Ice-Cream Month: Strawberry and Coconut Ice Sundae (No Churn)

Fancy something exotic and fruity? Try out this strawberry and coconut ice sundae!

In this recipe of the series, I took my inspiration from the traditional sweet shop favourite: coconut ice. I have done a few renditions of coconut ice, like the traditional version, and a version inspired by neapolitan ice-cream, and each version is as tasty as the next! But in my ice-cream adaptation, I had to decide what the pink flavour would be, as the white flavour would obviously be coconut. I decided to settle for the good old favourite: strawberry!

Strawberry ice-cream is super easy, and made in exactly the same way as my raspberry ice-cream using a combination of jam and condensed milk. The result has a deep fruity flavour.

To make the coconut flavour, I thought it would be as simple as making a condensed milk substitute with coconut milk instead of evaporated milk. But, that wasn't the case. I had a few issues with developing this particular flavour: sometimes it wouldn't whip up properly, sometimes it froze too hard. After about four attempts, this version worked the best: it's best to whip the cream before adding the coconut condensed milk, rather than whipping them together.

It has a lovely mild coconut flavour, and it's a sweet treat that's best enjoyed in small doses.

To further emphasise the coconut ice image, I made some little coconut wafers. This uses a new and improved wafer recipe, which I will be trying out in future to make full ice-cream cones.... (watch this space)

INGREDIMENTS

Makes 4 sundaes, each with a scoop of each ice-cream

Coconut ice cream

• 8 UK fluid ounces (230 milliltires) whipping cream
• One 14-ounce (400 millilitre) can of full-fat coconut milk, cold
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) caster sugar
• A few drops of vanilla essence

Strawberry ice-cream

• 8 UK fluid ounces (230 millilitres) whipping cream
• 3 UK fluid ounces (85 millilitres) condensed milk
• 3 UK fluid ounces (85 millilitres) good quality strawberry jam

To serve

• 1 medium egg white
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon (15 grammes) butter, melted
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) white spelt flour
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) dessicated coconut
• A few drops of red food colouring
• Strawberry syrup

METHOD

First, make the coconut ice-cream

• Open the can of cold coconut milk, and scoop out the solid cream that has set on the top. Measure out 4 ounces in weight (125 grammes) of the cream. You can use the rest of the coconut cream, and coconut water left in the can, for another project.
• Take the coconut cream and place in a saucepan. Add in the sugar and cook over medium heat until the cream has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and boil for 1 minutes. Set aside to cool completely, then chill for an hour.
• When the coconut syrup has chilled, whip together the whipping cream, and vanilla essence in a mixing bowl until it reaches firm peaks.
• Gently fold in the syrup mixture thoroughly, making sure to keep all the air. Transfer to a one-pint (580 millilitre) pudding basin, cover with the lid or some cling film. Now, prepare the strawberry ice-cream.

Then, make the strawberry ice-cream

• In a jug, mix together the condensed milk and strawberry jam until completely combined.
• In a mixing bowl, whip the cream to medium peaks. Add in the condensed milk and jam mixture, and continue to beat until it holds medium firm peaks. If you like, mix in some red food colouring to intensify the pink colour.
• Transfer to a one-pint (580 millilitre) pudding basin, cover with the lid or some cling film. Freeze, along with the coconut ice-cream, for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Early on the day of serving, prepare the wafers

• Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F, Gas Mk.2). Line a flat baking sheet with non-stick baking paper.
• Take half of the coconut and tint it red with some food colouring. Use your fingertips to rub it in well.
• In a mixing bowl, beat the egg white until it becomes frothy. Add in the caster sugar and beat again until it looks like shaving foam. Beat in the melted butter, followed by the flour, until you have a smooth batter.
• Take a teaspoonful of the mixture and smooth out into a very thin circle, as thin as you dare. Sprinkle one half red, and one half white.
• Bake on the centre shelf for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are nicely browned. Allow to cool completely.

Now, assemble the masterpiece

• Place a scoop of each flavour in a bowl, top off with strawberry ice-cream syrup, and serve with a coconut wafer.

