On Holiday until Next Monday

Today I'm heading to Northern Ireland with my fellow musicians to record a few singles; I'm super excited! As such, I won't be uploading any cookery posts this week.

I will be back to business as usual on Monday next November 4th.

Variations on a Theme: Surfing Toffee Tray Cake (Wheat Free)

Earlier this year I was appointed as the youth worker in my church, which means now I'm in charge of designing, maintaining and running the youth group for the young people in my church and the surrounding churches in our circuit. I host a youth group every second Monday, where we have tea and biscuits and do team activities.

This week we had a surfing themed evening because the leader of our church's surfing mission was giving a talk. To fit in with the evening, I made some sea themed cakes.

I also took this opportunity to try out my new recipe for 'fail safe' boiled fondant icing, and it worked a charm. However, the weather was very overcast so the sugar boiling took a few goes to stop crystallising.

Before I started my surfing themed cakes I thought about how I'd decorate them, then I remembered that the Natural Confection Company does sea creature gummies, which would make very quick and convenient sea themed decorations for the cakes. The whole fairy cake versus tray bake conundrum was not a challenge for me: I infinitely prefer tray bakes to fairy cakes. I've never been a fairy cakes person, honestly.

I decided to play it safe and simple with the flavours because they were for teens and tweens who tend to be fickle and unadventurous. I settled on a toffee flavoured sponge with a simple vanilla icing; I thought the blue colour and the little sea creatures would be the main things, as children tend to get excited more about interesting visual things than interesting flavour combinations.

The texture of the cake was spot on, and it was deliciously moist and tender. I cooked the tray cake at a slightly lower oven temperature to get it to rise more evenly and bulge less in the centre; it worked quite well.

Overall, I think this little venture worked out brilliantly. I often overlook the advantages of using premade sweeties for decoration, and I think I'll keep an eye out for themed sweeties any more.  The children really enjoyed them, anyway, which is the most important thing.

HOW TO MAKE

• Make one 7x9 inch (17x24 centimeter) toffee sponge cake following this recipe, using 4 ounces (115 grammes) of soft brown sugar and ½ an ounce (15 grammes) golden syrup in place of all the caster sugar. Bake as instructed.
• Once the cake is cooled completely, use either blue butter cream icing or blue pouring fondant to cover the top of the cake. Streak to make it look like waves.
• Arrange 16 sea creature sweets on the top in a grid, and allow to set completely for about 2 hours at room temperature.
• Cut the cake into 16 pieces using a bread knife in a long sawing motion.
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

No-Churn No-Cook Strawberry Cheesecake Ice-Cream (Egg- and Wheat Free)

Yeah, I just said that; and I know that tittle has a lot in it...

And boom, there is the gratuitously super sexy sunlit shot of my final creation. After years of searching, I eventually found the perfect recipe for this decadent treat... and yes it does taste as sexy as it looks; look!

I'm getting way too excited about this. Apologies... but not really!

So, with this knew found knowledge, I decided to recreate a favourite of my teen years. Luxury American ice-cream makers Ben and Jerry used to sell a variety of ice-cream here in Ireland called Peace of Cake, which is a fabulous pun, which was basically strawberry cheesecake flavoured ice-cream with a swirl of biscuit base crumb running through it; and it was heavenly.

Obviously, having difficulty with wheat, I stopped being able to eat it. Which doesn't really matter after all because they don't sell it here any more anyway!

Of course, this doesn't actually have a biscuity swirl through it, the biscuit crumbs are more dispersed through the cream, but I'm sure I will find a way of making a swirling stripe of buttery biscuitness one day.

So, without further ado!

INGREDIMENTS:

Makes 14 fluid ounces (400 millilitres)

For biscuit crumbs:

• 1 ounce (30 grammes) cold butter or block margarine, cubed
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) caster sugar or coarse brown sugar
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) spelt flour or gluten-free flour blend
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 to 2 teaspoons of sunflower oil

For ice-cream:

• 3 fluid ounces (90 millilitres) whipping cream (35 - 40% fat)
• 1 fluid ounce (30 millilitres) Greek yogurt
• 2 fluid ounces (60 millilitres) sweetened condensed milk
• 4 tablespoons strawberry jam
• Optional: A few drops of red food colouring

HOW-TO:

First off, make the biscuit crumbs

• Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F, Gas Mk.6, or moderately hot).
• In a mixing bowl, mix the sugar, flour, and salt. Rub in the cubed butter until it forms crumbs.
• Mix in the cinnamon, and then pour out on an un-greased un-lined baking tray.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, tossing the crumbs with a fork every 3 minutes to keep them separate. You want a nice mixture of small and large crumbs.
• Once the crumbs are all evenly golden brown, remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature on the tray.

Now, prepare the ice-cream

• In a medium bowl, mix the sweetened condensed milk and jam until well combined.
• In another medium bowl, whip together the cream and yoghurt or cheese with a balloon whisk until holds stiff peaks. I prefer to whip by hand to I can have more control over how stiff the peaks are.
• Using a spatula or a large metal spoon, take a spoonful of the cream and fold gently into the strawberry condensed milk mixture using a cutting motion. This will make it lighter so it doesn't knock all the air out of the rest of the cream.
• Add the rest of the cream and fold in completely.
• If the ice-cream isn't pink enough for your liking, add a few drops of red food colouring until it reaches the right colour.

