice cream tart as you might have guessed will keep for days in the freezer so it’s a great make-ahead option. Add the fruits just before serving with a dusting of icing sugar. A round tart pan will also work.

Ice Cream Tart With Summer Fruits
Serves 6-8

300 g Anzac Cookies
80 g unsalted butter, melted
1 litre Vanilla Ice Cream (store bought), softened
1/2 cup passion fruit puree (optional) (can substitute with lemon curd)
Seasonal fruits, to decorate
Icing Sugar, to dust

Place the cookies in a food processor. Process until fine crumbs. Add melted butter and mix to combine. Using your fingertips, press biscuit mixture over base and sides of a 14 by 5 inch rectangular pan (with a removable bottom). Freeze for 15 minutes or until firm.

Pour the softened ice cream on to the prepared tart case. Transfer carefully to the freezer. Freeze for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving.
Drizzle with passion fruit puree or dot with lemon curd. Top with fruits. Dust with icing sugar.