Ice-Cream Month: Chocolate and Pistachio Brownie Sundae

Looking for a decadent treat? Try out this rich pistachio and chocolate brownie sundae, completely with chocolate syrup and pistachio nut praline.

When my companion and I celebrated our anniversary a few weeks ago, we went to a restaurant a few miles from his house in the countryside. We enjoyed a nice dinner, and then turned to the dessert menu: the first thing that leaped out at me was a 'pistachio and chocolate parfait': it was a dessert with little squares of firm-set chocolate mousse, with a scoop of pistachio ice-cream, little brownie squares, sprinkled with praline.... with a random scoop of mango sorbet.

The dessert itself was mostly uninspiring, but what hurt my feelings most was the pistachio ice-cream: it tasted like someone had bought some vanilla ice-cream, added in some chopped nuts and almond essence, then coloured it green. It certainly didn't taste of pistachio.

So, inspired by that dessert, I came up with this decadent treat, except you get an entire brownie, and no weird out-of-place scoops of mango sorbet. I'm really pleased with the flavour of this pistachio ice-cream: cream is really easy to infuse with flavour! And using the nuts leftover from infusing to make praline means not one of those super-expensive nuts goes to waste.

INGREDIMENTS
To make four sundaes, each with one scoop of ice cream

For two-thirds of a pint (370 millilitres) caramel ice-cream,

• 8 UK fluid ounces (230 millilitres) whipping cream, plus a little extra for correction
• 6 UK fluid ounces (170 millilitres) condensed milk
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) roasted salted pistachio nuts, without shells
• A drop of almond essence
• A few drops of vanilla essence
• A touch of green food colouring

To serve

• 4 chocolate brownies, cakey or fudgey
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon (15 grammes) butter
• Chocolate ice-cream sauce

METHOD

The night before you want to serve the sundaes, make the ice-cream.

• Roughly chop the pistachio nuts, and wash them under running water to get rid of any excess salt.
• Pour the nuts into a medium saucepan, and add the whipping cream. Place the saucepan over medium low heat, and bring to boiling point. Once it begins to boil, remove from the heat and allow to cool completely before chilling for at least an hour. The cream needs to be good and properly cold.
• Strain the cream through a fine sieve to remove the chopped pistachio nuts; set the nuts aside for later. In the process of straining, you may lose some cream, as such you might need to top the cream level back up to 8 fluid ounces (230 millilitres).
• In a large bowl, beat the infused cream, condensed milk, the colouring, and the essences together until it becomes light and moussey; this can take up to 5 or 6 minutes. 
• If you want, add more essence or food colouring, but start out small: you can always add, but you can't take away.
• Pour into a one-pint (580 millilitre) container and freeze overnight, or for at least 6 hours.

Next, make the praline,

• Lightly grease a flat metal baking tray.
• Take the reserved pistachio nuts and rinse them once more to wash off the cream. Once rinsed, dry lightly in a tea towel, then toast them in a dry frying pan until nice and dry and fragant. Remove from the heat.
• In a saucepan with a pale interior, cook the caster sugar with a splash of water (roughly a tablespoon, or 15 millilitres), stirring constantly, until the sugar begins to turn brown.
• Add in the nuts and stir well. The mixture will become crumbly, and when this happens add in the butter and stir until it all comes together.
• Pour the praline out onto the tray and allow to set completely.

Now, assemble the masterpieces

• Take the praline and break it into pieces, or bash up with a pestle and mortar (or plastic bag and rolling pin). 
• Heat up the brownies in a warm oven, or in the microwave. 
• Place each brownie on a plate or shallow bowl, and divide the ice-cream among the brownies. 
• Decorate with chocolate sauce and praline.

Ice-Cream Month: Mint Toffo Sundae

Happy Ice-Cream Month, everyone! July is recognised as the month where we celebrate his delicious frozen confection, which is what I plan to do, starting with this delectable offering: Mint Toffo sundae!

Ice cream has been eaten in one form or another in Europe since the 17th century, but its only since the end of the 19th century that it became available to the regular Joe Soap, both in Italy and England. Since then it has done nothing but expand in popularity, helped along by the introduction of the domestic freezer in the 1950s.

