I have graduated! Not from school but in my options for frozen treat making. A friend called the other day to say she had found a new Cuisinart Ice Cream maker at a local second hand store….for $7.00! Needless to say it was worth the expense to drive it around the block a couple of times to see if I REALLY wanted it. Years of imagining and reality aren’t always the same.
The wheel is turning again as Lughnasadh approaches. It is a time to celebrate in the bounty of what is available so making something especially decadent to offer was my intention. Chocolate and raspberry jam are available through out the year, so really this is a recipe that can be used anytime something rich and special is called for.
Sweet truffles are a mixture of melted chocolate, scalded whipping cream and your choice of flavouring. Just the word can set a mouth watering. Celebrations are about doing things a little special so the choice for this batch was not to just mix and pour some dairy into the machine but to first cook and cool a pudding type mixture that is thick to begin with and just gets creamier as it freezes.
You will need:
1/3 cup raspberry jam, seeds removed
There are 40,000 people evacuated from their homes in British Columbia right now, due to forest fires. So it seems a little superficial to be writing about play time with ice cream making. Coming from a place of gratitude becomes all the more immediate when there is a higher awareness of the challenges not far away.
Begin with a few deep breaths. Hold and release, remembering that release comes on the out breath, allow all the air to leave your lungs before breathing back in. Bring your focus to the task at hand, allowing other thoughts to go on their way. Find appreciation, for the ingredients available, the time and opportunity to work and the skills in you that create. Invite and welcome the compassionate spirits and begin.
Rich decadent style cooked ice creams call for whole milk. I did not have any around so I upped the whipping cream and lowered the milk ratio and used my 2% instead, coming out at about the same fat content. Combine the milk and heavy cream over medium low heat.
Chop the chocolate and melt over water or in the microwave. Stir well and put aside. (Next time I might try adding the chopped pieces directly into the pot and use the heat of the milk to melt the chocolate.)
To a medium bowl add the sugar and eggs. Stir well by hand or hand mixer until the mixture thickens. Remove one cup of heated milk from the pot and add to the egg/sugar mixture, stirring well. It is best to do this in a slow steady stream while the handmixer is on or you are whisking. The purpose of doing this is to gently heat the eggs but not cook them before returning the mixture to the heated milk, making for a custard with fewer lumps.
Add the melted chocolate into the saucepan with the heated milk. Stir until well combined and then add the egg mixture into the pot. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly. As the mixture thickens it will begin to look like chocolate pudding.
Place the finished chocolate mixture to a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap that is placed directly on the surface of the custard. This will prevent a skin from forming, making the entire mixture usable when making the ice cream. Refrigerate until completely cooled. The mixture will thicken as it cools. The picture on the right is after sitting overnight.
I am going to finish up the ice cream with the machine and then I will explain what to do if there is no ice cream machine in your home.
Most ice cream machines have a freezer bowl that needs to be fully frozen prior to using. The ice cream mixture goes into the bowl and then a rotating spatula continually scrapes off the freezing mixture from the inside of the bowl. It can take up to 36 hours to freeze when starting from scratch which is not helpful if you are the spontaneous sort.
The solution to that is to store the freezer bowl in the freezer so that it is ready to go when inspiration strikes. Good in theory, but if there is no extra room in the freezer, not always practical.
Put the pieces of the machine together and turn on. Pour the ice cream mixture into the rotating center and watch it do its thing for about 20 minutes or until firm.
How long the mixture takes to finish is based on three things, the volume of the ice cream being made, the machine design and how fully frozen the freezer bowl is to begin with.
Add 1/4 cup raspberry jam, that has had the seeds removed and reserve a little extra as garnish when serving.
Once the ice cream is finished it can be enjoyed right away or put into a container and stored in the freezer. Take the ice cream out and allow it to soften a little before serving.
I generally try to keep the things I post to recipes that do not require lots of additional equipment that might only be used once or twice a year and may cost more than the budget allows. The idea of an ice cream machine has appealed to me because it is possible to get rid of the added chemicals, reduce sugar, mix together my choice of ingredients while taking advantage of what’s in season.
Option two is to recreate this process at home with a bowl and a hand mixer. The smaller the individual crystals are in the ice cream, the more luxurious the experience of eating it will be.
Place the ice cream in a large enough bowl to allow for whipping and place in the freezer. Check in an hour and using a spatula clear away the outside section closest to the bowl. Mix into the rest of the mixture, breaking down any lumps. Return to the freezer. Check in 30 minutes. If there is another layer of frozen mixture. Repeat cleaning the bowl and mixing back in. Some of this can be accomplished by hand and at other stages a hand mixer is helpful. Repeat and repeat and….. until the consistency wanted have been achieved. Serve.
It is not going to be the same as using a machine but it will get close if consistantly broken down and remixed.
Freshly made will be somewhere between soft serve and melting hard ice cream and from the freezer will most definitely be hard ice cream.
The ice cream was a hit but I think in the interest of thorough research, I will need to make a few additional batches, just to be sure I understand the full implications of actually having an ice cream machine in the house.
Raspberry Truffle Ice Cream from My Kitchen Wand
