pucker up. {rich & creamy lemon ice cream}

so it's easter this weekend.
you knew right?
well this year we are hosting. i offered and they accepted.
yikes! i'm so hoping this goes off without a hitch.
this is why i have been preparing. testing. eating....a lot.

i want everything to be just right.

i have my menu planned and i have added some new items and since i don't want to treat my guests like the guinea pigs i went ahead and tested them out on my real guinea pigs.

let's start with dessert. the prize at the end of eating all your vegetables.
it's where most of us want to end up right?
so last year i was all about chocolate. i was on a quest of sorts to master that. done.
this year i have lemon on the brain again.
maybe it's the brightness of the colour coordinating with the coming of spring.
maybe the freshness of the taste after all those months of rich comfort foods.
whatever it is, this year it's lemon.
lemon. lemon. lemon.

on a whim i email one of my favorite bakers to see if i was on the right track.
and.....HE EMAILED ME BACK!
his suggestion was....get this...the exact cake i was going to make! bingo! jackpot.
after i came down from the high of that i thought about what to go with it.
i have had this martha ice cream recipe forever and have never gotten around to doing it. the time is now.
to me lemon always was a sorbet style dessert. more icy than creamy. never again.
i am so in love with this. creamy. puckery. perfect.
although....and i am shamed to say it...maybe a little TOO lemony to go with my lemon drop cake.
i might stick with vanilla.
but i had to share with you. to let you in on the secret.

the main secret.....first you make a lemon curd. that's right.
that's what makes it so good.
don't believe me?
then go make some and let me know how you did. if you resisted eating it all the first night.
if you could. i double dog dare you.

martha's rich and creamy lemon ice cream

via my mom.

1 1/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cups fresh lemon juice {from 4 to 5 lemons}
1 tbsp. of lemon zest
2 whole eggs
4 egg yolks
1 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

in a medium saucepan whisk together the sugar, eggs, lemon juice and zest. cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens - coats the back of the wooden spoon and keeps your finger drag in tact when you breakdown and have to have a taste. slowly add your milk and cream. strain over a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.

set up your ice cream maker. following the manufacturers directions pour in your chilled lemon custard mix and let the magic happen. transfer to a decorative container and freeze until hard - but not before you taste some of the ice cream as a soft serve! {i couldn't stop eating this and think it may be the way i serve it on easter...i will turn the maker on as the plates are almost cleared and when we are ready for dessert ask my guests...would you like some fresh soft serve ice cream with your cake? how luxurious!}.
this will keep for a week in the freezer in an air-tight container.

all that remains.

i tried. i really did. between back to school, puzzles, trampoline time, big brother finale, art projects (we made these guys again!) and homework i really tried to get that fabulous magazine worthy photo if the ice cream i actually made myself. yes you read it right. i made ice cream.

and it was pretty darn good.

the seed for this endeavor was planted 4 years ago when the husband gifted me with the much coveted kitchen aid mixer for my 30th birthday. with this purchase came the ice cream maker attachment which he presented to me along with the mixer. with BIG THANKS i gladly accepted the present and starred at it with starry eyes.

how it actually looked before i prettied it up. the sad remnants - although that should account for the taste because it disappeared so fast!

fast forward four years and the 2nd part of the gift was put to good use. finally. i have thought about this over the years but it seemed like such a daunting task and yes it actually takes two days to make! well it took me two days. now - i am a planner but this required serious planning. with a sweet result of course.

worth every second.

for my birthday THIS summer we visited the ben & jerry's factory since we were in vermont and since i am crazy about ice cream. i love ben & jerry's - used to be my curled-up-in-bed-after-the-bar guilty pleasure. and for my gift i bought the official ben & jerry's homemade ice cream and dessert book. armed with this (although i do have the williams sanoma book as well) i vowed i was going to make ice cream before the summer was through. i cracked open the book and got to work on the sweet cream base - the most popular - hoping to get that exquisite signature taste. upon reading the recipe i drew one conclusion - something was wrong here. the recipe for this base calls for raw eggs but then it does not go to show the cooking process. what?? they don't cook the eggs??? so i called up the hotline in the book - the factory it turns out - to ask them about this. yes, i actually called them. and after asking and waiting i was told to use my favorite ice cream base instead of theirs because they haven't changed the recipe in the book to account for the eggs today. and yes they cook theirs at the factory. what????? i don't have a favorite ice cream base - i bought the book so i could get a favorite ice cream base, to make theirs not so i could find it from somewhere else! totally lunacy.

