No Churn Coffee Ice Cream

This is good, because I'm not actually sure where the ice cream maker is. From Baked by an Introvert via BuzzFeed.

No Churn Coffee Crunch Ice Cream
Yields 6 cups
The smoothest ice cream made without an ice cream maker and only 4 ingredients! Coffee flavored ice cream speckled with mini chocolate chips is great for a summer afternoon pick me up. You will not believe how simple this delightful coffee crunch ice cream is!

Ingredients 

• 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee, cold 
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 
• 2 cups heavy cream 
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips 

Instructions
Combine the condensed milk and coffee in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth. Add the heavy cream to a large bowl. Using an electric mixer set to medium speed, beat until stiff peaks form. Turn the speed to low and slowly pour in the condensed milk and coffee mixture. Turn the speed back up to medium and beat until thickened. Using a silicone spatula, gently fold in the chocolate chips. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 6 hours.

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

It's possible I've come to understand why I feel a connection to the Smitten Kitchen.  She understands (and embraces) the beauty of the Carvel Ice Cream Cake.  However, it doesn't stop her from this great recipe.  Hey, Mrs. BA how about this for a birthday cake this year?

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake
Here’s the recipe for sane people:

• 2 pints or 1 quart chocolate ice cream
• 2 pints or 1 quart vanilla ice cream
• about 14 ounces chocolate cookies, ground (such as Oreos or wafers) or 2 3/4 cups ground cookies
• bottled hot fudge sauce
• canned whipped cream
• jarred maraschino cherries

Below are the instructions to make each or any of these elements on your own. Then, choose your own adventure. What matters is that all roads lead to The Summer Cake To End All Summer Cakes, an air-conditioning unit of a celebration cake to soothe you until the heat wave passes. 

From SK: My only regrets in making this cake were to not have a cookie crumb base (it will be easier to remove slices from the cake pan), so I’ve included one here. I will definitely use it next time. I also wanted much more of the cookie crumb filling than I used (3/4 cup) and have increased it here. Finally, I was in a bit of a rush, but I encourage you to pre-fudge the hot fudge cake, i.e. put a little of the hot fudge on to cover the top, put it back in the freezer for 30 minutes, then — right as you’re about to serve it — put some warmer fudge over the top and sides. It will soften the frozen fudge but protect your top ice cream layer from wanting to melt off, as mine did. We found it charming, but you may not.

Sources: Chocolate and vanilla ice creams were fiddled with (just to reduce redundant steps when making them at the same time) from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop, which should come with every ice cream maker, because it’s amazing. The cookie crumbs are adapted from Wayne Brachman’s Retro Desserts; they’ve previously appeared on this site as Homemade Oreos but I’ve further simplified the recipe here. The hot fudge sauce, previously on this site with a peppermint riff, is adapted from the late print Gourmet magazine. The whipped cream was from scratch but I seriously urge you to consider using a can because the whole whipping cream + piping bag + star tip, all for 12 measly dollops, is a bit of a stretch in the effort vs. reward spectrum, even by my maddened standards.

Serves: 12 to 16

Part 1: Make Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Creams
Yield: 1 quart of each, instructions merged to cut down on repeated processes

• 4 cups heavy cream, divided 
• 1 split vanilla bean (for vanilla batch) 
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder and 5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (for chocolate batch) 
• 2 cups whole milk 
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 
• Pinch of salt
• 10 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided 

Part 2: Make Chocolate Cookie Crumbs
Yield: About 48 2 1/2-inch cookies, weighing about 96 ounces, which will be about double what you need. However, they are so delicious and keep well, it seems worth it to make a full batch. Scooped balls of dough can be frozen to bake off later. Extra cookies can be ground into crumbs for future cakes/cheesecake crusts/dessert toppings, or kept in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Chocolate Cookies

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1 1/2 cups sugar 
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks), cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks 
• 1 large egg

For Crumb Crust

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 

Part 3: Make Hot Fudge Sauce
Yield: 2 cups, likely double what you need, but nobody worth knowing would turn down extra hot fudge sauce.

• 2/3 cup heavy or whipping cream 
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup or golden syrup (honey should work as well, but I didn’t test it this time) 
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar 
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, ideally Dutch-processed 
• Heaping 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt or level 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (or, about 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips), divided
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Part 4: Finish the Cake!