Final assembly:

• In a bowl, moisten the biscuit crumbs with the sunflower oil.
• Spoon about a quarter  of the ice-cream mixture into your freezing container and then sprinkle a third of the moistened crumbs over the top. Repeat finishing with the last layer of ice-cream mixture.
• Using a long knife, swirl the ice-cream to slightly mix the crumbs and cream together.
• Cover with cling film, making sure the cling film touches the surface of the cream. If the container has a lid, pop that on as well.
• Freeze for a minimum of 6 hours, but overnight is best.

And there you have it! The most deliciousest of egg-free, wheat- or gluten-free, no-cook, no-custard, no-churn ice cream! Temper for about 5 to 10 minutes before scooping into bowls, or better, wheat free ice-cream cones.

Ice Cream Cones (Wheat Free)

You may have noticed I'm on a real ice cream buzz recently, but I have the kind of mind that once it's set on working something out, nothing gets between me and the pursuit of perfection and my mind become completely enveloped in obsessive trial and error.

However, I think now that I've found the seemingly perfect recipe for no-machine homemade ice cream (recipe pending upload as of today), it was time to put the ice cream creating to rest and find a way to house it, and by house it I mean make cones for the ice cream to go in.

My first attempt at the cones was successful but troublesome.

The recipe was perfect, but the making of them was pretty tricky. In the absence of a waffle iron, I took the lead from several recipes I found online which suggested I cooked each individual cone in a frying pan over medium low heat: this produced fantastic results, but was far too fiddly as the crepe thin waffles were too soft and delicate to flip easily with a household frying spatula.

The cones were soft enough immediately after cooking to form into cones around a mould I'd fashioned out of a paper plate, and once completely cool were nice and crunchy like a cone should be. The finished cones were just as lovely as I'd imagined, but I had to know if there was an easier way to make them.

The answer unfortunately in my case is no.

I decided to try baking them in the oven, cross-referencing several cookery books to find the precise baking time and oven temperature. I cooked them at 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4, or moderate) for about 15 minutes until golden around the edges, but it was far too soft and fell to pieces when I tried to roll it. I worked out pretty soon that they needed to be cooked on both sides with direct heat, which is why waffle irons are so handy.

So, my third attempt went back to the frying pan. However, this time I cooked them slowly on a medium-low heat for about 3 or 4 minutes, or until they were golden on the pan side and set on the upside, before flipping them and cooking them for a further 4 minutes or so until equally golden on the other side.

This was far more successful, however my rolling technique will have to improve before I burnt my thumb and forefinger off...

FREE FROM
☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat

CONTAINS
☒ Gluten (use ingredients in italics for a gluten-free version)
☒ Dairy (use ingredients in italics for a dairy-free version) 
☒ Eggs
☒ Refined sugar products

INGREDIMENTS:
Makes 4 or 5, depending on size

• 1 egg
  
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) melted butter or block margarine
• ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) vanilla essence
• 1 fluid ounce (30 millilitres) milk or water
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) spelt flour or gluten-free flour mix
• Pinch of salt 

HOW-TO

• Make a cone shape form using half a paper plate or a piece of card. It should be about 6 inches (15 centimetres) long.
• In a  medium size mixing bowl, whisk the egg, vanilla and sugar together with an electric hand mixer on high speed until doubled in volume, pale, fluffy and thick.
• While still whisking, pour in the butter in a thin stream. Mix until incorporated.
• Using a spatula or metal spoon, gently fold in the milk.
• Sieve in the salt and flour and fold in gently.
• Heat a heavy based frying pan or griddle on a medium-low heat. Oil very lightly is it's not a non-stick frying pan.
• Pour 2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 millilitres) of mixture onto the frying pan and swirl gently by the handle until it flattens out into a thin disc about 6 inches (15 centimetres) across. Cover the pan with a tight lid, or encircle the crepe with a saucepan lid if using a griddle, and cook gently for about 4 minutes, or until golden brown underneath and set on top.
• Using a pancake flipper or fish slice, gently lift and flip the crepe and cook, covered again, for a further 4 minutes. The cooking times will vary slightly depending on your hob, so please go by what it looks like.
• Put the crepe on a clean tea towel, making sure the prettier side is down, and roll it around the paper cone, squeezing as you go and making sure the bottom is sealed. If it's too hot, you can use the tea towel to help. Make sure to do this step as fast as possible because once it sets you can't unwrap it and start again.
• Hold the cone in shape until it sets, then move onto the next one.
• Allow all the cones to cool completely before serving.

I know there's an obscene amount of photos in this article, but my Lordy was I pleased with myself when I worked this one out!

Homemade Condensed Milk

Like I said in my post on homemade ice cream, I make my own condensed milk, you know... because I can.

I attempted to make condensed milk many years ago when I went through my last hunt for the perfect ice cream, and also when I learnt about making vanilla fudge and butter tablet using the glorious stuff, but it wasn't successful. It caught on the saucepan and burnt, and left me with little brown bitter bits in the finished product. It wasn't nice.

