Mango Lassi Popsicles

My new favorite desserts this summer are popsicles.  They are so easy to make and there are no limits to the flavor combinations.  It seems that they are popping up everywhere this year, even the franprix across the street has their own line.

For this recipe I make a puree of mango and a little sugar if it is not sweeet enough. Then I mix equal parts of coconut milk and cream.  Layer these in a mold and place in the freezer for 1 hour.  After it has started to freeze, place the sticks in the middle of each popsicle then return to the freezer until completely frozen.

I serve mine with a spicy chocolate sauce and some fresh raspberries from the garden.

Take the time and experiment with your favorite summer flavors.

Have fun and enjoy taking a break from the heat of the summer!

 

Blue Cheese Pear Gastrique

This sauce started with a simple gastrique sauce, simply caramelized sugar deglazed with vinegar.  For me, I prefer to use honey rather than sugar to make my caramel, it is much healthier and most important, more flavorful.  For a lot of my cooking I prefer to use cider vinegar, I feel it has the best flavor that pairs with most ingredients.

Begin the recipe with by peeling and removing the core and cutting it into large pieces.  Cook the pears in a pot on medium heat until the water comes out and the sugars start to caramelize.  Deglaze with a little water to remove the sugars beginning to caramelize on the bottom of the pot.  Once it is fully cooked, add the bleu cheese and stir until it is melted then puree.

Begin to cook the honey with the fennel seeds until it begins to smell a bit burnt and deglaze with the cider vinegar. Remove from the heat and carefully add the pear puree and stir until it is completely mixed.  Heat again and simmer for a few minutes to make sure the caramel has completely melted into the sauce.

You can base the recipe on your own tastes, whether you love the taste of blue cheese or pear more.

 

Honey-Thyme-Orange Ice Cream with Blackberry-Goat Cheese Swirl

It has been more than 6 months since our last ice cream entry so I believe it is time to fire up the ice cream machine again!  Today’s ice cream will be a bit more on the savory side, but still using blackberry for the swirl.

Thyme is sold both fresh and dried.  Fresh thyme is more flavorful, but less convenient (storage life is rarely more than a week).  Summer-seasonal, fresh greenhouse thyme is available year round.  A recipe may measure thyme by the bunch, by the sprig or by the tablespoon and teaspoon.  The leaves may be removed from the stems by scraping with the back of a knife, or by pulling through the fingers or tines of a fork.  For this recipe we will be using whole sprigs of thyme.

Honey-Thyme-Orange Ice Cream with Blackberry–Goat Cheese Swirl Recipe

2 cups whole milk

4 cups heavy cream

6 large sprigs fresh thyme

1 cinnamon stick

¼ cup orange flavor liquor

8 egg yolks

1 cup honey

2 pints of blackberries

3 cups of sugar

6 tbsp of creamy goat cheese

We are going to start this recipe by bringing the milk/cream to a simmer.  Once it starts to simmer, remove from the heat and add the thyme and cinnamon stick.  Cover the pot and steep for 30 minutes.

While that is steeping, combine the blackberries and 1 cup of sugar in a mixing bowl.  Set mixture over a pot of simmering water and let it cook for 15 minutes.  Once the time is up, puree the blackberry mixture and strain into a bowl with the goat cheese.  My preference on goat cheese to use is the Laura Chenel brand.  Mix them until they are completely combined, then cool in the refrigerator.

Next step is to combine the egg yolks, remaining sugar, orange liquor and honey in a mixer and whip until it becomes light and fluffy.  Slowly whisk a cup of the hot mixture (milk/cream, thyme, and cinnamon stick) into the yolk mixture, tempering, and bring the temperature of the yolk up without cooking it as you add it back into the remaining hot mixture.

On medium low heat, start to cook the custard while constantly scraping the bottom with a rubber spatula until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon evenly without immediately falling off.  Strain the custard through a strainer into a bowl set over an ice bath and stir until completely cooled.

Fire up the ice cream machine!  Process the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s directions.  As you are removing the finished ice cream from the machine, drizzle the blackberry goat cheese throughout and stir a few times to make swirls.

Hope you enjoy this delicious treat!

 

May the Cupcakes be with you!

