Chocolate Valentino & Almond Marble Ice Cream

A February's Daring Baker Challenge

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad - Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

The flourless chocolate cake, the Chocolate Valentino, is inspired by Malaysia's "most flamboyant food ambassador," Chef Wan, and comes from his book, "Sweet Treats."

This cake is the perfect foil for your favorite chocolate. I made one version of this cake with Green & Black's 70% dark chocolate and another with their milk chocolate. (The mini heart cake in the picture is made from milk chocolate.) In my family, the adults liked the dark chocolate and the kids liked the milk chocolate version better. This was a wonderful cake recipe and with two growing preteens in our house it didn't last very long.

I used Wendy's Philidelphia Style Ice Cream recipe to make the Almond Marble Ice Cream. After scooping it out in the glasses, I drizzled a chocolate glaze over the ice cream. As you can imagine, our kids liked the plain vanilla ice cream the best. While my husband and I preferred the almond marble. It was so very yummy.

Recipe

Chocolate Valentino Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Half Recipe is first/Whole Recipe is second

8 oz/16 oz (454 grams) milk or semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

1/4 cup + 1 Tb/1 stick + 2 Tb (146 grams) unsalted butter, softened

3/5 large eggs, separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heat proof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.

2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter and flour your pan, if using a cake pan line the bottom with parchment paper. For a half recipe, I used a Wilton silicone mini heart pan with 12 cakes.

3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.

4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over whip or the cake will be dry).

5. With the same beater, beat the egg yolks together.

6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.

7. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocoalte mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter.

8. Pour batter into the prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C.

9. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until and instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C. (If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.)

10. Cool cake on rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Wendy's Ice Cream Recipe (Philadelphia Style)

Chocolate Almond Swirl

Prep time: 5 minutes

2 cups (473 ml) lowfat milk or half & half

1 cup (237 ml) half & half or heavy cream

2/3 cup (128 grams) sugar

Dash salt

1 Tb (12 grams) vanilla cognac

2 oz milk chocolate with almonds, melted

1. Mix all the ingredients together then pour into a sauce pan. Heat on low until the sugar and dissolved, then pour back into the bowl. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer.

2. Then mix in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. Drizzle the melted chocolate through the ice cream. Place in the freezer until firm, then serve.

Agave Ice Cream with Saguaro Syrup

I've been working on replacing sugar in many of the recipes that my family enjoys. My home made ice cream is one of their favorites, so I wanted to see what would happen if I replaced the sugar with agave syrup.

When I added the agave syrup to the cream and egg mixture, the thickness of the liquid disappeared. Once it was blended in the ice cream maker, the mixture didn't whip up as high and fluffy as ice cream with sugar. It froze into a texture that was like ice milk and scooped nicely.

How did it taste? The ice cream had sweet fruity overtones and a hint of vanilla. We didn't miss the flavor or texture that sugar gives at all. My family thought this was a nice ice cream and one to keep around.

My husband and I tried topping our ice cream off with some saguaro syrup. The saguaro syrup (bahidaj) was a wonderful treat I got from my family for Mother's Day. They bought it from Native Seeds/SEARCH. Saguaro syrup is made from the fruit of the saguaro cactus. The Tohono O'odham tribe have been harvesting saguaro fruits for centuries. You can read more about they make saguaro syrup from this Tucson Weekly article.

Recipe

1 1/2 cups half and half
1 cup whipping cream
1 Tb vanilla
3 eggs
1/3 cup + 1 Tb agave syrup

Beat the three eggs in a large mixing bowl. Pour in the whipping cream and half and half then blend. Add the vanilla and agave syrup. You may need to scrape some of the agave syrup away from the bottom of the bowl.

Process the mixture according to your ice cream maker or ice cream attachment. For the Kitchen Aid ice cream attachment, process the mixture for 25 minutes. Transfer to a freezer safe container and allow it to chill for 3-4 hours before serving.

Enjoy!

Vanilla Ice Cream - Gluten Free

I have fond memories of eating home made ice cream in the summer. A gluten-free and organic version of vanilla ice cream has been on my wish list.

When I was a kid, my parents would invite a number of friends over for a summer barbecue and the dessert would be brownies and ice cream. However, in order to have ice cream you had to help crank the churn. All the kids would line up to take a turn working the crank. Sometimes two of us at a time would try to put that handle around. After a few minutes, one of the dad's would come over and say, "If we want ice cream tonight guys, I need to put some spins on that handle!"

These were always great parties. When the ice cream was finally declared ready and was served, the silence was amazing. Everyone sat and savored their cool and delicious ice cream. We had our reward and it was fabulous.

At our house, I like to make up the ice cream early on Saturday morning and put it in the freezer to chill down. Then we go out to do the yard work or clean up the cars. By the time we've finished taking care of the lawn, everyone is ready for a rest and we start up the barbecue grill. After dinner, we have brownies and ice cream. Our sweet reward for a day of working in the sun.

I have wanted an ice cream churn for a while and my family remembered my interest in making ice cream. For Mother's Day, they gave me an ice cream bowl attachment for my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. This baby rocks...in 20 minutes it has a nice soft serve which is ready to eat. If you prefer it harder...put the ice cream in another container and let it freeze for about 4 hours... or less if you don't have the patience to wait that long.

My Mom's recipe for Vanilla Ice Cream was made for a 5 to 6 Qt. traditional or electric ice cream churn. I have modified her recipe in size and by using half & half plus whipping cream.

Mom's Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

6 pasteurized eggs, whole
2 cups white sugar
1 can condensed milk
1 can PET cream by Carnation
1 Tb Vanilla
Add milk until you get to the fill point on the cannister.

Note: This ice cream recipe is not cooked prior to churning.


No Cook Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe (makes 1 Qt)

3 pasteurized eggs, whole
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cup half and half
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tb vanilla (mine is homemade)

Place in an already blending Kitchen Aid ice cream attachment. Allow to mix for 20 minutes. Transfer to a freezable container for storage and serving.

This is a quick and delicious ice cream and a family favorite. It gets 5 yes votes at our house, because our dog loves ice cream too.

Thai Coconut Ice Cream - Gluten Free

For the Fourth of July , I try a Thai Coconut Milk Ice Cream for holiday menu. This recipe doesn't have any dairy products, so it has a milder flavor. In texture it's like a sorbet rather than an ice cream. This recipe is also gluten-free.

Recipe

2 cups coconut milk or coconut cream (a richer alternative)
1 cup water
4 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
pinch of salt
Optional ingredients: cooked corn or toasted coconut

Heat the coconut milk and water over medium heat, stirring continuously. Do not allow it to boil.
In a bowl beat four eggs, then add the other ingredients. Whisk gently. Transfer the mixture to a double boiler over gently boiling water, and slowly blend in the hot coconut milk. Sir the mixture until it thickens. It is ready when there is a sticky coat left of the back of the spoon when it is lifted from the mixture. Allow it to cool. Then put it into your ice cream freezer and process for 15 minutes. Put the ice cream into a storage container and chill for an hour. Serve with maple syrup.

This recipe was well received, except by my son. He couldn't get past the idea that I had put corn into one of his ice cream scoops. My daughter liked the version with maple syrup the best. My husband and I like the maple syrup version best too, but the corn was a unique alternative too.