Ice Cream as an Art Form

In an issue of Gastronomica, there's an article on whether food can be considered art. I wholeheartedly agree with this notion, but I understand if others do not. After all, food, for all intents and purposes, is sustenance for our bodies. It's fuel - plain and simple. But I do believe that food is also pleasure - and when done well can be just as or more affecting than art. I don't know if I've ever been moved to tears by food - but there have been bites that have been life-changing. Sometimes it has been a "perfect" bite - the ultimate blend of the senses, others have been the realization and product of superior technique and pure ingredients. And sometimes, it's just damned good. I don't need to explain that food is beautiful - I mean, go check out any issue of Bon Appetit or back issue of Gourmet or even food blogs out there - you will see pictures and food styled and crafted so well, it is hard to fathom that it actually exists in real life and is edible!!

Anyway, I went into this long introductory story to set up another story of a conversation I had with the Mothership. I was lamenting the lack of freezer space due to some overzealous ice cream making and she said, "well, why don't you just stop making ice cream?"

I froze (not literally, hahaha). I was also shocked and hurt. The Mothership is an artist, if anyone were to understand my need to create, invent, and experiment with desserts of the frozen variety - it would be her! I coolly asked her, "well then, you should stop painting. Goodness knows you have enough artwork around the house? Why do you need more? Why do you do it?"

"Ice cream is MY art. It may be unconventional, but it's what I do to express myself and be creative."

What a Difference a Few Ingredients Make

I received a lovely gift today - a partially filled ice cube tray, full of egg yolks! You can always count on your mother for random stuff like that. In her defense, I did ask that she freeze egg yolks for me when she makes eggs (1 whole egg + 1 egg white = 1 egg yolk for the spoon!). This means that I will have to cede my jar full of frozen egg whites that is sitting in my freezer. Yes, that's a jar FULL. And then some. What can I say, I make a lot of ice cream! But then again, I post nearly all of my ice cream creations, so regular readers probably do realize that I get through a lot of ice cream.

I Dream of Ice Cream

After months of dreaming of this idea and procrastinating - it's finally done!

My ice cream labels!

I had wanted to do custom labels and containers for a while now. I finally sourced a great company that sells small quantities of cardboard pints (Sweet Bliss Containers) and it was really up to me to  make up the labels. I struggled to think of a name...I mean - this is IT! Well, not exactly, but I wanted to pick one theme and stick with it. Then it came to me, "I dream of ice cream" (which I do!) - in pink and brown, of course. Each container has the "i dream..." label and then their "fanciful flavour:" complement.

A couple of shots of my new labels - post-print & cut and pre-stick! Let's hope the glue is good enough to adhere even in the freezer! 

Check out the awesome selection in my deep freeze! It really looks like I have my own operation now...

My latest creation, "Sweet Cookie Caramel Swirl"...

Old Ideas, New Theories

Ah, another hectic few weeks in the can. I wish I could update more - honest! But there doesn't seem to be enough time in the week to actually think about what to write about. And that I don't have time to conjure something up on the weekends. Last weekend I took the ferry over to the 'local' island to visit a friend with another friend (confusing enough for you?) and took in some local sights and eats. Had my first ever neapolitan pizza! Yes, you read that right. I have never had neapolitan pizza. Doesn't mean that I am clueless to the mystery of that hallowed tradition - I'm totally down for the 00 grade flour and everything that is involved in a certified neapolitan pizza, and I have to say, it was great! However, I still have weakness for the less-than-traditional pizza pies, namely - Domino's thin crust Hawaiian. Or sausage and mushroom. Mmmmm.

Anyway - moving on - to today's post! As it is the summer time, it means that it is ice cream season! Admittedly, it is always ice cream season - but the summer, of course, is a perfect opportunity to whip out some frozen treats. I came across this recipe for EGGLESS ice cream that was supposedly as creamy and rich as their traditional French counterpart! "Impossible!" I thought to myself, "egg yolks give ice cream their silky richness, no egg yolks and you'd be left with a soft serve-worthy mess!" But I was intrigued, and inspired to give it a go. I followed the recipe for the basic vanilla - but amped it up with a ton of vanilla beans (gratefully given to me by a coworker), frozen blueberries and "pie". I had a few ideas last year about ice cream concoctions and one that always hung over me was "blueberry pie" ice cream - not just straight blueberry ice cream, but a flavour that would encapsulate the entire 'bite'. I tried to replicate this with a rich vanilla ice cream with a frozen blueberry coulis swirl and crust-like cookies mixed in.

Black and White?

Actually, I like sepia more.

Is this photo in black and white?


It was actually taken in colour! This, my friends - is the glory of goma ice cream, or black sesame ice cream. I had lunch with a friend recently and we shared a serving of goma ice cream with kinako (toasted soy bean flour) sprinkled on top. Amazing. Actually, it was a revelation. Clearly, it affected me because I could not stop thinking about it until I could replicate it at home. The flavour, is a bit more pronounced than the restaurant original, but the colour is no where close. The restaurant ice cream was black. Inky, dark, opaque black. Even with food colouring, I couldn't get close. Well, I suppose if I had emptied the entire container of food colouring, maybe, but that's a little too artificial for me. But I am very happy with the results, even though the colour isn't exactly what I had hoped it would be.

