Coffee Ice Cream And Hazelnut Gelato

Many of you who read my spring dinner and dessert posts have been anxiously awaiting the ice cream and gelato recipes. Well, I won't make you wait any longer. Here they are! Both of these recipes are from David Lebovitz's book The Perfect Scoop.

Coffee Ice Cream With Coffee Chocolate Chunks (adapted from The Perfect Scoop)
(Print this recipe)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups whole coffee beans (I used Starbucks Breakfast Blend)
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon finely ground coffee (I used Starbucks Pike Place Roast)
1 cup coffee chocolate chunks

Preparation

Combine milk, sugar, coffee beans, salt, and 1/2 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan.

Warm over medium heat, and turn off heat source after mixture is warmed. Cover and let steep for 1 hour.

(This mixture tastes just like what we called coffee milk when I was little. My dad would pour a little bit of coffee in a small glass and add lots of milk and sugar to it. We thought we were really drinking coffee like grownups!)

Set up an ice bath. I like to use my roasting pan since it's very deep and can easily fit a large bowl in it. I fill it with some ice and then water. Set this aside.

Rewarm the coffee mixture. Pour remaining 1 cup of cream into a large bowl, and set a strainer over the bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.

Slowly pour the coffee mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly. It's important to keep the egg yolks moving and to slowly pour the coffee mixture so the warm mixture does not cook the yolks.

Scrape the contents of the bowl back into the saucepan, and return the saucepan to the stove.

Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula.

Immediately pour the custard through the strainer, and mix it with the cream. Discard the coffee beans.

Stir in the vanilla and finely ground coffee.

Then place the whole bowl in the ice bath, and stir the ice cream occasionally until it is cool.

Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, and then follow the instructions that came with your ice cream maker.

Pour the ice cream into a bowl and stir in the coffee chocolate chunks.

Serve with your favorite ice cream toppings!

I love hot fudge!

Gianduja-Stracciatella Gelato -- or Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato With Chocolate Ribbons (adapted from The Perfect Scoop)
(Print this recipe)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups hazelnuts
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
4 ounces high-quality milk chocolate, finely chopped
5 large egg yolks
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (not chocolate chips)

Preparation

Toast hazelnuts in 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Let them cool just enough to handle, and then rub them with a kitchen towel to remove the skins.

Finely chop them in a food processor.

Combine milk, 1 cup of cream, sugar, and salt in a saucepan, and warm over medium heat. Once warm, remove from heat, and stir in hazelnuts.

Cover and let steep for 1 hour.

Place milk chocolate pieces in a large bowl. Heat remaining 1 cup cream in small saucepan just until it boils, and then pour the cream over the chocolate. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Set a strainer over the bowl (if you have two strainers because you'll need a strainer for this next part too).

Set a strainer over a medium saucepan, and pour the hazelnut-infused mixture through it. Discard the hazelnuts after squeezing as much liquid from them as you can.

Rewarm the hazelnut-infused mixture.

Set up an ice bath. I like to use my roasting pan since it's very deep and can easily fit a large bowl in it. I fill it with some ice and then water. Set this aside.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks together.

Slowly pour the warmed hazelnut mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly. (Again, it's important to keep the yolks moving so you don't cook them with the addition of the warm mixture.)

Scrape the yolk and hazelnut cream mixture back into the saucepan, and cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, over medium heat until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula.

Pour the custard through a strainer into the chocolate mixture. Stir in the vanilla.

Then place the whole bowl in the ice bath, and stir the ice cream occasionally until it is cool.

Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.

Melt the semisweet chocolate in microwave-safe bowl. I like to use my Pyrex measuring cup because it has a pour spout on it.

Follow the instructions that came with your ice cream maker, and when the ice cream is almost finished mixing and freezing, very slowly drizzle in the melted chocolate in a thin stream. If too much chocolate gets stuck on the dasher, you can transfer the ice cream to a bowl and stir the chocolate in by hand instead.

Serve with your favorite ice cream toppings!

