no churn cookies n cream ice cream

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.

Cherry muffins with crumble

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I know. I know that June in delhi has very few perks. Sweaty evening walks to Khan Market to get a scoop of lemon frozen yogurt at

Big Chill

is one. Sitting with your face in front of a box Air Conditioner is another. And there’s very few others among them. BUT somewhere between the sweltering heat and sunburn and pre-monsoon humidity, there’s a teeny tiny silver lining and it is called stone fruit! YAYY mangoes, coconut, lychees, apricots, cherry, peaches - summer is definitely the season of the fruit. For me, it’s easy to pick a favourite. There’s nothing better than gorgeous fresh cherries! And also can we take a moment to acknowledge that cherries are probably the CUTEST fruit? Think about the

cherry emoji

or how people use the phrase ‘with a cherry on top’ to imply something extra special.

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But don’t be deceived. They may be tiny and cute but pitting cherries is MESSY stuff. You may want to swap any summer whites and pastels for your raggedy clothes or be prepared to sport cherry stained outfits all summer. You can pit cherries using a cherry pitter or just a basic knife and I promise it’s totally worth the mess.

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I baked cherry muffins with almond crumble a couple of times this summer and they were gone within the hour. They’re essentially vanilla muffins with a surprise cherry filling and a crunch almond-y crumble on top. They’re so good and they can make a delicious breakfast or evening snack. Cherry muffin + iced coffee , and you may have just created a june breakfast staple. Atleast for the couple of short weeks cherries are in season!

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Here’s the

recipe

:

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Ingredients: 

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Muffin: 

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1 cup flour + 2 tbsp cornflour + 2 tsp b powder + 1/2 tsp b soda + 1/4 tsp salt 

100 g butter 

2 eggs 

2/3 cup sugar 

1/3 cup cream 

1 tsp vanilla essence 

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Filling: 

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1 1/2 cup cherries, pits removed 

2 tbsp brown sugar 

2 tbsp butter 

2 tbsp lemon juice 

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Crumble: 

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3 tbsp flour 

3 tbsp cornflour 

2 tbsp almond meal 

2 tbsp cold butter 

2 tbsp brown sugar 

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Start with the cherry filling. 

Put 1 1/2 cups of cherries (with the pits removed) in a saucepan. Add the butter, brown sugar and lemon juice and cook on low-medium heat for about 5 - 7 minutes. 

Allow it to cool.  

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To make the muffin, preheat the oven to about 180˚. Prepare a cupcake pan with 6 muffin liners. 

The easiest way is to simply mix all the ingredients except the cream in a large bowl using an electric mixer. 

When a smooth batter is formed, gradually add the cream and continue beating. 

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For the crumble, mix the butter, brown sugar, flour, cornflour and almond meal in a bowl. Use your fingers to mix until a grainy mixture is formed. 

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Fill the muffin liners till about 1/4th with the batter. Then add a generous tablespoon of the cherry filling, then top with more muffin batter. 

Lastly add the crumble topping

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Bake for about 20 - 25 minutes of until a cake tester comes out clean. 

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Let the muffins cool for about 30 minutes. 

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Serve plain or with cream/ vanilla ice cream. 

Milk chocolate chip and gems cookies

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For most desserts, there’s a way to eat it. Let’s say a cheesecake or a pudding, typically eaten after a meal. You’d slice a piece, put it on a plate, pick up a fork and eat, neatly polishing it off until the entire slice is gone and you’ve drifted into dessert heaven. Now you’re done and it’s likely that you’ll put back your plate, and get on with your day.

But cookies are different. Cookies don’t demand the sophistication of putting them on a plate or the civility of cleaning up after.  Eat them directly from the jar or box, nibble at them while you watch a movie, scarf them down while you work on a stressful project, or read a thrilling book. Cookies are fuss-free, anytime snackage food which makes them one of the most comforting foods ever because it is completely acceptable to eat them anytime your sweet tooth demands..

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I ate my friend Neimat’s most delicious milk chocolate chip and gems cookies at 3am on a random friday night and i am not exaggerating when i say that they were the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. Maybe it was the 3am sugar itch or maybe just the fact that chocolate chip cookies are always a good idea anyway, but they were seriously ridiculously good. I might add that Neimat is a trained chef but her chocolate chip cookies reek of that delicious, homely comforting flavour that chocolate chip cookies are meant to have.

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I know most recipes ask for bittersweet chocolate and I’m a huge fan of 70 per cent but in defence of milk chocolate, nothing can replicate childlike flavours like the combination of unapologetically sweet milk chocolate chips in a salty-sweet cookie dough. PLUS GEMS! 90s kids will know. These cookies are soft with chewy edges, bursting with gooey milk chocolate and the crunch of gems. Basically quite a perfect bunch of textures.

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This recipe is an easy drop and bake recipe and doesn’t require rolling out cookie dough. I suggest using a cookie scoop or small ice cream scoop to get even sized cookies. Also, seriously seriously invest in good quality milk chocolate chips. I use

Ghirardelli (the blue bag)

but if you don’t find those, 

Choko La

also makes really nice ones! Here is the recipe:

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2 1/2 cups flour 

1 cup brown sugar 

1/2 cup powdered sugar 

2 eggs 

200 g butter (soft, not melted)

1 tsp vanilla 

1 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp sea salt 

2 cups milk chocolate chips 

1 cup gems 

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Preheat your oven to 180 ˚ C and line a baking tray with an un-greased cookie sheet/ silpat or butter paper. 

In a bowl, mix the flour and baking soda and sea salt

Beat the butter and both sugars in a large bowl 

One at a time, add the eggs and then the vanilla 

Now add the flour mixture one spoonful at a time and mix until a cookie batter is formed 

When done, add the 2 cups of milk chocolate chips and the gems and mix it into the batter with a spatula 

Use a cookie scoop to spoon out round cookie batter onto the cookie sheet. 

Bake for about 8 - 10 minutes.

Let them cool and then eat! 

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Notes: 

The batter should be 

sticky

 - not runny, but not doughy either. If it is too liquid/runny, add more flour.

The cookies will be very soft when done and that's fine. They are meant to be soft and will harden a little as they cool.

Make sure the butter is soft/ room temperature, but not melted. Melted butter could cause the cookies to spread too much in the oven.