Fried Ice Cream

Let me just start by saying, this recipe is NOT for those looking for a light, fit treat! The name pretty much sums it up.  BUT if you are willing or able to spare the calories, this is to die for!  We found this recipe on Food Network quite a few years ago and LOVED it! We pulled it back out for a special Mother's Day treat and liked it even more than we remembered!

Fried Ice Cream
(4-8 servings, depending how big you make the ice cream balls)

1 quart vanilla ice cream (we used Haagen Daz)
1 cup crushed corn flakes
1 cup sweetened coconut, or 1 cup chopped nuts, or 1 cup cookie crumbs, or any combination (we used equal parts of pecans and vanilla wafers)
2 eggs
2 T sugar
vegetable oil, for frying

toppings:
hot fudge or caramel (we used this recipe) It is really Buttermilk Syrup, but if you cook it a little longer is makes delicious caramel sauce for ice cream!
whipped cream
fresh berries (optional)

With an ice cream scoop, form 4 to 8 ice cream balls and place on a wax paper lined sheet and cover with plastic wrap.  Freeze for at least 2 hours.

In a bowl, combine cornflake crumbs with either cookies crumbs, nuts or coconut (or whatever combo you are using).  Spread the mixture in a shallow dish.  Roll the ice cream balls in the mixture until they are coated and freeze for 30 more minutes.

In another bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar.  Dip the coated ice cream balls in to the egg mixture and then roll them, one more time, in the cornflake mixture until completely coated.  Freeze for one more hour.

When the ice cream balls are super hard, heat enough oil to cover a ball in a large pot or in a fryer to 400 degrees. When the oil is up to temperature, lower the balls, one at a time into the oil and fry until golden brown (about 30 seconds to one minute). Remove from the oil and serve immediately.  Top with Hot fudge or caramel and whipped cream and fresh berries.

Nutella Gelato

Happy Nutella Day!

I hope you are all celebrating this most glorious day! We sure are at our house! And what better way then with this Nutella H.E.A.V.E.N!

I adapted this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis over at Food Network. It is so good, and the closest to real Italian Gelato I have been able to make at home. So, when life gives you ice, make ice cream (or Gelato)!

Nutella Gelato

(about 4 cups)

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heave cream

1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup

4 eggs yolks

1/2 t vanilla

1/2 cup Nutella

dash of salt

In a saucepan, combine milk, cream and 1/2 cup sugar. Stir over Medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar with an electric mixer until the eggs are thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir to combine. Add this mixture back into the the saucepan with the remaining milk and cream. Cook this over low heat until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 7-10 minutes). Mine took a little longer, but it did eventually coat the back of my spoon.

Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer. Stir in the vanilla, nutella and salt until the nutella is dissolved. Chill the mixture completely before pouring it into an ice cream maker. Follow manufacturer's instructions to freeze.

Eggnog Bunt Cake

This is one of the best Holiday desserts ever! I absolutely love it! It is the perfect combination of eggnog, caramel and cinnamon without being over bearing on any one of these flavors. I got this recipe from the Sister's Cafe.

Eggnog Bunt Cake

1 yellow cake mix

3 T flour

2 cups eggnog

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 t rum extract

1/8 t nutmeg

Beat together all the ingredients until smooth and creamy. Pour into greased bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. Dust lightly with powdered sugar for presentation.

Caramel sauce:

1 cup brown sugar

2 sticks butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 T cinnamon

1/2 qt. rich vanilla ice cream (I used Haagen-Daz vanilla)

Melt all together over medium heat, until it just boils. Pour warm over individual servings immediately before serving.

Grasshopper Pie

This week was my Wyatt's birthday! He LOVES mint ice cream and anything green! So, when I saw this recipe over at My Kitchen Cafe, I knew I had to make it his birthday cake. It was a big hit and fun to do an ice cream cake instead of the traditional.

