Orange Vanilla Frozen Custard

I've really really got to try this. We came across a dessert in Florida that I just can't forget - real orange slushie layered with orange custard. I've got to figure it out.

Here's a recipe for Orange Custard from the Food Network. I haven't tried it yet - but I will soon!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 4 teaspoons grated orange zest
• 
  

Directions

Whisk the cornstarch and 1/2 cup milk in a small bowl until smooth. Whisk the eggs, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan; whisk in the cornstarch mixture and the remaining 1 cup milk until smooth.

Cook the mixture over low heat, stirring, until thick enough to coat a spoon, 7 to 8 minutes (do not boil). Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, then set the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water. Add the cream and stir until cool. Remove from the ice bath; stir in the vanilla, orange juice concentrate and orange zest. Cover and chill until cold.

Freeze the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe into cups.

Sicilian Chocolate Gelato

This is my absolute favorite homemade ice cream recipe

3 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup good quality cocoa powder (cocoa powder quality is important - I like sharffenberger - but best of all my local Ghana Goldentree cocoa)
1 1/2 Tbs cornstarch

In medium saucepan bring 2 cups milk to a simmer. Meanwhile whisk the remaining cup of milk with the sugar, cocoa and cornstarch.

Scrape the cocoa mixture into the hot milk.

Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and bubbles a little at the edges. Stir and cook for one minute longer.

For extra smoothness, strain though a wire mesh strainer. Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.

Freeze according to ice cream maker instructions.

Makes 1 quart.

5 minute ice cream

Yes really!

And it is the best ice cream ever!

You can get the recipe and see a video here.

You need a good strong blender like a vitamix. Just add a package of frozen fruit (12-14 oz), 1/2 cup or less of sugar, and 2/3 cup cream, yogurt, coconut milk or soy milk (I'm going to try out skim milk soon). Then just blend until relatively smooth. It will be soft serve but you can freeze it for a few hours if you like firmer ice cream.

Here's the flavors we've tried:

Mango - fabulous (reminds me of the 4 mango trees we had in our yard during our mission)

Cherry with a drop of almond extract - my husbands absolute favorite. It's unbelievable with hot fudge sauce - tastes like a chocolate covered cherry.

Apricot - cream is great and I tried using plain yogurt and less sugar to make it tart. Loved it!

Chocolate banana - delicious. I just added 3 TBS of good quality cocoa powder.

That's all for now but I have fresh pineapple chunks in the freezer to try that flavor next.

I want this key lime frozen yogurt!

Someone please perfect this recipe from a blog called Coconut and Lime

Ingredients:
4 cups plain greek style 2% yogurt*
3/4 cup sugar
zest of 2 key limes
1 tablespoon key lime juice

Directions:
Mix together all of the ingredients until the sugar dissolves. Pour into a ice cream maker and churn until thick, about 30 minutes. Freeze in a freeze safer container or serve immediately for a more "soft serve" style treat.


*I've heard you can make greek-style yogurt-which is thick like sour cream- by straining a double amount of regular yogurt overnight but I haven't tried it. You could also use full fat greek style yogurt here but 2% makes an extremely rich and creamy frozen yogurt and has a fraction of the total fat content.

Grapefruit Gelato in Five Minutes: Your New Favorite Summer Dessert Recipe

I've always wanted to try this recipe by Donna from Apron Strings - one of my favorite food blogs.

Here's her post:

It’s officially the dog days, and you have a summer soiree to attend tomorrow. “What can I bring?” you asked. “Oh, just a little something for dessert,” they replied. But the very thought of baking something in this heat makes you deflate with fatigue. You still want to bring something homecrafted – some kind of ice cream would be great, but you don’t have an ice cream maker. What to do?

You spend a grand total of 5 minutes prepping this mock-gelato, that’s what. And then you’ll make it again and again and again. Really. Because it really is only 4 ingredients,  it really does only take 5 to mix it up, you really don’t need an ice cream maker, and, best of all, it really does work.

I know it may sound a little weird, but trust us. We swear it will surprise you. Something about the way that the acid in the citrus combines with the fat in the cream (and yes, you must use cream; we tried it with half & half and it just didn’t work texture-wise, though the flavor was still a total delight) creates a perfect dense, creamy texture that is so akin to ‘real’ gelato, though the technique is very different.

The original called for lemon, which is equally delicious, but there’s something about the subtle tang of the grapefruit here that Donna and I both were tickled by – so creamy & subtly tangy. It’s also incredibly rich. And it truly is amazing how well the texture comes out without churning! The whole thing is a revelation.

FIVE MINUTE GRAPEFRUIT “GELATO”

2 cups regular (NOT heavy) whipping cream
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh grapefruit juice (I recommend ruby red)
Zest of said grapefruit, finely grated
1/2 tsp salt

Whisk it all together, pour it into a container and freeze for at least 8 hours, ideally overnight.  That’s IT. Yes, really!

Tart Frozen Yogurt

I don't know about the rest of the country, but in Utah Valley frozen yogurt is the rage. My husband and I returned home (after being away three years) to find loads of new yogurt places scattered around the valley. Of course we had to make the tour and try them out. I love plain tangy frozen yogurt with fresh berries on top! I think I ate it at least every other day for our first few weeks home. Yesterday my daughter shared a recipe to make it at home. I tried it this morning and ....

...it's perfect!

Here's the recipe:

2 cups lowfat or regular plain Greek yogurt (it's thicker than normal - I love Greek Gods brand)

2 cups plain whole milk yogurt (I love Brown Cow brand)

1/3 cup superfine sugar (I didn't have any so I put regular sugar in blender for a few minutes)

3 TBS corn syrup (I didn't have any so I used honey)

Mix together and freeze in ice cream freezer

Serve with fresh fruit on top

Enjoy being naughty and healthy - all at the same time

"Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness." Ezekiel 3:3