Cupcakes have become a very popular replacement for wedding cakes.  It is a great idea if you have multiple flavors and you want everyone to try them, especially if you are baking mini cupcakes.  The wedding I just catered desired five different flavors, vanilla bean with vanilla buttercream, carrot cake, red velvet, Reese’s peanut butter cup, and the focus of this entry, chocolate Guinness with Bailey’s cream cheese frosting, which was also their wedding cake flavor.

The best place to start when making cupcakes is with your favorite cake recipe.  Many people try to overthink the process by believing that they need a specific recipe for cupcakes (that is simply not the case).  For these cupcakes, I took my favorite chocolate cake recipe and just added a bottle of Guinness (in place of the milk), then added sour cream (for the fat).

When making cupcakes you want to remember to always sift your dry ingredients together.  By sifting the dry ingredients together you avoid having lumps of flour that when baked won’t break down and will cause a dry patch in your cake.  If you do not own a sifter you can use a food processor and it will mix and break up all of the dry ingredients (or just use a spaghetti strainer like my wife).  Next in a mixer (I used a stand mixer) you will beat the sugars with the butter until it starts to become smooth and fluff a little.  One by one add one add the eggs then vanilla extract.  Alternate the dry ingredients with the addition of the Guinness.  Once the batter is thoroughly mixed together, add the sour cream and fold in completely.

Setting up your cupcake pan is easy; you place the papers in the muffin/cupcake pan and fill them up three quarters of the way full of batter.  I like to use a piping bag to pipe the batter into the cupcake papers.  Bake the cupcakes at three hundred twenty five degrees, rotating every five minutes, until a pick comes out dry.

                   

Once the cupcakes are done baking, let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes then carefully remove them and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.  If you leave them in the pan for too long they will start to sweat and the wrappers will start to fall off.

Now you can start the frosting process.  Start by mixing your cream cheese and butter (both should be at room temperature) with sifted powder sugar.  Mix in your mixer until smooth and fluffy.  Slowly add the Bailey’s Irish Cream.  Once completely mixed, transfer the mixture to a piping bag (using any tip), and carefully pipe on top of the Guinness cupcake.

Use your imagination with cupcakes!  Think about your favorite dessert and just use the flavors, such as tiramisu or banana fosters.  You can also switch things up and go more on the savory side, like maple candied bacon or cornbread cupcakes and top them with a chili spiced cream cheese frosting.

The possibilities are limitless!

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes:

2 C unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 C Dutch processed cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 C granulated sugar
1/2 C light or dark brown sugar
1/2 C unsalted softened butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 C sour cream
1 12 fl. oz. bottle/1 1/2 C Guinness or stout beer

 

Bailey’s Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 8oz. bar of cream cheese, softened
1 4oz. stick of unsalted butter, softened
2 C confectioner’s sugar
4 – 6 Tablespoons of Bailey’s Irish Cream

 

 

Shortbread Cookies!

Shortbread cookies are not just cookies, they are vessels.  They are great for delivering flavor combinations, as well as delivering your favorite ice creams to your mouth.  Because these cookies are very simple and basic in flavor, they easily take on any flavor that they are combined with.

The cookie is simply made by combining 2 cups of flour with ½ cup of sugar, ¼ teaspoon of salt, 8 ounces of cold chopped butter, 1 egg, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract in a bowl.  Start by bringing all of the ingredients together with your fingertips until it forms a dough.  Mix the dough by hand until a smooth dough is formed.

Roll the dough out to form a round disk that is ½ inch thick.  Wrap in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for a half an hour.   Once chilled, unwrap and roll the dough out on a floured surface until ¼ inch thick.  Cut the dough with a round cutter or with a knife into squares.

Place the cookies on a baking sheet, with spacing around 1 inch between each cookie, and bake at 325 degrees for about 12 minutes.  Check after 10 minutes and if they have started to lightly brown around the edges, they are done.  Remove the cookies from the baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack so that the bottoms of the cookies do not become soggy.

Wasn’t that easy and fun?  Now let’s get creative with it!  Make the dough again, but this time let us add some different components to the mix.  Take some chopped cooked bacon, grated cheddar, a little chopped garlic, and fresh chopped thyme and mix it in the dough.  We can even dress it up after the cookies are done by adding a little cocoa powder or lemon zest and dip in melted chocolate.  This is great to snack on with your coffee.  Another way would be to top with ice cream and serve.

Whatever you decide to do, just remember to have fun with it!