• 1 cup heavy or whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Maraschino cherries
• Colored sprinkles 

Part 1 Instructions
Prepare chocolate cream: Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream.

Prepare vanilla cream: Heat 1 cup cream to a simmer. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the cream with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the cream. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour. After one hour, remove bean pod and stir in remaining 1 cup cream.

Make custard for both ice creams: Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan, then transfer to a spouted liquid measuring cup. Whisk together egg yolks, medium bowl. Slowly pour in warm milk/sugar/salt mixture, whisking constantly. Then mix yolk/milk mixture back into saucepan. Cook mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and …

For chocolate: Stir half of custard into chocolate cream until smooth, then stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

For vanilla: Stir the other half of the custard into vanilla cream, then stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Chill both mixtures in fridge overnight: You want them fully chilled before they go in an ice cream machine. You can hasten this along by stirring them over an ice bath but it should feel like ice water in coldness to the touch before you put it in your ice cream machine. Meanwhile, make or prepare you chocolate cookie crumbs. You will want them ready to form a cake base before you churn your ice cream.

Part 2 Instructions
Make cookies: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Blend flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add butter chunks and blend until the mixture is powdery. Add egg and run machine until dough starts to clump and ball, about 30 seconds. Scoop cookies out onto baking sheets, giving them space as they will spread a lot (not that merged cookies will matter once you grind them up). Bake for 9 to 10 minutes. Cookies will absolutely look underbaked, but don’t fret. Transfer baking sheets onto cooling racks and within two minutes, they will be firm enough to transfer to cooling racks. Let cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookie dough. Grind about half of your cookies in a food processor or blender until they’re just crumbs. You will want a total of 2 3/4 cups of them.

Make chocolate cookie crust: Mix 1 1/3 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (from about 6 ounces whole cookies, or about 12 of the homemade cookies) and melted butter together in a bowl and press evenly into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with 2 3/4 to 3-inch sides. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

Churn chocolate ice cream, i.e. first cake layer: According to manufacturers directions. In most cases, ice cream is churned for 30 minutes then transferred to a container to finish in freezer. Instead, once it has been churned to the point of soft-serve ice cream, spread it over the chocolate crumb crust in the freezer. Spread as evenly as possible, but don’t overly fret about a smooth top. This can be “perfected” after the ice cream has hardened.

Chill chocolate ice cream layer: In freezer for 1 to 2 hours, until firm. Once firm, you can use an offset spatula to make it as smooth and even as possible.

Add cookie crumb filling: Wipe off any ice cream smudges that have climbed the springform's walls; this will keep the vanilla layer looking “clean.” Spread 1 1/4 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (from a little shy of 6 ounces whole cookies, or 11 to 12 of homemade cookies) evenly over the firm chocolate ice cream layer. You can press these in a bit with a round of parchment or waxed paper, so they merge a little bit with the ice cream below.

Churn vanilla ice cream, i.e. second cake layer: According to manufacturers directions. Again, once it has been churned to the point of soft-serve ice cream, spread it over the chocolate crumb filling in the freezer. Try to spread it in as few motions as possible, pressing the ice cream to the edges with an offset spatula rather than pulling it back (i.e. and dragging the chocolate cookie crumbs from below into the pale ice cream). Again, don’t overly fret about a smooth top. This can be “perfected” after the ice cream has hardened/set in place.

Chill vanilla ice cream layer: In freezer for 1 to 2 hours, until firm. Once firm, you can use an offset spatula to make it as smooth and even as possible. Meanwhile, this is a great time to make the hot fudge sauce. If you’re taking a longer pause (i.e., you’ll do Part 3 tomorrow), press a circle of waxed or parchment paper against the vanilla ice cream overnight, so it doesn’t dry out or grow icy fuzz.

Part 3 Instructions
Make hot fudge sauce: Make hot fudge: In a 1 1/2 to 2-quart heavy saucepan, bring cream, syrup, sugar, cocoa, salt (if you’d like the salt to remain slightly textured, add it with the butter and extract at the end) and half the chocolate to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in remaining chocolate, butter and extract and stir until smooth. Cool the sauce to lukewarm before serving it so that it can thicken up.

Part 4 Instructions
“Pre-fudge” the cake: Once vanilla ice cream layer has firmed up in the freezer, with the springform sides still one, pour a puddle of lukewarm hot fudge sauce over the top and return the cake to the freezer for 30 minutes. This will help keep the final application of hot fudge from melting the top off the cake.