Grasshopper Pie

(8 servings)

Crust:

2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (I used Oreos, about 20)

5 T butter, melted

Pie:

1 quart mint chocolate chip ice cream

1 quart chocolate ice cream

Garnish:

1 c whipping cream

2 T powdered sugar

1 t vanilla

10 Andes Mints

(directions borrowed from My Kitchen Cafe)

Combine the crushed cookie crumbs and the butter together in a medium bowl until the cookie crumbs are well-moistened and the mixture looks and feels like wet sand. Press the crumbs into a 9- or 10-inch springform pan and refrigerate or freeze until set (about 30 minutes).

While the crust is in the refrigerator, take out the mint chocolate chip ice cream and let it sit at room temperature for 15-ish minutes to soften up a bit. Scoop the softened ice cream into a medium bowl (you can use the same one as the cookie crumbs, if you like!) and stir the ice cream until it is smooth. You don’t want it overly melted here – just try to stir it all up so it is easy spreadable but is still cold and icy. Spread the ice cream over the cookie crust in an even layer. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, at least an hour.

Follow the same step above with the chocolate ice cream and spread it on top of the mint chocolate chip ice cream (make sure the mint ice cream is thoroughly frozen so the layers don’t mix). Once the chocolate ice cream has been spread evenly, again cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 1-2 hours or longer depending on your freezer (or tightly covered up to a three days). My pie held up much better after sitting in the freezer over night. I will plan to do it that way next time.

When you are ready to serve the pie, whip the heavy cream into stiff peaks with the powdered sugar and vanilla. To make the Andes mint curls hold the mint nestled in a paper towel with one long thin edge exposed above the top of the paper towel. Take a vegetable peeler and gently shave off curls from the long, thin edge. Repeat this process until you have the desired amount of curls to garnish with (I shaved the curls early in the day and kept them on a plate in the freezer until I was ready to use them). You can microwave the mint for 4-5 seconds on power 20 if you want. This is supposed to make the shaving easier but I was fine without doing that.

Unmold the grasshopper pie from the springform pan and pile the whipped cream on top of the ice cream. Spread in large dollops over the top of the pie. Sprinkle with the curls. Cut the pie into slices and serve immediately. If you are planning to have leftovers, serve the whipped cream on each piece separately instead of the whole pie, as the whipped cream doesn’t fare as well being frozen on top of the pie for a long period of time.

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

Ok, I know this is a little late in coming, but these are the beautiful strawberries from our garden {almost 2 months ago}! Having fresh strawberries, warm from the sun, is like nothing else on earth! We ate most of them, right in our garden but managed to save a few for some great fresh strawberry recipes. This ice cream is from the Ben and Jerry's cook book. It just screams summer to me, you don't even cook the berries so they keep that amazing fresh flavor. I just LOVED the color too!

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/3 cup sugar

juice of 1/2 a lemon

2 eggs 3/4 cup sugar

2 cups whipping cream

1 cup milk

2 t vanilla

Combine the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Prepare the ice cream by whisking the eggs until light and fluffy. Whisk in the sugar until completely blended, about 1 minute. Pour in the cream, milk, and vanilla and mix until blended. Next mash the strawberries to desired consistency and then add them to the ice cream base. Transfer to an ice cream maker and follow manufacturers instructions. This will make a little more than 1 quart.

Grandpa's Chocolate Malts

My dear, sweet, honest, loveable Grandpa passed away a couple of weeks ago so in honor of him I just had to post this recipe. He was an amazing man, a selfless and giving person with a great sense of humor and a love for chocolate malts. We have loved this simple recipe for years and years in our family and hope it brings some love to your family as well. I have spent many wonderful nights deep in conversation with a malt in my hands. So, in memory of you, Grandpa! Thanks for sharing the love!

Grandpa's Chocolate Malts

Vanilla ice cream

Hershey's chocolate syrup

Malt powder

milk

Put all of these ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. We like our rich and thick, so add ingredients to taste. For 4 servings I fill the blender with ice cream add 2 heaping T malt powder fill in with milk about 1/2 way up and douse the whole thing in chocolate syrup.

