The dessert project

Its no secret that i am not a summer person. When you’re younger, you’re tricked into thinking summer is awesome because it means 2 long lazy months of school vacation, waking up late, traveling to exotic locations and eating ridiculous amounts of ice cream. Enter adult life. Now i can barely manage a week’s window to get away for an exotic vacation, if at all i can afford exotic. In your twenties, exotic is just expensive and Delhi is sticky.

The good news is that the one great thing about summer - Ice Cream - comes in a million flavours and therefore, mathematically defeats all of Delhi’s awful summer tantrums. Ice cream and summer are nearly synonymous, although my personal belief is that Ice cream can and should be eaten any season of the year. Rich, luxurious, creamy ice cream complemented by the cold, fluffy feeling on your tongue the moment you start eating; you don’t really need a season for that - you don’t even need to have it after a meal - another myth we’re fed as children, the typical ‘don’t eat ice cream before dinner’ advise.

This blackberry ice cream is fantastic. I found the recipe on Food 52, the most trusty place on the internet for food lovers

It’s a no-cook ice cream which means no eggs and you don’t need to make a custard. PLUS, it’s literally one step. Literally. ONE STEP. Plus it’s pretty

Ingredients:

1 can milkmaid condensed milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups milk

2 cups strained pureed blackberries (see note)

3 tablespoons lemon juice

pinch of salt

special equipment: you will need an ice cream churner.

Blend the blackberry puree together with the heavy cream, milk, lemon juice and condensed milk thoroughly till it forms a smoothie-like consistency.

Refrigerate in the blender itself, for about 3 hours

Churn in a frozen ice cream machine container for about 45 - 60 minutes (depending on your ice cream churner instructions)

When churned, quickly transfer the ice cream into a container put in the freezer for at least 6 hours.

And its ready - how EASY was THAT?!

Note: I used frozen blackberries, and pureed them in a Vitamix, then strained them over a mesh strainer. You should have 2 cups measured after the straining. If it is too frozen to form a smooth puree, add the milk at this stage.

P.S - This is part of my #projectXicecream series, where I’m making SO MUCH FREAKING ICE CREAM this summer.

to see it all!

My social media feed is flooded with #NationalIceCreamDay rage. While it is SUPER AWESOME to see so much ice cream on my feed, I’d just like to point out that in Delhi, EVERY DAY of SUMMER is national ice cream day. If you saw the Ice cream day live story on snapchat today, you’ll agree that snapchat has totally NAILED IT, capturing the real essence of ice cream in all it’s melty, drippy, summery glory. over-the-top ice cream cones, extra toppings, running toward the ice cream truck, and the emergency that befalls when the Ice cream has run out!!! Also, the little kid in purple jumping / running toward the ice cream is all of us through the months of april till september.

You may have noticed that I’m making a SHIT TON of ice cream this summer, on a little instagram series that Im calling #projectXIcecream because how else are you supposed to beat the heat in Delhi?! One of my experiments as a part of this erm… project (?) is no-churn ice cream. I am deeply and wholly committed to my ice cream churner and it is by far my favourite appliance - but if you don’t have one, don’t freak out! There are ways, and incredible little tips and techniques that can result in absolutely life-changing ice cream.

Such as this cookies and cream ice cream. It is exactly what it promises to be - crushed chunks of oreo cookies mixed into vanilla ice cream aka a way for kids to eat the two most indulgent and comforting sugary foods - cookies and ice cream - together. So OBVIOUSLY this is pure genius and we all owe a lot to the guys who came up with this incredible flavour - whoever they are.

This is a no-cook (eggless), no-churn ice cream which took me a couple of attempts to perfect because i was grappling with ice cream to cookie ratio and also trying to figure out how i feel about the sugar content. (It may not sound like it’s right up there with laboratory research, but it is science, i swear!).

This ice cream doesn't require an ice cream machine to make it - instead, the cream is whipped over an ice bath and folded into the mix - a technique that does a somewhat similar job to an ice cream churner. The recipe calls for using only a few ingredients and it’s best not to create your own substitutions and omissions without due research. Every ingredient is important - for example - a tablespoon of bourbon has SUPER special role in ice cream texture because it doesn’t allow the ice cream to freeze too hard, because alcohol doesn’t freeze! I learnt this not long ago thanks to David Leibovitz …and chemistry. So your ice cream stays creamy and soft and scoopable (thats a word right?).

I tried to record a video of this to explain the process visually, but not-so-surprisingly, i messed up something on my camera with my sticky, milkmaidy fingers and it did NOT turn out as planned at all. Reminder to self to be more organised / find my tripod/ charge camera battery/ maybe buy one of those remote thingys from which i can operate the camera without being next to it/ and most importantly, focus on one creative process at a time. And to breathe.

Anyway,

here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

500 ml heavy cream

1 can condensed milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp bourbon

2 packets crushed oreos (cream filling removed)

In a large mixing bowl, stir condensed milk, vanilla and bourbon

In a separate bowl, whisk the heavy cream over an ice bath using an electric mixer.

When stiff peaks are formed, gently fold the heavy cream into the condensed milk mixture

fold in crushed oreo bits

Pour into a tin of the appropriate size.

Cover with loose cling wrap so that it lightly touches the top surface of the ice cream. This will prevent it from forming icy crystals on top.

Freeze for 6 - 8 hours or overnight.

Enjoy!

Notes:

The cream should be kept refrigerated before hand. I use amul fresh cream. Although the pack mentions the volume, it’s best to use a measuring cup and measure the exact quantity. Also, if the cream has watery bits, drain those out. You should have 500 ml of thick cream.

Prepare an ice bath by taking lots of ice in a large dish (a roasting pan or baking tray). Also add a little rock salt to the ice if possible (not essential but it helps). The rock salt helps to lower the temperature of the ice, making it even colder. Place your bowl of cream on this salty ice bath and whisk at high speed using a handheld electric mixer. It may take some time for the cream to become fluffy, so be patient!

If you don’t like your ice cream to be too sweet, start by using only 3/4th of the milkmaid can. Check the taste and add more condensed milk if you want it sweeter.