Remembrances

A pleasant memory of a summer past. Who knew an ice cream bar could hold so much power?

  Source {via}

My first visit to France during the summer of 2003 was spent with many hours poolside sipping a refreshing limonade and consuming bite after bite of a little delicious little bar called Magnum. It was the summer of a magnificent heat wave that caused the expiration of many, especially the eldery, due to a lack of cooling systems. My brother and I, however, had found the solution. Or, rather, Mamina had provided it. My dear friend's French grandmere filled her freezer to the brim with these delightful frozen morsels for us to eat. After each short dip in the water, we would climb out, dash to the floor freezer in the musty basement, and choose a Magnum bar to enjoy. This would occur, oh, at least a dozen times a day.

I was thoroughly disappointed when I returned stateside and could not find them in any grocer's freezer this side of the Atlantic. I would search for other ice cream bars that would fit the bill, but none could compare. Dove bars, I think, were the closest I could find, but they were still lacking.

Until now.

When Foodbuzz's Tastemaker Program asked if I would like to receive a trial box of Magnums, I was first in a state of shock, not believing what I read. After I snapped out of it, I was literally rejoicing with songs of praise for the person who made the honorable decision to make these available to grateful Americans! Thank you!!!

Source: {via}

Magnum means "great" or "mighty," an apt name for this, albeit small, flavorful bite of sweetness. Their chocolatey coating is, in fact, mighty. Certainly not for those who prefer the taste of Hershey's. Their hearty shell contains a delightful ice cream, every bit rich and creamy. There was a bit of difficulty finding these at the store as others had discovered their greatness too. If you find some lurking in the freezer section, be sure to snatch them up quickly before others in your area are turned on to their supreme flavor. Only 3 in a box, you might need to stock up.

Ice Cream Sandwich Love

I apologize for the hideousness of this photograph. (I made it a little smaller than usual in an attempt to offset the effects of my horrible camera skills.) Truly, all I wanted to do was consume the comforting layers of sweet flavor....

Ryan introduced me to these simple, chewy discs of oatmeal delight. Prior to his revelation, I had been firmly convinced that an oatmeal cookie could not be complete without raisins and at least a bit of cinnamon. He made a believer out of me: oatmeal and a smidgen of vanilla extract are the only absolutely necessary additions for a perfect oatmeal cookie. Not to say that I don't still love my oatmeal raisin spice cookies, but I am quite content with the purity of his oatmeal cookies. If taken out of the oven at the right moment, they literally melt in your mouth as you bite in.

Oh my. We're lucky if the dough even makes it into the oven. The dough satisfies about as well as the cookies. There is nearly always a scuffle for licking the bowl and spoon.

However, if some of the dough doesn't make it into cookie form, then we are at a loss for making our ice cream sandwiches...a mutual fetish we cannot overcome. There are few foods as delicious as cookies and ice cream; marry them and I nearly swoon at the sight.

This ice cream cookie creation is entirely homemade. The French vanilla ice cream was a second batch after the first success at ice-cream-from-scratch I made the other day. I am very excited to try out some other flavors now that I know it can be done without an ice cream maker, but, first, I had to make Ryan a batch of his favorite flavor.

Ice cream meet cookie.

It was a match made in heaven.

Flourless Chocolate Cake and French Vanilla Ice Cream with a touch of Raspberry

Daring Bakers' Challenge this month was a delight to create and to feast upon. I have been eagerly waiting to share it with you since nearly the beginning of the month(!). Without further ado....

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.


This Valentino is aptly named -- it made a perfect Valentine dessert. I prepared it for My Valentine as the finishing crown to a delightful dinner of sirloin stir-fry.

I formed it in a small heart-shaped baking dish, cutting the recipe by a third. I used only one egg. I think two would have been a better choice, as the finished product was a tad on the dry side.


I drizzled it with warm raspberry preserves before serving. It was deliciously rich.


I would like to try it again with another brand/flavor of chocolate. (I used Ghiradelli's Semi-Sweet this time around.) The flavor of your cake DOES wholly depend on the chocolate used. It was good but I know some that could make it stellar.... ;-)


As I was short on time the night I made the cake, the ice cream didn't come until last night. I followed David Lebowitz's directions for making it by hand. I highly recommend following them if you decide to embark on the adventure of making your own ice cream sans machine. It produces impeccable results.

After the custard reached the desired consistency on the stove, I placed it in an ice bath (fill a deep dish with ice water and place the bowl of custard inside) to cool the custard. After whipping the cream until just before it turned into a stiff whipped cream, I folded it into the custard. Then, the custard cream went into the freezer for about 45 minutes before its first stir. Every 45 minutes or so, I would take it out and stir it around, breaking up any ice chunks. The first couple stirs I used a whisk, then turned to a large spoon when it became more solidified. After about 3 hours, it was ready to serve.


As I was about to scoop some for my dad, he commented he would just take the rest of the bowl. Haha. ;-p Again, out came the raspberry preserves...and a touch of dark chocolate. I had to tie it into the valentino somehow.

I can't wait to share this ice cream with My Valentine. (He was working late last night. :-( ) Ice cream consumption is his passion; vanilla is his favorite; raspberry preserves are his vice. I think I found the ideal combination.

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.



Dharm's Ice Cream Recipe
Classic Vanilla Ice Cream
Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Recipe comes from the Ice Cream Book by Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis (tested modifications and notes in parentheses by Dharm)

Ingredients
1 Vanilla Pod (or substitute with vanilla extract)
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Semi Skimmed Milk – in the U.S. this is 2% fat (or use fresh full fat milk that is pasteurised and homogenised {as opposed to canned or powdered}). Dharm used whole milk.
4 large egg yolks
75g / 3oz / 6 tbsp caster sugar {superfine sugar can be achieved in a food processor or use regular granulated sugar}
5ml / 1 tsp corn flour {cornstarch}
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Double Cream (48% butter fat) {in the U.S. heavy cream is 37% fat)
{you can easily increase your cream's fat content by heating 1/4 cup of heavy cream with 3 Tbs of butter until melted - cool to room temperature and add to the heavy cream as soon as whisk marks appear in the cream, in a slow steady stream, with the mixer on low speed. Raise speed and continue whipping the cream) or use heavy cream the difference will be in the creaminess of the ice cream.

1. Using a small knife slit the vanilla pod lengthways. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla pod and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse
Lift the vanilla pod up. Holding it over the pan, scrape the black seeds out of the pod with a small knife so that they fall back into the milk. SET the vanilla pod aside and bring the milk back to the boil.
2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and corn-flour in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy. 3. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time
4. When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.
5. By Hand: Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a plastic tub or similar freeze-proof container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating it twice (during the freezing process – to get smoother ice cream or else the ice cream will be icy and coarse)
By Using and Ice Cream Maker: Stir the cream into the custard and churn the mixture until thick (follow instructions on your ice cream maker)