Home-made Vanilla Ice Cream that doesn’t taste home-made
Sep 11, 2011 Desserts, Food Things
Growing up, I was always the boring kid who only liked vanilla ice cream. I don’t think it was necessarily that I disliked the other flavors as much as it was that I just loved vanilla, and I didn’t see any reason to eat any other kind. I had a friend who gave me such a hard time about it. She and I played softball together, and often after practices or games we would go to get ice cream. She would order really fun flavors and I would ALWAYS order vanilla. Vanilla is so simple and perfect. It’s smooth and creamy, without swirls of goo or hard chunks of candy or nuts. I love it. She did get me to order peppermint once and I did enjoy that, but ordering something different was always short lived and I would find myself reverting back to vanilla time and time again. There’s really no beating it.
I’ve tried many different brands and love Edy’s, Haagen-Dazs and the other super smooth and thick varieties. I’ve never really been a big fan of home-made ice cream either. Something about the process seemed so… not worth it. If you are able to go to the store and pick up a tub of insanely delicious and smooth wonderfulness for $5.00, then why go through all the effort and end up with a vanilla flavored ice cup, which is more of a slushy consistency than you’d like? It just didn’t make sense to me. Of course, that was because I had never tried really good home-made ice cream.
That all changed when I met Brian’s family. Brian’s mom has made home-made ice cream on several occasions with great accomplishment. Recently though, Brian decided he wanted to learn how to make ice cream, and I was extremely skeptical that he would be able to pull it off. His mom is great at it though, and I thought maybe with a few tips from her he could, with time, generate something that would be semi-worth the effort. He read through some recipes and decided on Alton Brown’s Vanilla Ice Cream from the Good Eats 2 Cookbook. Honestly, I didn’t pay attention at all to how he did it. I don’t know if it’s hard to do or not, or what the steps look like as you do them, but I do know with certainty that the ice cream he made is one of my favorite vanilla ice creams on the planet. My view of home-made ice cream has changed forever.
In order to make ice cream you need an ice cream maker, which we don’t have. We do, however, have a KitchenAid Mixer and Brian’s mom let us borrow the ice cream maker attachment. I don’t know if the brand of ice cream maker affects the outcome, but whatever the KitchenAid ice cream attachment did was perfect.
Hurley really wanted some. He watched Brian the entire time he ate.
Here is the recipe from the Good Eats 2 Cookbook. The result is a mouthful of joy.
Vanilla Ice Cream- makes 1 1/2 quarts (enough for 8 people to eat it with pie and still have some left over)
Ingredients
3 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
8 large egg yolks
9 ounces sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
1. Combine the half and half and cream in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. Whisk the egg yolks in a large mixing bowl until they lighten in color. Gradually whisk the sugar into the yolks until smooth.
3. Slowly ladle one thrid or the hot dairy into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. (This is the tempering part.) Return this mixture to the pot containing the rest of the dairy. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the custard thickens slightly, enough to coat the back of a spoon (170- 175 degrees F).
4. Wash the original mixing bowl. When the custard is ready, transfer it to the bowl, stir in the vanilla, and cool at room temp for 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until the temperature drops below 40 degrees F. Best to let it chill overnight.
5. Pour into a prepped ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s directions. Within 25 to 30 minutes the ice cream will attain a classic soft-serve consistency. Enjoy it as is or move it to the freezer to harden for another 3-4 hours.
Deep Dish Peach Pie with Streusel Topping
Sep 2, 2011 Crusts, Desserts, Food Things, Peaches, Pies and Tarts
This year has been a slow year for the blog, and I’m really sorry about that. I hope that in the months to come I can remember to take pictures of the food I make and tell everyone about it, but it’s been hard. My job got busier (but I love it), and my dog is so dang cute and playful. It’s hard to stay in my chair when I sit down to write and he comes and looks up at me with a ball in his mouth. I’ve been really happy, but I do miss sharing things on here so hopefully I can get back into it.
I knew I couldn’t let summer pass without telling you about this peach pie though. This pie was amazing. I’ve said before that I’m a big fan of streusel, and pretty much any pie with streusel on top makes me extremely happy. This was really easy to make, and if you are in the market for a peach pie during the last days of summer I highly recommend this one.
Tags: best peach pie, bon appetit peach pie, Peach Pie, peach pie recipe, peach pie recipes, streusel topping, summer pie
Easiest Coconut Cake
May 16, 2011 Cakes, Desserts, Food Things
I’ve decided to join Team Coconut.
There are definitely two teams in this world. Team Coconut and Team Won’t-touch-coconut-with-a-ten-foot-pole. I’ve only recently begun to like coconut. After years of turning down wonderful looking desserts and granola because they contained shredded coconut I asked myself why I was saying no. I realized I didn’t really have a reason. I hadn’t even tried anything with coconut since I was little, and maybe my taste buds had changed. I decided that I was going to try it again with an open mind. The result was delicious.
My mom likes coconut, and this year for Mother’s Day I made her this cake. It is a simple cake to make, and the result is extremely moist and delicious. I was a little reluctant to make a cake that sounded so easy for Mother’s Day. I felt like I was cheating using a cake mix and pudding mix in the same cake, but Tyler Florence recommended it and I trust him completely. You should too. This is a fabulous cake. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: coconut cake, tyler florence cake, tyler florence coconut cake, tyler florence cookbook, tyler's ultimate coconut cake
Sour Cream Coffee Cake with 4-way Streusel
Feb 4, 2011 Cakes, Desserts, Food Things
The thing about birthdays is that it’s all about the birthday boy or girl. The dessert is one that they choose, and that they love, regardless of what the other people in the room want. It’s their personal right, as the birthday person, to have their favorite dessert ready for them with candles and a room full of people singing happy birthday.