Meanwhile, make the whipped cream: Beat cream and sugar in a bowl with electric mixer until it forms soft-to-firm peaks. Scoop into piping bag with star tip. Keep in fridge until needed.

Finish and serving the cake: Once the hot fudge has firmed up, remove the cake from the freezer. Carefully cut around the pan to loosen the cake from the springform sides before removing them. Transfer cake to serving platter. Pour more lukewarm (can be briefly rewarmed — but not too hot — in a microwave or on the stove if it has gotten too firm) around edges of cake, letting it dribble down a little.

Quickly decorate cake: Form 12 or so dollops of whipped cream around crown of cake. Top each with a cherry. Scatter quickly with sprinkles.

Serve! With extra hot fudge sauce. Keep leftovers, should any cake survive, in the freezer in an airtight container.

It's Memorial Day - Bring on the Summer!

Despite the non-winter we had this year (I would have really liked at least one good snowstorm - I guess my mother wasn't paying attention), today is Memorial Day, the unofficial kickoff to summer.  In related news, the pool opened this weekend and the Brave Astronaut clan is set for another summer of lounging poolside.

Barbecuing is practically law on this day and these would be a perfect accompaniment to the end of a meal of steak grilled outside.

From the Smitten Kitchen

Look, guys, you’re never going to see my living room on a design blog. As lovely as the walls in landlord-chosen sallow yellow-beige are, as handsome as this coffee table once was (before the finish chipped off the top and we decided to ignore it until it fixed itself), and as charming as the explosion of half-deflated balloons, overturned fire trucks and other toys (some not even wooden, organic, or in sync with our decorating scheme, which, by the way, doesn’t exist) might be, this is hardly the stuff of [envy]. Our parties are equally uncoordinated. There are no Mason jar cocktails with homemade bitters, flour sack table runners, or dishes sprinkled with fresh herbs from our window box garden (which also, uh, doesn’t exist, although if you saw the grime that accumulates on our windowsills from the avenue below, you might thank us). We’ve never sent guests home with a party favor aside from a hangover and we usually forget to make coffee at brunch. Our poor toddler has been deprived of organized birthday parties thus far, as I secretly hoped to stick with family brunches and homemade cakes (of course) until he was capable of expressing even the slightest interest in a more elaborate affair. (Although this year, he’s already made his intentions clear: “Jacob turn three. With cake. And guitar. And cake.” Noted!)

But, I do have my moments of high obsessiveness, such as my longstanding affair with creating homemade versions of things you normally buy at the grocery store, be they Oreos, goldfish crackers, graham crackers, fudge popsicles, or marshmallows. I can’t help it; the homemade versions always taste a zillion times better and contain no mystery ingredients. So, when I spied a recipe for ice cream sandwiches in a new book about parties, even I knew I’d probably never make the gold luster cookie Oscar statuettes, Walk of Fame brownie stars or glitzy gold curtains in the chapter that focuses on creating an old-fashioned Hollywood-style movie night party, there wasn’t a chance they wouldn’t be in my freezer by that very weekend.

The book is from Amy Atlas, a New York City party planner known for her stunning party spreads that execute a theme down to the tiniest details. Her book is spectacular, 15 chapters with everything from tablescapes to directions for how to do all of those pesky things (applying fondant, flooding sugar cookies with decorative frosting, doweling a cake, etc.) that seemed really intimidating before she walked you through it and you realized it could be a cinch. But lest you think the book is just pretty pictures and ambitious parties, these sandwiches will correct you in a single bite: they are perfection. If store-bought ice cream sandwiches tasted half this good, well, it would be dangerous. Fortunately, it’s impossible to keep these around long enough to cause any considerable damage — especially if you bring them to a (themed, of course) rooftop barbecue, as I did on Saturday night.

Classic Ice Cream Sandwiches
Adapted from Sweet Designs by Amy Atlas
Yield: 12 2-by-4-by-1-inch ice cream sandwiches (24 cookies).

