Blackberry Ice Cream

IMG_2552

IMG_2565

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.

.

IMG_2564

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!

x

IMG_2563

.

butterscotch cake with chocolate glaze

What are the 'makings of good baker' ? Is that a thing? I know the rules. Be organised. Mis en place. Clean workspace. read the full recipe in advance.  I am not good at doing any of these. I'm impatient and I'm not always well organized.  I bake with whatever ingredients are lying around and I add things along the way that were never a part of the recipe. Of course it doesn’t always come out well. But that’s when the creativity kicks in. How do you repurpose a fallen cake ? What can you do with burnt caramel? I try my best not to waste ANYTHING and improvise, turning disaster into dessert.

This butterscotch cake with chocolate glaze evolved from a haphazard day in the kitchen and multiple recipe books open on the counter, youtube videos playing the background. The recipe looks complex, according to my mum, but after i convinced (read: forced) her to try it, she agreed that it is actually a bunch of simple things put together. It is time consuming though!

—

In other news, my life in the kitchen feels like a microcosm (microcosm? microcosm!) for my life as an adult overall - a little haphazard and uncertain but also so fun and so rewarding. Besides the fact that i’ve gotten locked out of my apartment 4 times this past month and the smoke alarm sometimes goes off when i burn my toast - im not a morning person), I’m really getting better at being an adult. Adulting is wildly unglamorous. But its kinda nice too. It is… drinking out of real wine glasses instead of solo cups. But also, separating your laundry. :)

More later

RECIPE

For the cakes
160 g brown sugar
210 g flour + 1 tsp baking powder + 1 tsp baking soda + pinch of salt
3 eggs
1 tsp vaniilla
1/3 cup cream
200 g unsalted butter 

Frosting:  

Butterscotch sauce: 
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cold water
1 cup ceam 

Buttercream: 

4 egg yolks

130 g sugar
1/3 cup water
300 g unsalted butter

Chocolate glaze
60 g dark chocolate
1/4 cup cream
2 tbsp corn syrup
2 tsp scotch whiskey 

Prep: 
Pre-heat your oven to 180 ˚ C. 
Line 2 7-inch baking pans with parchment paper
Use a pastry brush to butter the pans and dust with flour. 
Measure out all the above ingredients and set aside. 
Ensure that the butter is softened and eggs are room temperature. 

Baking: 
Mix the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. 
To make the cakes, first cream the brown sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer, for about 3 -4 minutes, till it’s fluffy and lighter in colour. 
Add vanilla. Add all 3 eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again. 
With the mixer operating at very low speed, add the flour gradually. Let it mix in a little between each addition. 
Lastly, add the cream and beat again. 
The cake batter should now be a balanced consistency, not too liquid and not too thick. 
Divide the batter equally between the two pans and bake at the centre of the oven for about 25 minutes. 
Check for doneness : Dip a toothpick into the cake, it should come out clean. Or lightly touch the centre of the cake - it should be soft and should spring back. 
When done, take it out of the oven and let it cool on the rack for about 30 - 60 minutes. 
Once cakes are completely cool, remove from the pans gently, wrap in cling film and refrigerate. 

To make the frosting: 
First make the butterscotch sauce - in a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine water and sugar and heat. Do not stir. 
The sugar will melt and slowly begin to caramelise and turn golden. 
Swirl the pan around at frequent intervals and ensure that its cooks evenly
Be patient. This will take about 10 - 15 minutes in all. This part also requires careful attention, so don’t go off and do other things. 
Let the sugar syrup turn a deep amber colour. 
Immediately remove from the pan and very carefully add the cream. The mix will bubble up vigorously. 
Use a whisk to mix it in and add a pinch of salt. 
stir thoroughly for about 4 - 5minutes until a thick glossy butterscotch sauce is formed. 
Set aside to cool