Buttermilk Syrup

I have totally posted this recipe before. But lets be honest this picture was too beautiful to not give it its own post. Besides this syrup is A-mazing and I am not going to lie, I could put his on ANYTHING, well, almost. I love this as an ice cream topping too, it is very carmel like. But be sure and try it on waffles with berries and fresh whipped cream, you might just lick the plate!

Buttermilk Syrup

3 C sugar
1 1/2 C buttermilk
4 T Karos syrup
2 sticks butter
2 t baking soda
4 t vanilla

Mix together everything BUT the vanilla in a large pan, this thing expands like crazy because of the baking soda. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add vanilla. Serve warm. I save the left overs in a jar like this in my fridge, it will keep for about a week or two.

Dark Chocolate Brownies and Vanilla Ice Cream

These brownies come from My Kitchen Cafe (Thanks Melanie for another great recipe!) And this vanilla ice cream is our favorite, it comes from the Ben and Jerry's cookbook, but is slightly modified. After spending a great couple of days on Mackinaw Island, where we ate our weight in fudge, I came home wanting MORE, if you can believe that! So, I opted for brownies instead of fudge. But these brownies are dangerously close, mind you, so find someone to share with!

Dark Chocolate Brownies

2 sticks butter

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate (I used chocolate chips)

2 cups sugar

1 t vanilla

5 large eggs

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 t salt

2/3 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 with cooking spray. Melt butter and chocolate chips in a 3 quart sauce pan over low heat until completely melted and smooth. Add 1 cup of sugar to the hot chocolate mixture and then let it cool to lukewarm. Whisk in the remaining 1 cup of sugar and vanilla. Next whisk in the eggs one at a time until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Whisk in the salt and the cocoa powder. Add the flour last and mix just until it disappears, be careful not to over beat.

Spread into the greased pan and bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes. An inserted toothpick should come out with crumbs it, NOT clean. Cool to room temperature, if you can.

Vanilla Ice Cream

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups whipping cream

1 cup milk

2 t vanilla

a dash of salt

Beat eggs until light and foamy, about 1-2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking for about 1 more minute. Pour in the cream, milk, vanilla, and salt until blended.

Transfer to the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

Peach Glace Pie

I don't do pie every often, especially fruit pie, but this one is heaven! It is a fresh fruit pie, which is so light and summery. I love the peach, but have also made it with strawberries and raspberries. They are all so wonderfully delicious. Pair this with some homemade ice cream and nothing screams summer louder. Pure heaven!

Fresh Fruit Glace Pie
(adapted from Betty Crocker's cookbook)

One pie crust, cooked and cooled
5-6 cups fresh fruit
1 cup sugar
3 T corn starch
1/2 cup water
1/2 t vanilla
3 oz. cream cheese, softened

Puree enough fruit to make one cup. Mix sugar and corn starch in a sauce pan and slowly add water and pureed fruit. Cook over medium, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for one minute, add vanilla and then cool.
Beat cream cheese until smooth (I add just a spoonful of the warm fruit puree to make the cream cheese more spreadable). Spread on the bottom of the pie crust. This can be tricky, just go slow and don't worry if it breaks a little, no one will see the bottom of your pie. Now fill the pie with the rest of the fresh fruit. Pour the cooked fruit puree over the top. Refrigerate for 3 hour or until set.

Tropical Salsa

OK, so I used to think there could never be anything better than hot fudge on ice cream until my sister-in-law introduced me to this recipe. It totally doesn't replace hot fudge mind you, but it makes the perfect summer dessert. We LOVE it on good vanilla ice cream, but I am quite certain it would be great on many other things, heck I even eat it by the spoonful. Hey, it's fruit, healthy right?!

Tropical Salsa

1 1/2 cups peeled and diced peaches
1 1/2 cups diced strawberries
2 T sugar
1 T chopped crystallized ginger
1 t grated lime rind

Mix all together and garnish with fresh mint. If your peaches are really ripe, try slicing them and sticking them in the freezer for a while before chopping them, that way you won't end up with peach puree.