However, this time around I found this recipe, which is much simpler than many of the slow-cooking methods I've found online. However, it is high-maintenance. This was my starting point, but when I made it I found it didn't have exactly the right consistency.


The recipe I developed from this uses a tad more sugar, but only to make it mathematically work. The recipe I use now is simple: 1 ounce weight of sugar for every 4 fluid ounces of full-fat milk.

You may have guessed, I'm a fan of formulas, and also a fan of the imperial system. This works out as 30 grammes of sugar for every 120 millilitres of full-fat milk.

So, here she goes!



FREE FROM
☑ Soya
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat
☑ Eggs
☑ Gluten

CONTAINS
☒ Dairy (obviously)
☒ Refined sugar products

INGREDIMENTS

• 1 pint (570 millilitres) full-fat milk
• 5 ounces (140 grammes) caster sugar
• 1 pinch baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

HOW-TO

• In a large, heavy bottomed saucepan, bring the milk to a boil.
• Once boiling, add in the sugar and soda in one go and stir until dissolved. Reduce the heat to low when it reaches the boil again, and simmer gently.
• Simmer on a low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring very frequently. Don't leave it un-stirred for any longer than 2 minutes at a time. This is quite time consuming, but necessary.
• Cook until it has reduced to a third of its original volume. If you want to be pendantic, you can weigh it, subtracting the weight of the saucepan: it should weigh 9 ounces (250 grammes).
• Another way to test its doneness is to keep a saucer in the fridge. When it comes close to being ready, drop a teaspoonful of the milk onto the chilled saucer, and tilt it. If it runs like it should - thick but still pourable - it's done.
• Allow to cool completely, then pour into a sterilised jar. Store in the fridge for up to a week.

Apologies for the photo, it looked in focus on the little camera screen! Oopsies...

The Mystery of Perfect Homemade No-Machine Ice Cream: SOLVED!

At last, after years of fruitless searching, I have finally cracked it! I could almost weep with joy!

I have settled on the cream and condensed milk method, and have managed to pin the exact ration of milk to cream. The Carnation official recipe says one 14 ounce (400 gramme) can of condensed milk to one metric pint (570 millilitres) of whipping cream, and that's just about right but a teensy tiny little bit still icy. So I upped the milk by a little bit and boom: perfect consistency and melt in the mouthiness.

The optimum ratio is (in volume measurements, which I think is best) 5 parts whipping cream to 3 parts condensed milk. It works every time, and if one is adding liquid flavour additions, such as fruit purée or juice or whatnot, do not exceed 1 extra part.

Also, the kind of cream you use is important: use whipping cream, not double cream. Double cream is at least 48% fat, and it too heavy and dense, and it oddly enough give the ice cream a powdery mouthfeel. Whipping cream is between 35 and 40%, which is just right.

So, for example, you want to make coffee ice cream (like I did last night and it was so delicious I ate it all before I bought batteries for my camera... whoops...) the recipe would be as follows:


INGREDIMENTS
Makes 1 imperial pint (570 millilitres)

• 7 fluid ounces (200 millilitres) whipping cream
• 4 fluid ounces (120 millilitres) sweetened condensed milk
• 3 tablespoons (45 millilitres) strong black coffee
• Pinch of salt

HOW-TO

• In a small bowl, mix together the condensed milk, salt and the coffee together. Set aside.
• In a medium mixing bowl, whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks.
• Fold a spoonful of the cream into the milk and coffee mixture, then pour the milk and coffee mixture into the cream and gently fold through.
• Pour into a pint (570 millilitre) container, cover with the lid or with cling film, and freeze overnight, or for a minimum of 6 hours.
• Allow to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving, and consequently eating with relish!

And it is so good, I can tell you now! No lies here! It's even better when you make your own condensed milk, like I do, because I'm a traditionalist.

Please try it and let me know what you think!

My Research into Machine Free Ice Cream Continues...

So, instead of allowing my  funk to get between me and my first love, I've been researching culinary delights to make when I'm feeling better.

A few posts ago I mentioned that I was searching in vain for the perfect no-machine homemade ice-cream. While the hurling was on I thought I'd try a few methods and recipes that I'd found, but none of them worked. I tried the whole rock-salt and ice insulation method but that didn't work, I tried the freeze and beat every two hours method but that didn't work either. I think the most recent lurid creation is still languishing in the freezer...

I thought I would turn to my favourite research tool to further my discoveries, and rediscovered a recipe that I'd found a long time ago. Back when I was in college I found this recipe for ice cream that used whipping cream and condensed milk, and needed no mixing during churning. However, using the method in this video, it came out separated and icy.

Needless to say, I never thought to try it again.


It took a few years for me to get around to trying homemade ice cream again. I once again tried several different methods and recipes, none of which worked. However, in the few years I wasn't trying, there were a few people who ad uploaded more successful attempts at the condensed milk and cream technique.

 







These two used the same ingredients as the first video, but in slightly different quantities and with a slightly different method. Having made this discovery (especially the first video: that stuff looks sinful!), I think I might give it another try...

I'm one for giving second chances!