Frozen Delights

A few weeks ago I wrote briefly about my attempts at making chocolate sorbet and matcha ice cream. I promised to post up recipes and I have not forgotten. It's just that I have been really busy at work. It is during these times when I wish I actually owned one of those fantastic Musso ice-cream machines.

With a Musso, I can simply dump the entire ice-cream mixture into the machine, press a button and within 30 minutes I can have a perfect quart of heaven.

Since I don't have a Musso, I have to contend with my old-school ice and salt ice-cream churner, which doesn't really make the best ice-cream but does allow me to come up with something quite decent. And by decent, I do mean something that kind of resembles ice-cream but nowhere near perfect. First of all, you got to understand that it's rather humid where I live and the ice-salt combination can only reduce the temperature down to a certain point.

However, today, I'm going to rave about two good recipes that I know would be 10 times better if I had a professional ice-cream maker. But until I have enough cash to actually buy one of my own, I will appreciate my beloved ice-cream churner.

Dessert-lovers like me always crave for ice-cream and there is never a wrong time to have a scoop or two. So I crave for ice-cream pretty often and will usually bookmark ice-cream recipes with the intention of making it. Sometimes I forget about it and sometimes I do end up actually making some. It really depends if I have enough ice in the fridge and if I have the time.

A couple of weekends ago, I set out to make two ice-cold treats and boy was it a delicious affair.

The chocolate sorbet was a shoo-in because I've been wanting to make something with a rich dark chocolate taste. I was sceptical of most chocolate ice-cream recipes because well, I wasn't too sure if it was going to be chocolatey enough. Yes I'm quite particular about my chocolate, I love it dark.

I first chanced upon the chocolate sorbet recipe at Su Good Sweets. I literally held my breath the moment I saw that scoop of decadent deep brown in a glass cup. You can't really blame me for being so easily enticed. It really did look irresistable.

With Su's recipe, I made a lovely chocolate sorbet which wasn't quite perfect (ice crystals weren't fine enough) but it did taste super. It also had that intense dark brown appearance which I adore.

As soon as I had finished making my sorbet, I made plans for another ice-cream escapade - this time involving my favourite matcha powder.

You might remember my previous attempt at matcha ice-cream. It was a success but I thought there has got to be a better recipe out there.

I was right. I did find another recipe and it was recommended to me by a reader who had tried it before. Though it did involve raw egg yolks, I thought I'd just give it a shot. I had great faith in the eggs - was dead sure I wouldn't fall ill and I was right.

The end result was a creamy textured matcha ice-cream with the right amount of matcha flavour made possible by the matcha powder of course.

It was a very lovely milky green too:



The recipe is apparently Harumi Kurihara’s. She's a well-known Japanese cookbook author. Her recipes have received rave reviews so I was absolutely sure her green tea ice-cream recipe won't fail. Thank god it didn't.

These days I don't buy green tea ice cream anymore. I'd rather make my own.

I await the day I can own my very own Musso and be totally bowled over. Then I will never have to settle for ice-cream that's second-best, ever again.

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Chocolate Sorbet
Paraphrased from Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich

1 cup (3.25 oz) cocoa
Scant 1 cup sugar
2 tiny pinches salt
2 cups boiling water
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tbsp rum or vodka (optional)
Combine cocoa, sugar, salt in saucepan and whisk in 1/2 cup boiling water to make a thick paste. Add the remaining water. Stir over medium heat just until tiny bubbles form at the edges of the pan. Don’t cook any longer, as the heat can damage the flavor of the cocoa.
Take the mixture off the heat and add the vanilla. Refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours. Add the rum or vodka, if using. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Harden the sorbet in the freezer for at least 3 to 4 hours.
Note: The flavor is so rich that you can substitute half of the water with milk.