Cookies

• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup extra dark or Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon table salt
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Filling

• 1/2 gallon ice cream, your choice of flavor (I used cookies and cream), softened

Preheat oven to 350°F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift the flour and cocoa together (I am generally too lazy to sift things but cocoa is really lumpy so don’t skip this) and set aside. In the bowl of a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and salt together until light and fluffy. Add the yolks and vanilla and mix until combined, then scrape down sides and mix briefly again. Add the flour mixture a little at a time then mix until combined.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and divide into two equal pieces. If the dough is too soft to handle, wrap and chill it until firm enough to roll out (I recommend 30 minutes only; any longer and it becomes crumbly to roll out). Roll each batch into a 1/4-inch thick rectangle, about 10 by 8 inches. Cut into a total of 24 2-by-4-inch rectangles.

Use an offset spatula to transfer the rectangles to the prepared sheets; you’ll only need an inch space between them. Use the tip of a thermometer (totally brilliant tip from Amy, by the way; it made far better indentations than skewers that I usually use for docking) to poke the cookies with holes (Amy recommends 14 holes but I used this as my guide and made more).

Bake the cookies for 16 to 18 minutes, or until they stay firm when tapped in the center. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookie dough, rerolling scraps as needed.

Meanwhile, line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch pan with parchment paper, allowing it to overhang on two sides (it will act as a sling for the ice cream). Spread the softened ice cream into the pan, smooth the top and freeze until firm, about one hour (or longer if your freezer is as terrible as mine).

Run a knife along the exposed sides of the pan to loosen the ice cream. Holding onto the parchment paper, lift ice cream out of the pan and onto the work surface. Using one of the cookies as a template, cut ice cream into 12 2-by-4-inch bars. Strangely, I found using kitchen shears to go right through the ice cream and the paper underneath the easiest. I then flipped each piece of ice cream onto a cookie, peeled off the paper, and finished sandwiching the rectangle of ice cream with a second cookie.

(Look, I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that this whole ice cream part caused a spectacular mess in my kitchen. Huge! It was an ice cream massacre! But, I was rushing and you should not. If your ice cream begins to soften, just slide it back into the freezer for a bit and it will become easy to work with again. Promise. Do as I say, not as I did, unless you like sticky floors.)

Wrap each ice cream sandwich in plastic and please, again, listen to Amy here. I was all “Oh, let me just get them cold again and I’ll wrap them later.” Which was wrong. They continue to lose their shape for a bit, runny and melting, before they freeze up and that is why my sandwiches were kind of a mess. “Sealing” them into their shape immediately with plastic is, well, the reason that Amy is a sweets stylist and my food looks, uh, “handmade.”

Freeze until just before serving.

Coffee Heath Bar Ice Cream

I noted with some sadness the other day that Friendly's, one of the greatest places of my youth is in trouble. The article notes that Friendly's was born during the Great Depression and the recession of nearly 100 years later is threatening to wipe it out. Go get those Jim Dandy's while you still can, folks.

Friendly's plays a role in my family not just for me. It was also where my sister worked for several years. And some time ago, the one where she worked was planning a celebration to commemorate its 40th anniversary of serving Long Islanders ice cream.

Now I like ice cream. I don't think that anyone would debate that with me. I am not sure what does my ice cream choice say about me? But I really want this flavor to be real. I am going to have to break out the Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker at home and whip up some ice cream. So here's a recipe that I certainly would make. Now.

Coffee Heath Bar Ice Cream
from Simply Recipes

The "via" instant coffee packs at Starbucks work great for this recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 1/2 cups cream
• 1/3 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
• 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 4 egg yolks
• 4 ounces of Heath bars or other English toffee
  

Method

1. Combine the milk, 1 1/2 cups of the cream, sugar, brown sugar, instant coffee, espresso powder (if using), vanilla and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat the base until it begins to steam, whisking continuously.
2. When the base begins to steam, pour one- half cup out of the pan and into the egg yolks, whisk immediately. When completely combined, add the yolk mixture back into the rest of the of the base, and heat until the mixture reaches 170°F, or until it coats the back of a spoon.
3. Remove immediately from heat and pour through a fine mesh sieve. Add in the remaining cup of cold cream and let chill for several hours, preferably overnight.
4. Hit heath bars (still in their wrappers) repeatedly with the back of a wooden spoon, until they are thoroughly crushed. (You can also put the toffee into a plastic or paper bag and do the same.) Place heath bar pieces into a container and freeze while you churn the ice cream.
5. Pour the base into an ice cream maker and churn according to your ice cream maker manufacturer's instructions. Remove ice cream and stir in heath bar pieces.
   

Makes a little more than a quart.