These are only two of the amazing ice cream recipes within this book. I can't wait to try so many more! There are also tons of granitas, sorbets, sherbets, sauces, and toppings. It is definitely one of my best cookbook purchases -- now that I'm obsessed with my ice cream maker.

---

And now I just have one question for you: WHEN are you going to make these recipes?

Mexican Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

My mom recently took a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico (not to be confused with Mexico, which is where my brother told me she was when I absentmindedly called home looking for her, forgetting she was away). She and my aunt try to pick a different place each year to meet, see the sights, and catch up with each other since one of them lives on the East Coast and one on the West Coast, and they wouldn't get to see each other much otherwise. I wonder if my sisters and I will ever do that some day...

My mom always remembers us kids when she's away, and I often get postcards and little gifts in the mail from the various places she's been. This time she sent me a huge box of spices, sauces, and cookbooks. It was so exciting opening up the box and revealing one bubble-wrapped item after another. There was chocolate pate and piloncillo (a version of brown sugar), chipotle powder and Mexican vanilla, chocolate extract and posole, and so much more!

I'm so excited to try everything, and I really want to find some creative ways to use the things she sent me.

I started small and stuck to what I'm good at, which is baking. Instead of using the ancho chile powder in a savory recipe, I decided to go for something sweet: Mexican chocolate crackle cookies. These remind me of cookies my family has made every Christmas called chocolate pixies. I think they might also be known as crinkle cookies. The difference here is that instead of just a plain chocolate cookie, the Mexican chocolate cookies use what we think of as traditional Mexican accompaniments to chocolate: coffee, cinnamon, and chile powder.

The recipe says they're best eaten on the day they're made -- and I have to agree. I made them around 11 pm, tried some after I baked them, and then brought them to work the next day. I liked them best right out of the oven, but they were still supermoist and soft the next day. The following day, they weren't quite as good though.

You may wonder why I was making cookies at 11 pm, as that sounds kind of crazy. I made them a couple weeks ago, when I made that fabulous strawberry spinach salad, when Jeff was at the Bruins game. I prepared the cookies, scooped them onto cookie sheets, and put them in the fridge. I hadn't expected the game to go into double overtime, so I had planned to prep the cookies, run out and pick Jeff up, and come back and pop them in the oven -- at a reasonable time. I kept contemplating putting them in the oven when the game went into overtime and then double overtime, but the thing about overtime in hockey is that it's sudden death, and since that meant the game could end at any minute, I couldn't take my chances with the cookies. I waited until the game finally ended and I had picked Jeff up and brought him back home before I preheated the oven and finally baked these off.

I hope nothing interferes with your cookie baking when you give these a try! Oh, and remember to use good chocolate, so you'll get a nice rich flavor.

Mexican Chocolate Crackle Cookies (adapted from The Art and Soul of Baking)
(Print this recipe)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon coffee liqueur or cooled brewed coffee (I used brewed coffee)
6 ounces 70% cacao bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped or shaved
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar, divided
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole almonds, toasted and cooled
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ancho chile powder
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Preparation

Melt butter and chocolate over double boiler or in microwave-safe dish. Stir in coffee. Set aside, and let cool slightly.

Process flour, nuts, cinnamon, baking powder, and ancho chile powder in food processor until nuts are finely chopped, about 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.

In bowl of electric stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip eggs and 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar on high speed, until light in color and thick, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Add the melted chocolate mixture, and continue whipping until blended, about 1 minute.

Scrape down the bowl, and add the flour mixture. Beat on low just until combined. Make sure all flour has been incorporated and there's none hiding in the bottom of the bowl.

Cover the dough with plastic, and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, until firm.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, and line two baking sheets with parchment or nonstick mats (such as Silpats).

Place remaining granulated sugar in one small bowl and confectioners' sugar in another. (I recommend wide, shallow bowls.)

Using a small cookie scoop, scoop the dough into tablespoon-sized balls. Roll each ball in granulated sugar and then in confectioners' sugar. Coat them well.