so i took a step back and being the clever girl that i am i figured it out and still using their recipe i made the ice cream. and it's awesome. i am now totally stoked and inspired to make more. soon. when i have two days to plan. and since i can hear fall knocking at the door and found it had snuck in through the window the other day and kissed me on the cheek i think a pumpkin variety is in order.....

jen's cookies and cream ice cream.

adapted from ben & jerry's version.

the base used here is universal. prepare this as your standard "vanilla" and then the world is your oyster! except i wouldn't recommend oysters....yeah....no. to this you can add all sorts of treats, nuts, syrups...anything! follow my instructions though and add them at the appropriate moment. the possibilities are endless!

makes one quart.

vanilla base
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy or whipping cream - chilled
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract or half a vanilla bean.

extras
1 cup coarsely chopped oreo style cookies.

in a medium glass bowl (suitable for double-boiling) whisk together the eggs until light and fluffy - about 1 to 2 minutes. add the sugar and whisk until combined. set the bowl over a pot of simmering water but do not let the water touch the bowl! cook, stirring constantly with heatproof spatula until the eggs feel hot to the touch - this is tempering your eggs. meanwhile have your cup of milk heating in a pot next to you until searing hot but not boiling. once hot, slowly slowly pour into the egg mixture while whisking constantly. once all mixed in pour your mixture into a second pot over a low flame and stir constantly with heatproof spatula, until the mixture has thickened to a pudding-like consistency, this is your custard base. once done pour into another bowl to start the cool down process. allow to cool slightly and then, while whisking, slowly add your cold cream. next pop it into the fridge for a minimum of 8 hours to allow to properly chill and set.

chop your cookies, place them in a bowl, cover and refrigerate.

once chilled transfer your mix to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacture's instructions. 

after the ice cream stiffens (about 5 minutes before it's done) add the cookies, then continue freezing until the ice cream is ready. place in a separate container and chill for at least 4 hours before eating.
**because this ice cream uses fresh eggs please finish it within 5 days of making....yeah like it will last past day one! but just in case.....

party countdown day 4: semifreddo.

 

 se·mi·fred·do's

(Italian: "half cold") is a class of semi-frozen desserts, typically ice-cream cakes, semi-frozen custards, and certain fruit tarts. It has the texture of frozen mousse because it is usually produced by uniting two equal parts of ice cream and whipped cream. ...

i have been having semifreddo on the brain lately. as i skim through my many homemade cookbooks (more on those later - big project i'm working on) i occasionally come across it. made this way or that way it always grabs my eye and makes my tongue tingle. i have been putting it off and putting it off. as i mentioned before i am some what pulling out all the culinary stops - to the husbands dismay - for our fiesta and decided to try my hand, once and for all, at this tasty treat.

once again i became conflicted. which direction should i go in? play it safe and do a plain base model round one? jazz it up with brownie bits, caramel sauce and chocolate? hit it with beautiful vanilla bean and some berries? there are just too many choices! eventually i cleared my mind from the madness and thought of what the plan for this dessert was. a sister for my chocolate chocolate cake which has ganache filling. okay so no chocolate in the freddo. is plain boring? i, myself, think that there is nothing better than vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce (or mint chocolate chip) so with the ganache already in the cake i think plain would be the winning combination. what about something just a little special in there - like a vanilla bean!! yes.

boo - no vanilla bean found at the usual suspect and being in the land-of-no-culinary-taste i wasn't about to waste my time driving around when i knew i would never find one. okay okay so now we are going with creamy yummy plain semifreddo. how easy was this to make! i ended up going with the donna hay version as the martha version does not temper the eggs and there is nothing scarier than raw egg whites and raw chicken (no, there is not chicken in there - i was just making my point) now back to this point - quite easy! with my hand mixer in hand and my stand mixer on stand by, we made it through, got a little fancy with some tester small ones adding dolce de leche in the bottom of the cups, got the big one in the freezer and another check mark is on the party to-do's! now that is a good thing.

basic semifreddo adapted from donnahay.com 3 eggs  2 egg yolks, extra  1 teaspoon vanilla extract  1 cup caster (superfine) sugar 2 cups heavy (35%)cream Place the eggs, extra yolks, vanilla and sugar in a heatproof bowl. Place over a saucepan of simmering water and, using a hand-held electric mixer, beat for 6–8 minutes or until thick and pale. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Whisk the cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold through the egg mixture until well combined. Pour into a 2 litre-capacity metal tin and freeze for 6 hours or overnight. Makes 2 litres. You could create your own flavour with this base by folding a range of fruit, spices or syrups through the mixture. Think chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, brownie bits, puréed mango or whole berries such as raspberries or blueberries. ~ donna hay.