There are a lot of goma recipes out there, but none of them have pictures of the dark ice cream I sampled last week. Oh well - it must be food colouring, then. In contrast to some of the recipes out there, I used a 'black sesame drink' powder as well as ground black sesame. The 'black sesame drink' powder definitely thickened the custard quite a bit and was a good base to work from. Maybe I like my goma ice cream strong, but I added a LOT more ground goma than what is 'recommended'. I put in a good...1/4 to 1/3 cup - but it's really to taste, I suppose.

If you're a fan of black sesame like myself, give this recipe a try!

Goma Ice Cream
(makes a approximately 1L)

2 cups light cream (18%)
1 cup half&half (10%)
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1 packet black sesame drink powder
1/2 cup black sesame powder (ground black sesame)










Heat up creams and 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan until thoroughly 'scalded' - or until it reaches about 165-170F on an instant-read thermometer. Basically, heat it until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is RIGHT BEFORE boiling point. Turn off heat.

Take about 1/2 cup of the mixture and dissolve the drink powder. Let stand for about 1 minute before adding this back into the saucepan, whisk the mixture well to incorporate the drink powder mixture.

While the cream is heating up, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar (1/4 cup) until the yolks have thickened and lightened (about 1 minute by hand). Add in about 1/2 cup of the hot cream mixture to temper the eggs. Add in the yolk mixture to the cream.

Heat the cream back up to about 180-185F, also just under boiling. While the cream is heating up, add in the ground sesame powder until the desired flavour has been reached. When the mixture has reached the optimal temperature, strain the custard into a bowl set in an ice bath.
Alternatively, let the mixture cool a bit (about an hour or so) and let chill.

In order for the ice cream to 'form' properly, the mixture MUST BE completely chilled! Either work with the ice bath until it has been chilled, or let it hang out in the fridge overnight. Once it has been chilled, follow the ice cream maker's instructions to prepare.

Kinako topping optional ;P

My Ice Cream Maker Survived a Near Death Experience

I picked up the phone and shakily dialed the number that I have dialed so many times before. It rang a couple of times before a familiar voice greeted me. I asked for J right away.
"Hello, J speaking"
"I THINK I KILLED MY ICE CREAM MAKER!!"
"*laughter* What??"
"I THINK I KILLED MY ICE CREAM MAKER!!"
"*more laughter* How??"
"I was making ice cream, and I put the ice cream maker in another room because it makes such a racket... And I was jamming to some really good music and I like, forgot about it for an HOUR! And now the machine's really hot and it's not turning on, and there's a smell..and....and..."
"Well...you do make a LOT of ice cream."
"But I wasn't ready to say good-bye!!"

Long story short - after I hung up, I plugged it in and all was good. Unfortunately, I didn't chill the bowl long enough and will have to wait until tomorrow to test out the goma ice cream. I did managed to churn out one batch before, errr...the incident. All is good! I'm back in business! Thanks to J for coaxing me back for the edge and to the store for offering me a good deal on a replacement. I really was about to jump in my car to pick it up. But I thought I would give it one last shot, and luckily - it worked!

I'm not afraid to admit that I was close to tears.

So many good times, and so much excellent ice cream - I wasn't ready to end the dream. Next time I'll have to set up an egg timer to remind me to check!

Mmmm...Matcha!

One of the things I love about photographing ice cream is that in the right light, you can capture every last ripple, every ice crystal, and every fleck of mix-in. Yum. I had decent light - a little too much shadow for my liking, but hey - not everyone can have a studio in their house!

Featured today: Green Tea and Red Bean Ice Cream!

The last time I made green tea ice cream, I bought waaaaaaay too much matcha powder (finely milled tea) and now have a large canister of it in my pantry. I discovered, unfortunately, that the matcha powder is much too strong for my taste. Even half a teaspoon dissipated in almost two cups of water gave me a headache! I like the toasted rice kind of tea anyway :) So now the canister gets taken out...never. But a colleague invited some others from the workplace for hot pot and I thought I would bring some homemade ice cream! I also had some red bean paste leftover from the dim sum experimentation so I decided to whip up some ice cream as well.

I think I've posted a recipe for the base that I use for ice cream. Same thing here - whisk in enough matcha powder to taste! Here's the thing about matcha powder, and green tea in general. It needs a lot of whisking. A LOT. That's why they have those fancy bamboo whisks! I get it now! No matter how hard I tried, there were always flecks of powder floating around. Multiple passes through a sieve didn't do the trick either, but when the ice cream churns the flecks just...fade. It's magical.