For the buttercream - beat the egg yolks  in the bowl of your stand mixture thoroughly until pale in colour. 
again, heat sugar and water in a medium saucepan and stir until the sugar dissolves completely.Beat
Let it cook, stirring frequently, using a wooden spoon. 
Use a candy thermometer to test the temperature. 
When it reaches about 250 ˚, gradually and very carefully pour the sugar syrup into the bowl of the stand mixture. Keep the mixer of low speed and pour the syrup in a steady strream down the side of the bowl. When all the sugar syrup is poured in, increase mixer speed to high and let it whip. 
With the mixer still on, add all the butter, one cube at a time. Let the mixture whisk for about 5 - 7 minutes. You should now have light and fluffy buttercream. 
With the mixer on medium speed, add in the cooled butterscotch till the butterscotch buttercream is ready 

For the chocolate glaze  
Gently heat the cream and corn syrup on medium heat until it comes to a simmer
Pour it over the chocolate and whisk. The chocolate will melt from the heat of the cream. Whisk until smooth
add scotch and stir. 
Rrefrigerate for about 10 - 15 minutes. 

Assembling the cake: 

Place one cake on a board and spread a generous layer of buttercream all over the top. 
Gently place the 2nd layer of the cake on top. Cover the top and sides of the cake with a thin layer of buttercream.
Refrigerate the cake for about 20 - 30 minutes. 
Take the cake out of the fridge and spread another thick layer of buttercream frosting over the top and sides. 
Use a small offset spatula to even out the frosting and create a smooth finish.  
Refrigerate the cake again for about 20 minutes. A chilled cake will help the glaze to drip smoothly down the sides. 
Use a spoon to slowly drip the chocolate glaze on the edges of the cake, letting it drip down the sides. 
In the end, spoon the glaze over the centre of the cake and use an offset spatula to gently spread it smoothly across the top.  
Decorate the top with sprinkles or leave it plain, like i did! 

And it’s ready to serve !

Mango Ice cream coconut crepes

Chicago is finally warm and my new place actually feels like home - a stark contrast from my old apartment: a walk up with creaky floors, barely any furniture, no air condition (not that i needed it) and too much empty space. This place is smaller and homier and I actually have a TV and a plant! The kitchen is even tinier than the last one but has more storage and a dishwasher(!). You know you’re ‘adulting’ when you are grateful for your dishwasher and get excited to buy coasters. 

But the best part of it all is the location. Evanston is beautiful and quaint but so quiet, almost too peaceful.  I love the sounds of the city. I can hear them all the way up here on the 11th floor. I’m also pretty certain that this street has the most number of people with dogs which is amazing.

We celebrated the first week of moving in with everything that screams celebration: champagne, takeout from The Halal Guys, Sprinkles cupcakes and 7 whole days of binge watching Stranger Things with 4 pints of Jeni’s ice cream laid out in front of us. 

Ice cream is one of those things that can be as luxurious or as easygoing as you want to make it. It’s fuss free in that you only need a pint and a spoon and nothing else, except maybe a friend to share the guilt with or a movie. It can also be an expression of art in its plating, and creativity of flavors. You could go to Fig & Olive and have their delicious olive oil quenelle with a pistachio honeycomb brittle and chocolate dust. But also, you can open a pint of Jeni’s gooey butter cake ice cream on the couch. In all its forms, ice cream is worthy of the glory. 

A little while ago I made mango ice cream and served it to my grandmother (who, by the way, has high standards and is generally a dessert-rejector) with crepes. The recipe combines a few components but feel free to make just the ice cream if your family is easier to please ! :P

Mango ice cream

Ingredients: 

• 2 large mangoes (alphonso)

• 1 can condensed milk (You can use less than 1 full can if your mangoes are already too sweet)

• 220 ml cream (refrigerated)

Process:

• Take the flesh of 2 large, ripe mangoes and puree it.

• Pass it through a mesh strainer to get rid of the fibrous bits.

• Pour 1 can condensed milk into a large bowl and mix in the pureed mango and set aside.

• Create an ice bath in a tray. You can do this just by putting lots and lots of ice in the tray. Place a large mixing bowl in the ice bath.

• Pour 220 ml heavy cream into the bowl and whip to stiff peaks using an electric whisk.

• Fold the whipped cream into the mango-condensed milk mixture using a spatula.

• Pour the mixture in a dish and wrap in cling wrap. Set in the freezer for about 8 hours or overnight.

For the crepes, I used this recipe. 

Serve ice cream with crepes,  and drizzle with lime caramel and toasted coconut flakes.