Nowadays, ice-cream contributes nearly $40 million to the US economy alone, and is easily commercially available in nearly every supermarket. And seeing as nearly everyone has a freezer these days, it's super easy to make at home.

Over the years I've run this blog, I've dabbled in ice-cream making, but this month will be taking it to the next level: from simple no-churn ideas, to designer ice-cream flavours, to sundaes, to cheating at "churned" ice-cream with a food processor, this month will be epic!

So, let's start with the aforementioned Mint Toffo Sundae.

The inspiration for this recipe lies in childhood nostalgia: when I was a little girl, you could buy a brand of chewy caramel sweets called "Toffo", produced by Mackintosh (and later Nestlé), and they came in plain vanilla and mint flavours. The sweets were individually wrapped in red or green waxed paper, then wrapped up in a roll of gold foil, then packaged in a paper label.

These are one of the things that made my childhood.

I absolutely love the combination of toffee and mint, and I thought it would translate well into an ice-cream sundae. I wasn't wrong! I also gold-dusted a wafer fan with some fondant dust, and it looked great! I make my own wafers with a new updated recipe, which I'll be sharing later in the week.

I'm really enjoying designing sundaes. I think I got the sundae bug last year when I went to the Creams ice-cream parlour in Maidstone.

INGREDIMENTS
Makes four sundaes, with one scoop of each flavour

For two-thirds of a pint (370 millilitres) caramel ice-cream,

• 8 fluid ounces (230 millilitres) whipping cream
• 3 fluid ounces (85 millilitres) condensed milk
• 1 tablespoon (15 grammes) butter
• 1½ ounces (45 grammes) caster sugar

For two-thirds of a pint (370 millilitres) mint ice-cream,

• 8 fluid ounces (230 millilitres) whipping cream
• 6 fluid ounces (170 millilitres) condensed
• Up to ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) natural peppermint essence
• ¼ teaspoon (2 millilitres) vanilla essence
• Two drops green food colouring

To serve

• Caramel ice-cream sauce
• Wafer fans, or follow the directions at the end of the article to make your own
• Gold dust fondant colouring

METHOD

The night before serving, prepare the ice-creams, starting with the caramel.

• To make the caramel ice-cream, mix the caster sugar with a teaspoon or two (5 to 10 millilitres) of water in a saucepan with a pale interior. Heat over medium heat, stirring consistently, until it begins to turn brown.
• When it browns, turn the heat down to low to continue cooking the sugar to a deep, dark brown. If it burns, don't worry: sugar is cheap, and burnt caramel comes off with hot water and soap.
• Once it comes to the right shade of brown, remove from the heat and mix in the butter and condensed milk. Return to the heat and cook gently until everything is dissolved together.
• Add in the cream, and stir until the mixture is smooth and consistent in colour. Remove from the heat, and cool completely to room temperature.
• Once it comes to room temperature, transfer to a mixing bowl big enough to whip the ice-cream, and then pop into the freezer for 20 minutes.
• After chilling, beat with an electric whisk until it reaches medium-firm peaks. Transfer it to a one-pint (580 millilitre) pudding basin, cover with the lid or some cling film. Then, prepare the mint ice-cream.

For the mint ice-cream,

• In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the ingredients, except the peppermint essence, with a wooden spoon. Add a few drops of peppermint essence, give it a taste, then decide if you want a stronger flavour: peppermint essence is intense, and you can always add more, but you can't take it out once you've added it. 
• If the bowl fits into the freezer, chill in there for 20 minutes. If not, chill in the fridge for an hour.
• After chilling, whip with an electric whisk until it holds medium-firm peaks. Transfer to a one-pint (580 millilitres) pudding basin, cover with the lid or some cling film, then pop into the freezer, along with the caramel ice-cream, and freeze overnight, or for a minimum of 6 hours.

Paint the wafers, then assemble the masterpieces,

• Using a nice soft paint brush, brush the wafers with the gold dust until to the gold-ness you like.
• Serve the sundaes with one scoop of each ice-cream flavour, a gold wafer fan, and some caramel sauce.