Ice Cream Yum Yum!

My BFF @brianna was bragging about a Pear Ice Cream she was eating in Japan (where it’s currently +30º degrees - it’s currently 7º here). Not being in the mood for something summery (although loving the idea of a Pear flavoured dessert), I threw this simple spicy affair together.

Feel free to adjust the measurements to make it spicier, or *cough* more alcoholic :D

Ingredients (makes about 700ml)

• 1 1/4 cup castor sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 4 pears
• 1/2 Lemon, squeezed
• 1/4 cup of raisins
• 3 dashes of cinnamon
• 2 dashes of nutmeg
• 1 dash of white pepper
• 1 shot of brown rum (I used Captain Morgans because that’s what I had cupboard, but any rum would do well)

Method

1. Toss the sugar, water and raisins into a pot, and heat until all the sugar is dissolved
2. Peel and core the pears, cut into pieces
3. Put the sugar water, pears and the rest of the ingredients into a blender, and pulse until liquified
4. Add any additional spices/rums to bring the flavour to your liking (remember that the flavours will be more subtle when you freeze the mixture, but the sweetness will remain)
5. Chill the mixture in the fridge then process in your ice cream machine

That’s right fellas, this bad boy ice cream contains BACON! Actually, to be accurate, it contains Pancakes, Bacon AND Maple Syrup.

Sounds weird, tastes awesome (although the recipe still needs some work) and surely going to confuse the socks off you.

It’s a fairly easy recipe to throw together, but it does take some time. The hardest thing about making this ice cream is to decide when to eat it - is it a breakfast dish? or a dessert? Blowing. My. Mind.

Note: the ice cream freezes rock hard, but when it’s softened, it has a really amazing texture, so let it sit out of the freezer for 10mins or so to soften before scooping.

Ingredients (makes a little over 1L)

• 500ml soy milk (I use Bonsoy, you should be able to replace with full cream milk)
• 500ml thickened cream
• 3/4 cup castor sugar
• 1-2 plain pancakes - diced (my advice, have pancakes and bacon for breakfast, and keep a few aside for cooking)
• 4 rashers of bacon
• 2tbs arrowroot
• 2tbs maple syrup
• 1/4tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8tsp (just a dash) ground nutmeg
• 1/4 of a vanilla bean, seeds scraped

Method

1. Cook the bacon and pancakes. Two things to remember:
   • IMHO, nothing cooks pancakes better than bacon fat, so cook your bacon first and use the fat left over for the pancakes
   • You want to cook the bacon so it’s almost crispy. So it’s still a little chewy, but not brittle
2. Mix the arrowroot with 1/4 a cup of milk, stir and put aside for later
3. Dice 1/2 the bacon and place in a bowl with 1tbs of maple syrup, set aside for later
4. In a pot place the rest of the milk, the cream, the rest of the bacon, the rest of the maple syrup, the cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla bean seeds and pod
5. Bring to the boil then reduce heat quickly to a simmer - stir frequently for 30 mins
6. Strain the cream mixture (removing the vanilla bean pod and bacon bits) and add sugar, again bring to the boil
7. Once boiled, take off the heat and quickly mix in the arrowroot mixture, stir as the mixture thickens just slightly
8. Transfer to a bowl and throw in a fridge to chill
9. Once chilled, toss the mixture, the bacon bits (the stuff soaking in the syrup) and the pancakes into your ice cream machine
10. ‘Process’ the batter and ENJOY!!!!

This dessert is as delicious as it is time consuming - so know that it’s worth the effort. I threw together the recipe for a friends BBQ, where almost everyone attending are devout vegans, so you won’t find any dairy, egg or animal based products in this recipe.

There’s 4 layers in this Cassata:

1. Shortbread (the base)
2. Rich Chocolate Gelato
3. Cherry paste/mince/stuff
4. Coconut Sorbet

You should really leave yourself 4-5 days to make it - although, you could throw it together in two days if you’re in a hurry (given that there’s only two ice cream layers, the other two are)

Note: you’ll have left-overs at each layer depending on the size of your tin, so be prepared for some snacking along the way

Ingredients

Shortbread Base

• 1 cup vegan margarine
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 cup corn flour
• 2 cups plain flour

Chocolate Gelato

• 3 cups high quality Soy milk (like Bonsoy)
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cornflower
• 3/4 cup good-quality cocoa
• 2 tablespoons Vodka

Cherry paste/mince/stuff

• 400g Red Glazed Cherries - Make sure they don’t use food colouring 120 (that contains animal byproduct)
• 1/2 cup Almond Meal
• 1/3 cup Caster Sugar
• few drops of red food colouring - Make it isn’t food colouring 120 (it contains animal byproduct)

Coconut Sorbet

• 3/4 cups caster sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 1/2 cups coconut milk
• 1/2 cup extra water
• 2 tablespoons lime juice

Method

Shortbread Base

1. Cream the sugar and margarine with a blender on high
2. Sift in the flours
3. Kneed with your hands - adding more flour if tacky
4. Lightly flour a loaf tin
5. Place the dough in the base of the tin, lay out flat so there’s a 1cm layer along the entire base (any left overs can be used for tasty cookies which you can eat straight away)
6. Bake at 150° for 25-30 minutes (until golden, but not brown)
7. Allow to cool, and pop in the fridge until we’re ready to make the next layer

