Raspberry Ice Cream

I probably could've titled this "The World's Most Expensive Ice Cream." This past weekend, we planted some raspberry bushes in our back yard. And it was really hot. Like 95 degrees each day. So, in typical me fashion, I decided that the best way to cool down and reward our hard work was with some homemade raspberry gelato... And then I realized that I had not one ingredient. 


Raspberries - no. Cream - I had about 1/3 of the amount I needed. Half & Half - none. Sugar - minimal. Eggs - a couple. I didn't even have any bottled lemon juice lurking in the back of my fridge. So, off to the store I went. 


I picked up all the rest of the ingredients, and since it's not raspberry season here, headed toward the frozen fruits. No raspberries. Since I'm short,  I even jumped up a couple of times just to make sure there weren't any lurking on a high shelf. Alas. So I brought the stuff home and set out to another store. Again, no raspberries. This time, it looked like they had a place for them, but they were out. Apparently there had been a run on frozen raspberries this weekend, and again, off to another store. 


Lo and behold, they had raspberries. Really, really expensive raspberries, in very small bags. But I'd come so far - I wasn't going to let this stop me from making my ice cream. I bought two bags, hoping it would be enough but mentally preparing myself to go back for a third bag.


Fortunately, both for my sanity and my pocket book, the two 10 oz bags were almost exactly the right amount.


You really should make this ice cream. I don't think technically it can be called a gelato, since I'm pretty sure there are specific requirements for what differentiates an ice cream from a gelato (I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention when it was explained to me way back in the day when I was in Italy and first introduced to gelato - but I'm pretty sure there aren't any eggs in a gelato and there's also something about the cream). But, it tastes like gelato, so I don't care.

Raspberry Ice Cream
Recipe from David Lebovitz, but I found it here: A Whisk and a Spoon


INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups half & half
1 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups strained raspberry puree
1 TBSP lemon juice


DIRECTIONS
Warm the half & half, pinch of salt, and about half of the sugar in a medium saucepan. Pour the cream into a large bowl and set the mesh strainer over the top.


In a separate medium bowl, vigorously whisk together the egg yolks with the other half of the sugar. Slowly pour the warm liquid into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.


Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Quickly pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Mix in the raspberry puree and lemon juice. Stir until cool over an ice bath.


Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, but to preserve the fresh berry taste, churn the ice cream within four hours of making the mixture.

Milka Ice Cream

Ice cream might be one of my favorite foods. No. I think it is my favorite food. Unless you count popcorn. Popcorn might win out. Especially if it's the super buttery and salty stuff my husband makes. Yep. That just might win an ice cream vs. popcorn battle.

A few weeks ago we were making homemade chocolate ice cream for a dinner party we were throwing. A really rich chocolate ice cream and I followed David Liebovitz's recipe to an absolute T. I'm not sure if it was a the recipe, my technique, my recent watching of a Good Eats ice cream episode, or if some magical ice cream elves took over my kitchen, but it was the most amazing ice cream ever. I felt like I was eating frozen mousse. I mourned the day when it ran out.  So I decided to make up another batch. But this time, I looked at my stash of Milka bars and decided to use those instead of Ghiradelli baking chocolate like I did last time. Milka bars are delicious, so Milka bar ice cream would be equally delicious, right? Yep, it is.

Milka Alpenmilch Ice Cream
Adapted from a David Liebovitz recipe

INGREDIENTS
2 cups cream, divided
3 TBSP cocoa powder
1 1/2 Milka chocolate bars (about 5 oz)
5 egg yolks
1 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS
First, chop up about 1 1/2 Milka chocolate bars into relatively small bits. Set aside.

Then, separate 5 eggs and whisk the yolks together. You don't need the whites so you can discard them or save for later use (we make egg white omlets with them).

Get out the remaining ingredients and have them on the counter ready for your use. I find it's helpful to have them pre-measured, but that's really your call.

In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup of cream with the cocoa. Whisk together, and cook until it starts to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30-60 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and add the chopped up chocolate. Whisk until combined and the chocolate is melted. Add the remaining cream and whisk. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, making sure to get as much out of the saucepan as you can. Have a mesh strainer at the ready.

