Make Your Own Ice Cream

Nothing says summer more than melting scoops of ice cream, so learn to make a batch of classic vanilla, and once you’ve got the knack, adapt the recipe by swirling in luxurious flavourings.

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, then you can still make great ice cream by hand. Pour the cooled custard mixture into a large freezerproof container (this will give a greater surface area and help the mixture to freeze faster), cover tightly with cling film, then freeze for 1½-2 hours until frozen at the edges. Remove the ice cream from the freezer, transfer to a bowl if necessary, then beat using hand-held electric beaters until smooth. Return to the freezer, then repeat this step 2 or 3 more times. This beating process will prevent ice crystals forming and ensure you end up with a smooth, rich ice cream..

If you add whole fresh fruit pieces to ice cream they freeze solid whereas cooked fruit stays softer. A good tip is to add a fruit coulis, compote or purée to your ice cream base to give a spectacular rippled effect. Simply place 450g blueberries, or any seasonal berry, in a small pan with 40g caster sugar and the juice of ½ lemon. Heat gently, stirring from time to time, for about 8 minutes, until the fruit begins to burst. Cool completely then ripple into the churned ice cream. This is equally delicious served warm or cold spooned over the finished ice cream.

                          
Use these to decorate any flavour of ice cream. Preheat the oven to 120°C/fan100°C/gas ½. Using a very sharp knife, cut pears, apples or a pineapple into very thin slices, about 2mm thick, from stalk to base (or across the width for a pineapple). You can also use a mandolin for this. Lay on a baking sheet lined with non-stick baking paper, spaced well apart, and sprinkle each slice with ¼ tsp caster sugar. Bake for about 2 hours, turning halfway, until crisp and golden. Allow to cool and crisp up on wire racks, then store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Ice Cream Sandwich in Scotland and the United States

In Scotland they are known as 'sliders' or an ice cream wafer - usually served as vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two rectangle, chocolate wafers.

In Scotland one can buy sliders consisting of vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two wafers. Then you can have a nougat wafer (Ice Cream sandwiched between a wafer and a nougat wafer). A nougat wafer is an Italian style meringue between two wafer biscuits and then the meringue encased in chocolate. Then there is the double nougat, Ice Cream sandwiched between two nougat wafers. The wafers are NOT covered in chocolate, only the edges. You would also get snowballs (Italian style meringue covered in chocolate and coconut) and served in cafe's with Ice cream, Oysters, made out of 2 wafer biscuits in the shape of a shell, with cream inside and chocolate and coconut on the outside to hold them together, They are prized open and ice cream added - delicious. The main manufacturer in Glasgow, and most people said the best, was the Verbest Cream Wafer Company which ceased after the manufacturer died in 1963.

In the United States, an ice cream sandwich is a slice of ice cream, commonly vanilla although other flavors are often used, sandwiched between two wafers, usually chocolate and rectangular. The current version was invented in 1945 by Jerry Newberg when he was selling ice cream at Forbes Field. Pictures from the Jersey Shore circa 1905. "On the beach, Atlantic City," 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company, show Ice Cream sandwiches were popular at 1c each .

Alternatives to wafers are often used, such as chocolate chip cookies. Many companies offer alternatives to the conventional ice cream sandwich as well, such as San Francisco's It's-It, who use oatmeal cookies and dip the sandwich in dark chocolate, New Jersey-based Rice Creams Inc. uses a combination of crispy marshmallow wafers and ice cream.

August 2nd is promoted in the United States as 'National Ice Cream Sandwich Day', although the origins of the designation are unclear and there appears to be no evidence to support any official 'national' designation.

Red Velvet Cupcakes and My Big Moment on Just Desserts

　　
I don’t make a lot of cupcakes, but since I’ve always been fascinated by the red velvet cake, I decided to try a version based on this venerable American classic. 　　I’ve gotten so many requests for cupcakes and red velvet cakes that I figured I’d kill two food wishes with one video. They came out really well, and as I tasted, I actually caught myself daydreaming about being on Top Chef Just Desserts.
I imagined I’d furiously finished frosting these red velvet cupcakes just as time expired (I think the faux-hawked prima donna with the Jacques Torres tattoo next to me hid the cream cheese to screw me over). I bring them up to the judge’s table, and watch as the lovely Gail Simmons takes a big bite. She swallows, smiles, and then says, “Really not that bad for a food blogger.” Okay, so she’s too classy to ever say that, but still, it would be pretty cool.