Harumi Kurihara’s Matcha Ice Cream (Green Tea Ice-cream)
Ingredients:
2 tbs/10g green tea powder (macha)
120g granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
1 cup/200ml milk
1 cup/200ml double cream
Method:
1. In a small bowl, mix the green tea powder with 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg yolks and remaining sugar.
3. Pour the milk into a small pan and gently heat taking care not to let it boil (ideally the temperature of the milk should be 80oC). Remove from the heat and mix a few spoonfuls of the warm milk with the green tea powder and sugar in a small bowl. When you have a smooth paste, add it to the remaining milk in the pan, then gradually combine with the egg yolks and sugar mix. Leave to cool.
4. Lightly whip the cream till slightly firm and then add to the cold green tea milk mixture.
5. Transfer the mixture to a large container and put it in the frigde. Leave overnight.
6. Next day, assemble the ice cream machine, turn power on, then slowly pour mixture into it. Churn for about half an hour till mixture becomes double in volume. Then pour mixture into container and freeze for a few hours till firm

Green Tea Ice Cream

Since I'm a huge fan of desserts, it is not surprising when I tell you how much I adore ice cream. Very much a comfort food, ice cream calms the mind and soothes the tastebuds - at least to me it does. What better way to wind down after a long busy day than with a perfect scoop of cold and creamy ice cream.

Sounds like pure indulgence eh? I'm sure it is, but the point is not how much calories you consume but how it makes everything seem better. You can never go wrong ending the night or a meal with a sweet note.

Okay, okay I know I sound like I'm justifying my love for this creamy dessert that most remember better for its sinful fat content than its tempting sweetness. I can't help it! I'm pro-ice cream and I just want to make you realise (if you haven't already) how gorgeous ice cream can be. Especially home-made ones.

Sad to say I have yet to own one of those ice cream machines with a self-freezing unit. I can only dream. For now. Items like these remain a luxury especially since I have to watch my spending and pay off my university loan! So imagine my excitement when my fifth aunt passed me a uber retro-looking ice-cream churner. She found it at Cash Converters and paid only $8 for it. This machine looks more like a toy to me. I have to fill it up with my own ice and add salt to make sure the temperature dips low enough to chill the ice cream mixture as the motor churns the ice cream.

I've been using the machine a couple of times and with each try I got more confident and finally I decided it was time to try making an ice cream that I really love and have been craving for - Green Tea Ice Cream or should I say, Matcha Ice Cream:



One thing I've learnt through making my own ice cream is how simple it really is. The best thing is of course the ability to add more of the things I want! And of course to cut down on the sugar. It might seem contradictory but I don't really like my desserts to be too sweet. I'm not saying it should be bland. All I want is for the said dessert to be sweetened with just the right amount of sugar so that the intended flavour still comes through. Too much sugar just kills it.

For this ice cream, I used David Lebovitz's recipe from Perfect Scoops. I am a fan of his and I thought that if I wanted to make a good ice cream I should of course consult his recipes first, especially since they're known to produce the best results. This recipe uses a custard base and instead of the 3/4 cup sugar it called for, I added only 1/4 cup.

The result was good. I added more matcha (green tea powder) of course. I really love the green hue. The recipe makes for a rather creamy version of green tea ice cream. Next time I make it I'll probably add less cream. I realised that in order for the green tea flavour to come through, it shouldn't be overtly creamy. Hmmm I'm not sure if I make such sense! I guess it's mostly because green tea is afterall a delicate flavour and putting too much cream would only mask the tea. Okay my analysis ends here. I'll leave it up to you to decide when you do try the recipe which you can find HERE.

Oh and before I forget, here's how the retro ice cream machine looks like:



Okay, it's more a toy than a machine I think! The dark yellow motor sits on top of the bucket and swivels the metal container (there's a paddle inside too) so the mixture gets chilled as it's churned. I think it's way cool. Haha I feel like I really did make the ice cream - all my blood and sweat! More satisfying I guess, than dumping the ingredients in a huge self-freezing power machine. Ah well this will do for now, until I save up enough to get a real solid one!

Next up, salted caramel ice cream! I hope. IF I have the guts to try. It just sounds so tricky! Well if you have any good ice cream recipe for it or any other flavour at all, you're welcomed to email it to me!