Chocolate Gelato

1. Place 1 cup of milk, the caster sugar, corn flower and cocoa into a bowl
2. Mix with a electric mixer on high until combined
3. Put remaining milk on the stove until just boiling
4. Mix hot milk into chocolate mixture along with the Vodka
5. Mix on high until combined
6. Put mixture on low heat until thickened (stir constantly, the mixture will get really thick down the bottom)
7. Chill the mixture in the fridge for several hours
8. Process in the ice cream machine until thick
9. Pour over the top of the shortbread base, so there’s about a 1cm thick layer (you can adjust the thickness of each layer to suit your tastes and the hight of your pan)
10. GladWrap it well and pop it in the freezer

Cherry Paste

1. Dice the cherries - you want to cut them as fine as you possibly can
2. In a large bowl (this will get messy) combine the cherries, food colouring, caster sugar and half of the almond meal
3. Using an electric beater, blend on high speed until well combined
4. The beater will help crush the cherries, you want to do this until the consistency is a thick paste without too many chunks
5. As you go along, add more of the almond meal, this will help thicken it up
6. Pour over the top of the Chocolate Gelato, so there’s about a 1cm thick layer (you can adjust the thickness of each layer to suit your tastes and the hight of your pan)
7. Glad Wrap it well and pop it in the freezer

Coconut Sorbet

1. Mix sugar and water over low heat until dissolved
2. Boil for a minute then let cool
3. Add coconut milk, water, lime juice
4. Chill the mixture in the fridge for several hours
5. Process in the ice cream machine until thick
6. Pour mixture over the Cassata, you want this to be the tallest layer of them all
7. Glad Wrap it well and pop it in the freezer

Once all complete, cut it up with a warm butter knife and serve with a few Mint leaves.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups caster sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 1/2 cups coconut milk
• 1/2 cup extra water
• 2 tablespoons lime juice

Method

1. Mix sugar and water over low heat until dissolved
2. Boil for a minute then let cool
3. Add coconut milk, water, lime juice
4. Chill the mixture in the fridge for several hours
5. Process in the ice cream machine until thick
6. Serve with a few Mint Leaves, or with some lime juice sprinkled over

Ingredients

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2/3 cup caster sugar
• 1 cup full cream milk
• 2 cups thickened cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1/3 cup raspberry jam

Method

1. Mix the creamy peanut butter and sugar with an electric hand mixer and beat until smooth
2. Add the milk and blend on low speed for about 2 minutes until the mixture is smooth and the sugar has been dissolved
3. Stir in the cream and almond with a mixing spoon or a whisk
4. Chill in the fridge for 2-4 hours
5. Process in your Ice Cream maker
6. Fold in the raspberry jam when transferring to the storage container - should result in a streak of jam

This recipe results in an incredibly creamy dessert. Far too creamy for my liking, but my folks loved it, so I thought I’d share it.

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 1/3 cup full cream milk (or Bonsoy)
• 2 cups thickened cream
• 1 1/4 caster sugar
• 1x vanilla bean, seeds scraped

Method

1. Heat milk, cream, vanilla beans, vanilla seeds in a saucepan until almost boiling
2. In a large bowl, whisk yolks and sugar until well combined
3. Whisk hot milk mixture into yolk mixture until well combined
4. Put mixture on low heat without boiling until the mixture has thickened and coats the back of a spoon; remove vanilla bean
5. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool before placing in the fridge to chill for several hours
6. ‘process’ until thick

Warning: this ice cream is devine. Be sure you don’t eat the chilled batter! I couldn’t stop myself!

Note: if you added an extra table spoon of cornflower, you’d have a nice chilled pudding.

Ingredients

• 3 cups full cream milk (or high quality Soy milk)
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cornflower
• 3/4 cup good-quality cocoa
• 1 tablespoon blueberry jam
• 4 tablespoons raspberry sauce
• 2 tablespoons Vodka

Method

1. Place 1 cup of milk, the caster sugar, corn flower and cocoa into a bowl
2. Mix with a electric mixer on high until combined
3. Put remaining milk on the stove until just boiling
4. Mix hot milk into chocolate mixture along with the blueberry jam, 2 tablespoons of raspberry sauce and the Vodka
5. Mix on high until combined
6. Put mixture on low heat until thickened (stir constantly, the mixture will get really thick down the bottom)
7. Chill the mixture in the fridge for several hours
8. Process in the ice cream machine until thick
9. When transferring to a serving/storage container, gently fold in the remaining raspberry sauce. (should result in a ‘streak’ of sauce)

I bought myself an Ice Cream machine today. It’s a tiny little thing, but I’m hoping there’ll be some tasty treats coming our way shortly.

I scored a Snowy from the dreaded Harvey Norman.

It can only hold about 1L of Ice Cream, and it takes 20+ hours to chill the bowl, but it’s a good place to start.

Now, off to the grocery store to buy some ingredients!