Lime cheesecake ice cream with gingerbread

The weather is finally warm enough for ice cream here in Australia, so once again it's time to start making it. Homemade ice cream is exciting because you can make whatever flavour you like. There are barely any restrictions when it comes to what you can make at home. Super fun.

I have this terrible, terrible love for this incredible bad for me lime cheesecake yoghurt they sell at the super markets. There's nothing good in it whatsoever; it's got tons of sugar and an odd fake flavour about it. This weird yoghurt, that I love but shouldn't, inspired me to make this ice cream.

Luckily this ice cream doesn't have a weird fake flavour about it. It's much nicer than cheesecake flavoured yoghurt I hold so dearly. The creamcheese and lime complement each other nicely, and the gingerbread on the side go pretty well too. All and all a lovely treat, perfect for the spring weather.

If I were to change anything about this recipe it would be to infuse lime peel in the milk. I thought about doing it for my ice cream but totally forgot about it by the time I got around to making the recipe. Infusing the lime with the milk would make the lime taste much stronger and, in my view, much more delicious!

Lime cheesecake ice cream with gingerbread

From The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Makes about 700ml

• 225g cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon lime
• 250ml sour cream
• 125ml full cream milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar

Cut the cream cheese into 1cm pieces. Zest the lime directly into the blender or food processor, then add the cream cheese, sour cream, milk, sugar, and salt and puree until smooth. Chill in the refrigerator until cold.

Once cold, strain the cream cheese mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Transfer the strained mixture into an ice cream maker and cheese according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Once frozen, transfer to a container and freeze for a minimum of 3 hours.

Green apple sorbet

I first made green apple sorbet was about a year and a half ago and it wasn't anything to write home about. I'd just received a stand mixer and an ice cream bowl attachment and I was super excited about using it. I picked a recipe and started making it. Not knowing anything about making ice cream and sorbet I didn't realise just how smooth a puree needs to be to make creamy ice cream. I neither pureed the apples enough nor strained them. The result was a gritty sorbet with a weird, weird texture. Sure, it tasted good but how it felt in your mouth was all wrong.

One and a half years later, with fond memories of the taste of my ill-fated sorbet, I've given it another shot. This time I've come out successful, the texture of this sorbet is much nicer and the taste is wonderful.

There are a few things I liked about the original recipe that, unfortunately, didn't carry over into the second attempt. The first recipe used frozen apples rather than cooked and pureed, this meant that the sorbet was a vibrant green without the use of food colouring. I also liked how with the original recipe, you just chucked the apples in the freezer, pureed them once they were frozen, and then whacked them in the ice cream maker - none of this cooking and cooling business. But then, despite these things I liked the actual sorbet was the wrong texture so there's no use lamenting. It also went brown if you let it thaw out - eww.

Essentially this recipe is much better than my first attempt and I'm just being picky.

If you make this, don't freak out if your apple mixture is super bright green prior to it being frozen in the ice cream machine - it's perfectly normal. I didn't realise this when I was making mine and freaked out about the green monstrosity I was about to create. The mixture lightens up a lot as it freezes, resulting in a pleasing light green. I just used plain old liquid food colouring for mine but those of you with fancier food dyes then I could use those too.

I've only ever seen recipes for green apple sorbet but now I'm starting to to wonder how gala, fuji, pink lady, or even heirloom varieties of apples would go in sorbet. I think I could have a whole blog dedicated to apple sorbet if I felt so inclined - yum.

Green apple sorbet

(adpated from Decadence by Philip Johnson)
makes about 1.5 litres (6 cups)

750g (1.6lbs) granny smith apples, unpeeled, cored, and quartered
juice of 1/2 a lemon
250ml (1 cup) water
375g (1.5 heaped cups) caster sugar
3 teaspoons calvados, optional
1/8 teaspoon liquid green food colouring, optional

Place the apples, lemon juice, water, and sugar in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook the apples until they are extremely soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Once the apples have cooled transfer them to a blender and blend until the mixture becomes a smooth puree. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve. Stir through the calvados and green food colouring, if using. Refrigerate the apple mixture until cold.

Remove the mixture from the fridge and churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacture's instructions.

Once adequately frozen, transfer the sorbet to a container, cover tightly, and place in the freezer for a minimum of 4 hours.

Amaretti ice cream - churned and non-churned versions

It's not often that I make something that doesn't go down well with J. His ability to eat and enjoy almost everything is astonishing. I'm incredibly picky about what I eat, whereas he's the exact opposite. There's not much he doesn't like.

When, on the odd occasion, I hear loud spluttering noises coming from the kitchen I know I'm done something monstrously stupid. I may have mixed up the salt and the sugar or accidentally added two tablespoons of baking soda when all I needed was two teaspoons. You get the gist.