In that same saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, and salt. Warm over medium-ish heat. Once it's warm, add just a bit of the warm milk mixture to the egg yolks and whisk together to temper the eggs (this sort of cooks them, so you don't get a scrambled egg consistency later). Add the tempered egg mixture back into the sauce pan and cook over medium high heat until it gets to a nappe consistency (this means that it will coat the back of a spoon and if you scrape your finger across the back of the spoon, the liquid won't run down into the newly-scraped part). Make sure you're stirring fairly constantly, and scraping the side and bottom of the pan.

Once the eggs reach the nappe consistency, pour the mixture through the mesh strainer into the chocolate mixture. Whisk together until combined and smooth. Add the vanilla and combine.

Get out a larger bowl and put ice on the bottom of it to create an ice bath for your custard. Put the bowl of the chocolate stuff in the ice bath and whisk.

Keep whisking. You want to cool this down as much as you can. You don't need to whisk constantly, but whisk it at least once every 10 minutes, for about 30-45 minutes. Once the mixture is about room temperature, transfer it to an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator until you're ready to freeze it.

Once you're ready to freeze it, follow the instructions on your ice cream maker.

Gelato di Lampone

What a better way to celebrate my 100th post than with a new gelato recipe! As I wrote about before, I've been searching for a good gelato in the U.S. for about the past 9 years. My husband joined me on that quest almost two years ago after we returned from Italy. Last night, we decided to try our hand at our favorite flavor - raspberry.

For those of you who haven't had real gelato before, I suggest you go out and find some now (but don't buy it at the grocery store. That stuff is all crap). It's similar to ice cream, but has a higher milk concentration (rather than cream) so it is more dense and much more flavorful. A real raspberry gelato should taste just like you're eating a smooth, cold raspberry.

After doing a lot of searching online, I came across a recipe for strawberry gelato that looked like it could be easily modified for raspberry (and by the picture, it looked delicious). Our review: super simple. It was delicious, but had a little too much of a dairy after-taste, so we'll cut down on the dairy a bit the next time we make it. So, the search continues, but minimally.

Raspberry Gelato

Gelato di Lampone
From Italylogue.com

INGREDIENTS
1 lb. fresh raspberries
12 oz. granulated sugar, about 1.5 cups
1.5 cup cold whipping cream
1.5 cup cold water
dash of lemon juice (only if fruit isn’t “bright” enough)

DIRECTIONS

Wash berries.

Put berries, sugar and water into a blender or food processor and blend until liquid and smooth. (This is also where you’ll add lemon juice if necessary.) (I suggest straining the blended mixture to remove the seeds. It's more authentic that way, and I think it tastes better).

Whip the cream until slightly thickened - like the consistency of buttermilk.

Combine the cream with the raspberry mixture and mix thoroughly until blended.

Freeze as indicated by the manufacturer of your ice cream maker. (I suggest going out and buying the Cuisinart ice cream maker. It's wonderful).

Gelato

I love gelato. I developed the obsession about 9 years ago on my first trip to Italy (and then subsequently re-affirmed the obsession on the second, third, and fourth trips). In fact, I'd go back to Venice just to eat gelato at our favorite gelateria, Boutique del Gelato. Since flying to Venice every time we get a craving isn't feasible, and the store-bought stuff just tastes like glorified ice cream, we decided to try our hand at making it at home for the Fourth of July. It was rather tasty, if we do say so. In fact, after a trip to the grocery store today, we're going to be making a second batch.


Chocolate Gelato
Makes about 3 cups
Recipe from Mangia Bene

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup sugar
2 TBSP cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 cups whole milk, divided
5 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped*
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, & salt. Gradually whisk in 1/4 cup of milk to dissolve the cornstarch.

Gradually stir in the rest of the milk.

Cook over medium heat until it thickens and begins to boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Add chocolate and allow to sit for 1 minute. Whisk together until the mixture is smooth. Add cream and vanilla and whisk.

Refridgerate for at least 2 hrs. Transfer to an ice cream maker and prepare according to manufacturer's directions.


*Use the best chocolate available to you. If you use cheap American chocolate, your gelato will taste like just slightly better than your average American chocolate ice cream.