The red bean was good - however because there were already beans in the paste (and I added it in before straining the custard base) it was a little on the grainy side. I think next time if I attempt this recipe, I'll probably boil up azuki beans and puree to make a syrup to integrate into the base instead of the paste. I think the paste added too much sugar to the ice cream which contributed to it being not as creamy.


Both went over well with the guests! It was difficult trying to explain to some guests how ice cream is made, while trying to scoop, yet keeping an ear and eye on the Wii Mario Adventureland game happening in the background (I had to forfeit my controller for a round or two - my coins!!). But it's really not that difficult! If you have the opportunity to get an ice cream maker (and if you like ice cream) I would highly encourage you to give the process a try! I have seen old-school hand crank machines at thrift shops for less than $10. Don't be afraid of the hand-crank - it's the same principle as a modern chill 'n churn, except you have to turn the crank for about 20 minutes. Make it a party and split up the work!

Consequences.

I made ice cream sandwiches with leftover cake tops and ice cream.
I made a small mess.

Recipe for Ice Cream

A variation on my America's Test Kitchen base, plus a little something extra:

3 cups of whole milk/half&half (I use a combination of the two to make 3 cups)
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
vanilla
1 tablespoon Amaretto
4 egg yolks
1 lb strawberries

Prepare strawberry base:
In a saucepan, cook strawberries over medium-low heat until a good deal of liquid/juice has been produced (roughly 3/4 - 1 cup), gently crush remaining berries.
Strain and return liquid to saucepan, reduce by a quarter - add berries back in and chill until ready to use.

Prepare ice cream base:
In a saucepan, heat up milk/cream, 1/2 cup sugar, salt and Amaretto until right below boiling point - and steam is coming off the liquid.
Whisk together egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar until smooth. Temper yolks with 1 cup of liquid, and then add tempered yolks into the saucepan.
Strain ice cream base into a bowl set over an ice bath.
Once cool, stir in strawberry base.

Chill 'n churn.

Flaaaaaake!

That's my Amy Winehouse moment. She wails, "Blaaaaake"; I wail, "Flaaaaaake". By 'Flake', I mean that delicious chocolately imported goodness that can be found at any reputable retailer. I don't really remember the first time I had a Flake bar. But I didn't like it. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that when I actually ate it, it was half-crumpled, being a survivor of a trans-Atlantic flight from London. But my second Flake experience was with a full, luscious, intact Flake bar that crumbled at the lightest of touch. And it was...delicious. But back to the main point of this post - strawberry ice cream!

I admit, I have more fun thinking of ice cream mix-ins than I do the actual ice cream. Nuts, fruit, chocolate, cookies…whatever’s in the pantry tends to go in – as well as flavor complements. I had made a rough list of ice creams I wanted to make – I love how completely flexible and adaptable ice creams can be – just make your base and add away! One ice cream I think I will make in the fall, will probably be a maple-apple-spiced ice cream. Oh yum. Like..apple pie filling…in ice cream! You get your pie a la mode in a scoop! Anyway, I’m getting carried away in my fantasyland here.

Let me set the stage:

Base? Strawberry ice cream.

Mix-in? Leftover chocolate cake.

Kick it up a notch? Flake chocolate bar.

I was writing a shopping list and at the end I wrote, “Flake. Aaaagggghhhh!”

I love, love, love Flake bars. I love that they look like chocolate ribbon candy – with the gentle folds of chocolate piled into a 7” stick of goodness. How do they do that, anyway? That folding thing? What I like to do is crunch up a Flake bar IN THE WRAPPER, open one end and dump a load of chocolate in my mouth. Like one of those Pixie sticks. (you should see how I dissemble a Caramilk-Rolo)

Oh my god. Could you imagine? Orange or lemon sherbet with a Pixie dust swirl? Be still my beating heart.

Strawberry + chocolate = good times indeed.

*the latest David Lebovitz blog post has a recipe for Caramelized White Chocolate Ice Cream. I shall return triumphant with the results!!

Butter Caramel Ice Cream

I feel as though I've completely neglected this blog! Apologies! As mentioned in the posts below - I've just started a new job and moved into a new apartment, so I've been busy! And not inspired to make anything new...yet.
As a result, my pictures have been carefully cropped and edited and they are enormous if you click on them. Sorry.

Before all the madness, I did make this lovely butter caramel ice cream, c/o the recipe from David Lebovitz, which can be found here. I have to admit - I am afraid of caramel. I've had it burn and crystalize on me before, so I'm familiar with the all-too common caramel catastrophes. But recently, I've had a run of good luck! And Mr.Lebovitz uses the 'dry caramel' technique - which is basically sugar, SANS water or any other element. And it worked great! What I didn't like about the recipe is that you pull the caramel off at a certain colour - and I'm very faithful to my candy thermometers and temperatures, so it was difficult for me to 'determine' what was the best colour according to his directions. I think it was pretty close.

I also used the 'dry' technique to make candied toasted pecans. Yum. Ooh. I have a picture of the spatula with strands of caramel coming off of it. Will post soon. I promise.

Until then....happy eatings!