Anyway, back to reality. I will also post the cream cheese frosting recipe next week, just in case you’re wondering. I joke about the red food coloring in the clip, and it does give the cake such a unique look, but feel free to leave it out if that’s not your thing. 　　Party season is upon us, and what holiday dessert table wouldn’t benefit from a plate of these classic cupcakes? It would be like Johnny Iuzzini's face without the side burns. In other words, just not as good. I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 12 Red Velvet Cupcakes:
Dry:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Wet:
4 tablespoons softened butter
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon red food coloring
Bake at 350 for about 22 minutes

Sugar Desserts

Sugar Free Desserts
‘Sugar Free Desserts’ as the name suggests are meant for people who have diabetes i.e. high blood sugar or those who want to lose weight because sweet is believed to enhance weight and also senior citizens or youngsters who want to reduce the intake of sugar in their diet due to old-age or for dieting purpose. Such people find it difficult to resist desserts or sweets so you can make it with something called sugar substitutes which is called ‘Sugar free’ in the market.
‘Sugar free’ is of three types. The first one is a tablet made of fruit concentrates or purees which can be put in one’s tea or coffee and stirred to get the sweet taste, it’s not as harmful as table sugar since this is a form of natural sugar stored inside fruits rather than the raw form like found in the case of table sugar. The second variety is made from aspartame, which is in powdered form mostly. It’s made from a protein derivative and is 200 times sweeter than table sugar. The third variety is made from sucralose.
‘Sucralose’ or ‘Sucrose’ is another name for table sugar but in this case it undergoes a multi high tech process which definitely makes it 600 times sweeter than the table sugar but without the calories of the table sugar. It’s the latest version of ‘Sugar-free’.
Wheat Cookies Ideal For Diabetics
Ingredients
1/3 cup any cooking oil
200 grams brown sugar substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup wheat flake cereal
½ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup wheat flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons wheat germ
½ cup raisins
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon water
Method
Chop the raisins and keep aside. Then take a bowl and start adding the ingredients one after the other and mix thoroughly except the baking soda which also has to be added but in the end mixed with a little water with the bubbles rising to the top and again mix the mixture properly so that a perfect cookie mixture is made. Pour it in small lumps on a greased cookie sheet and bake in an oven, which has been set at 350 degrees F for 8-12 minutes.
Sugar free Dessert Recipes
Chocolate Fondue
Ingredients
¾ cup cocoa
¼ tsp cinnamon powder
¾ cup milk
½ tsp vanilla essence
½ cup any variety of sugar free.
Cream the cream cheese which has been softened previously in a bowl, then add the pecans, chocolate squares which has been melted and cooled sufficiently, the vanilla essence and the sugar substitute and blend thoroughly. Pour the mixture into an oven dish or any other flat dish lined with foil and refrigerate it. Cut it into 1-inch squares and serve chilled after 10-12 hours of refrigeration.
Cherry Bars
Ingredients
16 ounces cherries (deseeded)
8 ounces non-sweet chocolate cake mix
2 tablespoons sugar substitute of your choice
Method
Take cocoa in a bowl and add the milk to it and mix slowly so that no lumps are formed, then add the cinnamon powder and heat it on the gas over medium heat stirring continuously until it comes to a boil and then reduce the flame and let it simmer for another 5 minutes stirring continuously. Stirring continuously is a must for any fondue mixture. Once the mixture is done remove it from the flame and allow it to cool a little. Once cool add the sugar-free and vanilla essence and then pour it into a fondue pot and serve.
Apple Carrot Cake
Ingredients
2 cups self-rising flour
½ cup butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon powdered
1 cup walnuts (silvered)
2/3 cups raisins
2 cups apples (peeled and grated)
1 cup carrot (peeled and grated)
1 teaspoon orange peel (grated)
2 eggs
4 tablespoons orange juice
Method
Cream the butter and then add the cinnamon powder to it, then add the self-rising flour slowly by slowly to it and then add all the grated ingredients and then add the egg slowly one by one and mix properly and finally the orange juice and mix the mixture well so that all the ingredients are blended properly.
Then pour the mixture into a greased oven dish and bake it in a preheated oven for 1 hour 15 minutes depending on your oven heat at 350 degrees.
Pecan Sugar-free Fudge
Ingredients
16 ounces softened cream cheese
2 non-sweet chocolate squares
½ cup sugar substitute
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
½ cup pecans (silvered)
Method
Method
Drain all the water from the cherries and keep it aside. Mix together the cake mix, cherries and sugar substitute in a bowl with a whisk so that the mixture gets thoroughly mixed. Pour the mixture into a well-greased ovenproof cake dish and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.