Place the sugared balls on baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart as you go.

Bake cookies one sheet at a time for 11 to 14 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and cracked. When the cookies no longer stick when you gently nudge them, they are done. You're better off underbaking them than overbaking them, so when in doubt, pull them out.

Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack, and let them cool completely.

These cookies have a nice depth of flavor from the inclusion of coffee, cinnamon, and chile powder. The heat doesn't overtake the cookie, but rather it lingers in the background. In the book this is referred to as a "sultry earthiness." The chocolate is rich, and if you cook them just right, the cookies are wonderfully moist and fudgy. Rolling them in granulated sugar before the confectioners' sugar adds a subtle crunch, giving these another level of texture. They rank among my favorites.

What are you doing for Cinco de Mayo? Do you try to make foods that go with the day, or do you treat it as just another day?

Do you have any recommendations for what I can do with my new goodies? I'm especially wondering how to put that mole sauce to good use -- it's something I've never tried before.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Are you as ready as I am to move past the showers and onto the flowers?

I thought it would be cute to use the new pan I got from CSN stores for this post. CSN gave me the opportunity to choose an item from one of its stores to review, and after much deliberation I selected the Nordicware Petits Fours pan. I was really impressed with the service and how quickly the pan arrived and will definitely consider CSN for future purchases. (I just wish CSN didn't send so many follow-up and sale emails.)

The pan features flower-shaped molds the size of mini cupcakes. It took me quite a while to decide what kind of cake to make in the pans. I wanted something that would show the details of the flowers, unlike a chocolate cake. Eventually I decided on a lemon cake because it was stuck in my head after being around it at the bakery all week, and I thought the light-colored batter would work well for showing off the floral details of the baked cakes. I used Rose Levy Beranbaum's recipe for Woody's Lemon Luxury Layer Cake.

Woody's Lemon Luxury Layer Cake (adapted from Rose's Heavenly Cakes)


Ingredients

6 ounces white chocolate (preferably Ghirardelli baking bars)
6 large egg yolks
1 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups sifted cake flour (sift flour into the measuring cup)
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons superfine sugar
4 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Preparation


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray Petits Fours pan with non-stick baking spray.

Melt chocolate in small bowl in microwave in 15-second increments, stirring after each. Set aside to cool.

In medium bowl, whisk yolks, 1/3 cup of the milk, and vanilla until combined.

In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest on low speed, just until incorporated. Add the butter and remaining 2/3 cup of milk. Mix on low until dry ingredients are moistened, and then raise speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 minutes.

Next, add the egg mixture in three parts, and beat at medium speed for 20 seconds after each addition.

Scrape down the bowl, and add the melted chocolate. Mix until incorporated.

Scoop batter by 1/2-tablespoonfuls into prepared Petits Fours pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and until toothpick inserted in center of one of the middle cakes comes out clean and cakes spring back when lightly touched.

Let cool in pan for 5 to 10 minutes, until pan is cool enough to handle, and then transfer cakes to wire cooling rack. Repeat with remaining batter. If you get tired of scooping 1/2 tablespoons of batter into the Petits Fours pan, you can do what I did and pour the remaining batter into a cake pan and make a cake! Baking time will vary based on how much batter you have leftover and what size cake pan you use.

Things to keep in mind for the above recipe: For the first round of baking, I overfilled the pan -- who knew a tablespoon of batter would rise so much?

I went with about a half tablespoon of batter for the next round of baking.

That seemed to be the perfect amount; however, I didn't get the result I wanted, which was well-defined flowers. I bet you can't even tell from the pictures that these are flowers. I consider them lemon-yellow blobs. They tasted pretty good though.

After baking two batches of flower blobs, I still had a ton of batter leftover, so I simply poured the rest of the batter into a round cake pan and baked it off. I initially thought I would serve the lemon cake with berries and homemade whipped cream, but after more consideration and more drooling over the picture of Woody's Lemon Luxury Layer Cake in Rose's Heavenly Cakes, I decided to try to make the lemon buttercream that goes with the cake.