So, when I heard said spluttering noises coming from the kitchen last night I was incredibly confused. I knew I hadn't left anything I'd made on the counter to be gobbled.

I rushed in to see what was the matter - hoping J wasn't dying or something equally dramatic. Imagine my surprise when I find him waving his arms around and pointing at the amaretti biscuits I've left neatly (ahem..) in their packet.

"Whoa, what's wrong?" I said.

"Those biscuits!" he said, "They're awful!"

"No, they're not" I tell him "they're just awful strong."

etcetc.

It seems I managed to find something J doesn't like. In fact, I would go so far as to say I've found something he loathes. I don't mind though, the ice cream I used the biscuits in turned out quite nice. Slightly on the creamy side of too creamy, but nice none the less.

The recipe was originally for a no-churn ice cream but I decided to churn half of mine for fun. As expected the churned half is less icy. The non churned half isn't had either.

Honestly, sometimes I prefer not the share. This time is one of them.

Amaretti ice cream

(adapted from Delicious magazine, May 2009)
makes 2 litres

250ml (1 cup) double cream
375ml (1 1/2 cup) single cream
100g (2/3 cup) icing sugar, sifted
80ml (1/3 cup) amaretto liqueur
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
110g (4 oz) amaretti biscuits, coarsely chopped

Non-churned version

Place the creams and icing sugar in a bowl and beat with electric beaters until soft peaks form. Gently whisk in the amaretto and vanilla, then chill until required.

Place the egg whites and salt in a bowl and beat until soft peaks form.

Remove the cream from the fridge, give it a quick whisk if it has lost some of its body. Gently stir in the biscuits, then fold in the beaten egg whites. Pout into a 2 litre container and chill for 6 hours, or until firm.

Churned version

Place the creams and icing sugar in a bowl and beat with electric beaters until the cream reaches the ribbon stage. Whisk in the amaretto, vanilla, and salt, then gently fold in the egg whites. Chill until cold.

Remove the mixture from the fridge and churn according to the manufacture's instructions. Add the amaretti biscuits in the last few minutes of churning.

Transfer the ice cream to a two litre container and freeze for a minimum of 2 hours.

Frozen yoghurt with a cherry ripple

This is my first time photographing any kind of frozen food, up until now I've been terrified and in awe of those who regularly do it. I'm no longer terrified but definitely still in awe of those who do it well.

Late last year I was given the ice cream bowl attachment for my kitchen-aid mixer (which I was also given last year, thanks friends!) Since receiving it I've made ice cream and sorbet whenever I find an excuse. Now I'm venturing into the world of frozen yoghurt.

I've always loved frozen yoghurt, as a child my mother used to buy it on a regular basis and I used to scoff it down. Yet, up until yesterday I'd never had it freshly made and nor did I have the slightest inkling of just how easy it is to make.

Besides the home-made ice creams I've made I've really only had home-made ice cream once in my life. I would've been around 8 at the time and it was made using a hand cranked ice and salt mixer. I thought it was amazing. I can't remember what the ice cream tasted like but I do remember thinking just how great it was that you could actually make ice cream. It was like magic happening before my eyes. Of course, I didn't actually crank the ice cream maker so I had little appreciation of the effort involved - I still have little appreciation as I've never used an ice and salt ice cream maker!

Anyway, enough of that. Frozen yoghurt is amazing. The tangy-ness of the yoghurt offsets the sweetness of the cherries in this recipe, creating a delightful combination. if you've never made frozen yoghurt and you happen to own an ice cream maker, I highly recommend you make it now. The involved is absolutely minimal and the results are deliciously rewarding.

Frozen yoghurt with a cherry ripple

(adapted from Decadence: Desserts by Philip Johnson)
makes 600ml

For the frozen yoghurt

175ml (6 fl oz) whole milk
85g sugar (1/3 cup) caster sugar
35g (1/6 cup) glucose syrup
250ml (1 cup) Greek-style yoghurt
juice of 1/2 a lemon

For the cherry ripple

120g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
1 cup water
1 cup fresh or frozen cherries, pitted

Combine the milk, sugar, and glucose syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, then remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.

Put the yoghurt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the cooled milk mixture, then whisk in the lemon juice. Refrigerate until cold.

Meanwhile, combine the caster sugar and water in a small saucepan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the cherries and crush them lightly using a wooden spoon to break them up slightly. bring to the boil and boil, without stirring, for 5-7 minutes or until the mixture is thick and syrupy. Remove from the heat and transfer to a small bowl. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until cold.

Once everything is cold, transfer the yoghurt mixture to the bowl of an ice cream machine, and churn according to the manufacturers instructions.

Once churned, transfer to a container for freezing, alternating between large scoops of the frozen yoghurt and small scoops of the cherry mixture. Freeze for an minimum of two hours.