Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream

Each week, Levi gravitates to the fresh raspberries at our local farmers market.  He insists on buying them claiming to "love them".  He eats 2 or 3 and then he is done.  I pack them in his lunch box and a few stragglers end up coming home with him.  I can't toss them.  So, I either eat them or throw them in a baggie and put them in the freezer.

I had just enough fresh and frozen raspberries to make David Lebovitz's Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream.  Doesn't that sound good?  I haven't made any ice cream this summer and it has been on my mind.  Today, the kids are going to arrive home from camp to a very, very, sweet treat.

This recipe calls for vanilla extract.  Instead, I steeped the cream with a fresh vanilla bean.  I cut the pod in half, scraped out the seeds and threw them in the bowl of cream along with the pod.  When it came time to add the custard to the cream, I removed the pod and saved it to make some vanilla sugar.

This ice cream is a small reminder that summer is here and it is here to stay for just a little while longer.

Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream
adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop
yield: 1 1/2 quarts

ingredients:
ice cream
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 egg yolks
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (I replaced this with a 1/2 of a vanilla bean, beans scraped from the pod)

raspberry swirl
1 1/2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen
3 Tbls. sugar
1 Tbls. vodka

instructions:
to make the ice cream: 
• warm the milk, sugar and salt in a saucepan.  pour the cream (this is when I added my vanilla bean and pod) into a large bowl.  set a mesh strainer over the top.
• in a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks.  set aside.  slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks.  i add the milk 1/4 of a cup at a time in order to temper the egg yolks.  otherwise you may cook the egg yolks and then you would have to start all over again.  scrape the warm egg/milk mixture back into the saucepan.
• stir the mixture over medium heat until heated and the custard coats the back of your heatproof spatula.
• take the vanilla bean pod ( if using ) out of the cream and set aside.  pour the warm custard through the strainer into the vanilla infused cream.  if not using the vanilla bean, add your vanilla extract here.
• cool over an ice bath.  when cool, chill thoroughly in the fridge.

to make the raspberry swirl:
• mash the raspberries together with the sugar and the vodka.  after mashing, i strained the mixture into a bowl and then re-mashed the fruit.  once finely mashed i added the fruit to the liquid.  chill in the fridge until ready to use.

• churn the cooled custard in your ice cream maker for about 20-30 minutes.  as you remove it from the machine, layer it in your container with spoonfuls of chilled raspberry swirl.  do not mix.
• freeze for several hours before serving.

Hazelnut macaroons + chocolate raspberry ganache

More egg whites.  I just can't throw them out.  Thus, more macaroons.  Today, hazelnut shells with chocolate-raspberry ganache.  I think I over aged my egg whites.  Is that possible?  These were not one of the more successful macaroon endeavors.  Nor were they the prettiest, hence, delicious.  The ganache was the perfect combination of bitter and sweet.  It was smooth and easy to apply to the shell of the macaroon.  This will go down as a staple ganache recipe! 


Macaroons
adapted from helene of mytartelette.com


for the shells
90 grams (about 3) egg whites (measured after aging)
25-50 grams(2 Tbls. - 1/4 cup) granulated sugar
200 grams ( 1.5 cups + 2 Tbls) powdered sugar
110 grams ( 3/4 cup) almond flour/meal (for this recipe I did 1/2 hazelnut flour - 1/2 almond flour)
1 Tbls. powdered food coloring (optional)

prep the eggs
48 hours in advance, separate the whites from the yolks and place whites in a super clean bowl.  leave at room
temperature, uncovered for at least 24 hours.  refrigerate after that.  you can use eggs that have been aging for up to 5 days.

prepare the macaroons
• if using nuts, place powdered sugar + nuts in a food processor and give them a good pulse until finely ground.  sift a few times to remove bits and pieces. ( I like bobs red meal hazelnut meal & almond meal ) if using color add it now.
• in a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam (like bubble bath), gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue (like shaving cream).  Do not over beat your meringue or it will be too dry
• add the nut mixture, give a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10.  Give quick strokes at first and then slow down.  Test a small amount on a plate;  if the tops flattens on its won you are good to go.  if there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
• fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (80 or 809) with the batter and pipe small mounds on to parchment lined baking sheets.  let macaroons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells.
• preheat oven to 300*.  when read to bake, bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating half way through. let cool.