There have been some attempts to include more choices in desserts than only the birthday person’s wish. The half chocolate/half white cakes were a good start. The Great Divide Ice cream is another excellent addition to the dessert world. The assorted cheesecakes where every slice is different are another great idea. But what do you do if your mom asks for bundt cake, and you have a room full of people who like different flavors?
Actually this didn’t happen. My family all likes bundt cake and my mom did not demand any type of dessert. She actually just wanted me to make what was easiest for me (she’s so sweet) until I forced her to say something that sounded good to her, and she said coffee cake. I think she knew it was easy (she’s so sneaky) but it was something she actually really does love so it worked out. When I started planning out the recipe I decided to make the cake into four sections and use four different types of streusel, just to make things interesting.
But, this really would work if you had a crowd of people who were strongly opposed to almonds.
What I did was I took a normal sour cream coffee cake recipe, and I made regular pecan streusel. When I got to the part where I spread the streusel in between the cake layers before baking, I simply added other ingredients to the mix in four sections. Then, I put the rest of the batter on top, and put the remaining streusel on using the same method and putting the same toppings over the spot I had put them in the middle of the cake. I baked the cake like normal. When I flipped it over, I kept track of which spot contained which ingredient, then topped the cake with a little bit of that ingredient on it’s section so people knew what was in each section. Then I put the glaze on. It was magic.
As you can see, I ended up with a regular pecan section, an almond section, a coconut section, and a raisin section.
You want to know what everyone picked? I guessed everyone right.
My mom (the birthday girl) picked coconut. My dad and Brian both picked raisins. Christy (my sister) picked pecan, and I picked almonds. I’m all about almonds. Each of the 4 sections were picked. It felt like a huge success.
I’ll be really honest though, the actual cake was a little dry. It may be because I made it the day before the party, but I’m not sure. What I would do is make this recipe instead for Almond Streusel bundt cake and not the one I made. Or, you can take your chances and just make sure you eat it the same day. It was by no means bad, just a little dry.
Sour Cream Coffee Cake with 4-way Streusel, adapted from Ashkenazic Sour Cream Coffee Cake from Epicurious.com
Serves about 8
Ingredients
Streusel Topping:
- 1/2 cup granulated or brown sugar, or 1/4 cup each
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg or cloves (optional)
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans, grated coconut, golden raisins, or chocolate chips, or 1 cup any combination
Batter:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
- 1 cup granulated or brown sugar or 1/2 cup each
- 4 large egg yolks, or 3 large eggs
- 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream or plain yogurt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)
Glaze (optional):
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk or water
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (325°F if using a glass pan). Grease one 9-inch square pan,9-inch Bundt or tube pan, or 9-inch springform pan. Line with parchment or waxed paper, grease again, and dust with flour.
2. To make the streusel: Combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg if using. Cut in the butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Divide this mixture into 2, 3, or four bowls, depending on how many different streusel toppings you will be using. Stir into each bowl your pecans, almonds, raisins, coconut, or a mixture of each.
3. To make the batter: Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. Blend in the sour cream, vanilla, and zest if using. Stir in the flour mixture.
4. Spread half of the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with streusel keeping each streusel type in a well defined section. Carefully cover with the remaining batter and sprinkle with the remaining streusel, being careful to top each section with the right type of streusel so it matches the streusel in between layers.
5. Bake unitl the cake is golden and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 50 minutes. Set on a rack and let cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes. Flip cake over and top with a tablespoon of each streusel topping over the section where that topping is so your guests know what piece they are getting. Serve warm or at room temperature. Wrap the kuchen in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
6. To make the glaze if using: Combine all the glaze ingredients, stirring until smooth and of pouring consistency. Drizzle over the cake and let stand until set.
7. Eat while drinking coffee or hot tea and talking with your family or friends.
Tags: abraham lincoln bundt cake, almond cake, birthday bundt cake, bundt cake, coconut cake, party bundt cake, pecan cake, raisin cake, sour cream bundt cake, sour cream coffee cake, streusel bundt cake, streusel cake, streusel toppings
Winter Rugelach
Dec 12, 2010 Breads, Breakfast, Desserts, Food Things, Uncategorized
Today I woke up, and for the first Sunday in a long time, I realized I didn’t have any homework to do. School was over as of last week and from now on my weekends will be spent doing whatever I want. No more rushing around doing laundry between pages of writing papers! Sunday nights I can actually sit and relax, read, watch a movie, or do my favorite thing: write.
I want this blog to be better and about more interesting things that simply recipes, but I have honestly felt that in the last year I haven’t had time. I know people say that a lot and I’m sure that my life is no different, but blogging about food doesn’t only require time to write, but time to cook, a good enough memory to remember to take pictures of what you cook, time to manage the pictures and edit them, then time to think of a semi-creative way to talk about the food you made and make it relate in a small way to your life. Then, you can sit down and write about it. If you forget to take pictures or if you don’t have time to cook for a while, then the whole process is postponed until you have time to do those things. It’s terrible. I’ve been waiting for some kind of living pattern that will allow me to cook on a regular basis and write every day. Now I have a job with a great schedule and I’m done with school, so I guess what I’m trying to say is that I expect I’ll be writing more now. I hope you’ll be alright with that.