The buttercream consists of a white chocolate custard base, lemon curd, and butter. I cut the buttercream and white chocolate custard recipes in half and determined that I would only need to make one-third of the lemon curd recipe, which I started working on first. (I only had two lemons in the house, so that was my motivation for making only a small batch of the buttercream.) It turns out that the recipe was incredibly easy to follow. The only issue I have is that my curd was overly thick, so I'm guessing I must have overcooked it. That kind of bothers me because I followed all of the directions and took the curd off the heat when I could drip it onto itself as the recipe instructed, so I'm not sure why it thickened up significantly more after that. Maybe it has something to do with only making a very small amount.

Lemon Curd (adapted from Rose's Heavenly Cakes)

Ingredients

1 teaspoon lemon zest
1.33 fluid ounces egg yolks (or one-third of 7 yolks)
6 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
smidgen of salt

Preparation

Place lemon zest in a medium bowl, and set a strainer over the bowl.

In medium saucepan, whisk yolks, sugar, and butter until well blended. Whisk in lemon juice and salt. Then place pan over medium-low heat and stir constantly with spatula. Watch for the mixture to appear yellow on the spatula rather than translucent. And be sure to regulate the heat so the mixture does not come to a boil. To test whether the curd is done, drip some of it off the spatula onto itself and watch to see if it pools thickly. Once this happens, pour the mixture through the strainer, and then stir the zest into the mixture. Allow the curd to cool for 30 minutes.

I transferred the curd to a bowl and let it cool slightly. Then I pressed some plastic wrap against it and left it to chill in the fridge while I made the white chocolate custard base. This consists of melting white chocolate and butter together in a double boiler and then whisking in some eggs.

White Chocolate Custard Base (adapted from Rose's Heavenly Cakes)

Ingredients

5.3 ounces white chocolate (preferably Ghirardelli baking bars)
5 1/4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs

Preparation

In top of double boiler, melt white chocolate and butter, stirring often with rubber spatula until smooth. Beat eggs lightly in separate bowl, and then whisk them into the chocolate and butter. Continue whisking and heating until mixture reaches 140 degrees (use an instant read thermometer). Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 45 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes, until cool.

With the curd and white chocolate base prepared and cooled for the appropriate durations, I was ready to compose the buttercream.

White Chocolate Lemon Buttercream (adapted from Rose's Heavenly Cakes)

Ingredients

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
White Chocolate Custard Base (recipe above)
Lemon Curd (recipe above)

Preparation

In bowl of electric stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter on medium-low speed for about 30 seconds. Gradually beat in the White Chocolate Custard Base until stiff peaks form. Cover and set aside for 1 1/2 hours. The mixture should thicken and become slightly spongy.

Beat on medium-high speed for 30 seconds. Then add the lemon curd and beat just until combined.

Now for the fun part. I sliced through the cake taking off about the top third. I brushed some lemon syrup (lemon juice and sugar, heated in the microwave until the sugar dissolves) on the exposed cake (because I actually decided to frost the cake two days after I made it and wanted to make sure it would still be moist), and then I layered the inside with strawberries and raspberries and replaced the top.

Unfortunately, the top was a little too thin, so it broke on me. But it wasn't a big deal. I just flipped the cake over and top became the bottom. It was kind of a blessing in disguise because now I had the nice flat bottom of the cake as the top, which would be much easier to frost.

I covered the top and sides of the cake with the lemon buttercream.

Then I decorated the cake with more raspberries and strawberries.

I can't think of a better way to welcome the month of May -- filled with warmth, flowers, and sunshine, hopefully -- than with this luscious, lemony cake packed with juicy, red fruit.

Those of you who know me well know of my distaste for white chocolate, so you might be wondering why I used a recipe that's so heavy on white chocolate. I was just really, really drawn in by the photograph of the cake, and I kept my fingers crossed that the lemon flavor would overpower the white chocolate flavor -- and it did!

Do you have any big plans for the month of May?