prepare chocolate raspberry ganache
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 Tbls. unsalted butter, room temp
1/16 tsp. raspberry extract or raspberry oil

directions:
• melt chocolate + cream in a bowl over simmering water ( do not let water touch bottom of the bowl), stirring until smooth.  remove from heat and add the butter and extract until melted.  let stand at room temp until cooled completely and thickened.

assembly:
• match up macaroons by size and lay upside down on a cookie sheet.  put about a teaspoon of ganache on one of the macaroons and carefully press the the other macaroon on top.
• let sit in refrigerator over night.
• eat and enjoy!

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

I had way too many raspberry's and no one in my house was eating them. And it just so happened I owed a big THANK YOU to some friends and this seemed like the perfect way to show my appreciation.

Each month I get about 5 magazines. Most months they go unread and sometimes they don't even get glanced at. I made a summer resolution; I would not only surf the pages of all these magazines, but I would actually read the articles. I have read both my Gourmet and my Bon Appetite cover to cover. I am inspired and I have taken it one step further. I have started a few inspirational binders. One is for photo inspiration. All of the exceptional photo "eye-candy" goes in that book. I look at this book before I photograph my food. I have also started a recipe binder. I cut out what looks interesting and or appetizing and put those articles in that binder. Each time I make something from the binder, I put notes in the margin and include the date that I had made it. I am really loving my new system. As I read back on this, I am embarrassed. I simply have too much time on my hands. Mitch is right, must be time to go back into the work force!

This recipe came from the June issue of Gourmet. It was SUPER easy. I love making cakes like these. The house smelled great and when the kids came home from camp they ran into the kitchen to see what I had made for them. When they found out it wasn't for household consumption, they were heartbroken. Guess I am going to have to buy some more raspberry's and make another cake!

According to our friends, it was super yummy.

Daring Bakers "Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake"

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes.  She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

For this month's challenge we were asked to make Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake.  My whole family loves cheesecake so this challenge was not a challenge at all. At Halloween we have made pumpkin cheese cake brownies, I often make a white chocolate cheese cake with creme de cocoa and a chocolate cookie crumb crust.  Thus, my kids favorites are these little bite size cheesecakes (the size of a muffin cup) with a raspberry puree swirl.  

We were given the basic recipe to follow, however we were able to "accessorize" our cheesecake with our own creative spin.  Since my kids love the mini raspberry bites of heaven (as Eli so adoringly calls them) I decided to make the raspberry puree as my garnish.

Here is the recipe:

CRUST

•2 cups graham cracker crumbs

•1 stick of butter, melted

•2 tbsp. sugar

•1 tsp. vanilla (I substituted Framboise liqueur)

CHEESECAKE

•3 sticks of cream cheese (8oz. each), room temp.

•1 cup sugar

•3 large eggs

•1 cup heavy cream

•1 tbsp. lemon juice (I omitted this)

•1 tbsp. vanilla

•1 tbsp. liqueur (I used the Framboise)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350*.  Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan.  You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too, baker's choice.  Set crust to cool (?).

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer and cream together until smooth.  Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next.  Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg.  Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

3b. Here is where I added the raspberry puree.  Take one cup of raspberry's and put in mini chopper. Puree.

Put mixture in a strainer set over a bowl.  Strain mixture until all but the seeds are left in the strainer. Discard seeds.  Add 2-3 tbsp. of sugar to pureed mixture and combine.  Once cheesecake is assembled, take a 1/4 tsp. of puree mixture and dot the top of the cake.  I use a long, wooden skewer to make my "swirls".  How you make your pattern, is your own creation.  Sometimes I let my kids get involved and they create their own "art".

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all the bubbles to the surface.  Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan(9" springform pan).  If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45-55 minutes, until it is almost done.  You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage.  Close the oven door, turn off the heat and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour.  This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack the top.  Take out of oven and water bath and let cool on a wire rack.  When cool, cover and put in fridge to chill, overnight.

Enjoy with family and friends!