The White Ramekins

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Plum & Basil Popsicles

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Plum & Basil Popsicles

With this post I would officially be signing off with the summer bounty of stone fruits. It was the last of the stash of sweet and puckery plums which I had tucked away in my freezer. I had been wanting to make ice pops, the perfect treat to reminisce the summer and surely the apt way to bid adieu to all the wonderful stone fruits which summer has to offer.

Plum & Basil Popsicles

This year, rains have left us little early and it has become hot and humid again. My basil plant has been ever so growing lately, flourishing heavily like never before. Plum & Basil popsicles seemed to be the right choice for these hot and sunny days. These are the kind of pops which you would have liked probably growing up than being as a kid. They are so puckery and tantalizing! They reminded me of the Plum Sorbet which I had made last year.  They almost taste like a palate cleanser.

Plum & Basil Popsicles

And look at their color! Vibrant red color ice pops, they look quite sultry! Pardon my cheeky language, but truly speaking, this is what I felt, when I first saw the color. And you’d believe that they have the similar character too, only after you take the first bite. Again sweet and sour at the same time and tantalizing your taste buds.

 Plum & Basil Popsicles

Plum & Basil Popsicles
Sweet and sour plum & basil popsicles to tantalize your taste buds through the summer
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Ingredients
  1. 500 gm plums, de-stoned and quartered
  2. 2 cups water
  3. 3/4 cup sugar (adjust sugar depending upon the tartness)
  4. 1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves, chopped roughly
  5. 1 tbsp kirsch (optional)
Instructions
  1. Put plums, sugar and water into a non reactive saucepan and cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes, until plums are tender.
  2. Take the saucepan off the heat, add the basil leaves and kirsch and let stand covered for about an hour.
  3. Put the plums in a blender or a liquidizer and blend to make a smooth puree.
  4. Strain the mixture through a sieve. Divide the mixture into ice pop molds and place in freezer for half an hour or until the mixture is lightly set.
  5. Take the molds out of the freezer and insert the wooden sticks into each mold and put them back into the freezer, until completely set.
The White Ramekins http://thewhiteramekins.com/

Tiramisu Ice Cream

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tiramisu ice cream

Oh! I love tiramisu. The deep coffee flavored dessert with the lusciousness of mascarpone is something I would never say no to. And what if you get that a tiramisu ice cream? It just can’t get any better. A quintessential Italian dessert being turned into an ice cream to cool you off from the intense heat. Although, the weather has got slightly cooler this week due to official arrival of monsoon, you still can enjoy the ice cream.

tiramisu ice cream tiramisu ice cream

I made this ice cream a couple of days back. Actually I had  half a carton of cream in my fridge, which I wanted to utilize. And then mascarpone occurred to my mind. I hadn’t had tiramisu in long time and I was craving for it. I made this last year probably. I have made tiramisu verrines and the the classic style tiramisu from the authentic savoiardi cookies, which my friend brought for me. And this time I wanted to try it differently, in a frozen dessert.

tiramisu ice cream

I thought of an ice cream cake too, but didn’t have courage to turn on the oven in the intense hot summer. Thank God! the weather has cooled down a bit, so I would be back to baking spree now. This is a recipe which I adapted from The Perfect Scoop. It’s one gem of a book from David Lebovitz on frozen treats. I keep on hoping between The Perfect Scoop and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. But I can’t say for sure, which one is my favorite.  As of yet, I love both! 

tiramisu ice cream tiramisu ice cream

The original recipe didn’t call for eggs, but had asked for a lot of liqueur, which I didn’t want truly speaking. So I though of giving it my own twist by making it custard based, so that it gets more luscious and creamy. And I am glad that it I did that. It came out super smooth and velvety with those deep flavor of coffee which I had been craving for. We also made affogato and served them in pretty martini glasses. Tiramissini, we called them! Isn’t that chic? We all loved it a lot!

tiramisu ice cream tiramisu ice cream

Tiramisu Ice Cream
A rich and velvety smooth frozen twist to classic Italian Tiramisu with deep coffee flavor and mocha ripple.
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For the ice cream
  1. 2 cups mascarpone
  2. 1/2 cup sugar
  3. 3 egg yolks
  4. 1 cup cream
  5. 1/2 cup milk
  6. 1/4 cup espresso
  7. 1 tbsp coffee powder
  8. 2 tbsp dark rum {optional}
  9. 1/2 vanilla bean, slit
For the mocha ripple
  1. 1/2 cup sugar
  2. 1/3 cup light corn syrup
  3. 1/2 cup water
  4. 6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  5. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  6. 1 tbsp coffee powder
For the mocha ripple
  1. Whisk together all the ingredients in a saucepan.
  2. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture begins to bubble slightly at the edges.
  3. Remove from heat and let cool completely in fridge.
For the ice cream
  1. Pour milk, half cup of the cream and vanilla bean in a saucepan and heat on medium heat until sugar dissolves completely and the mixture starts to boil.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar to a creamy consistency. Add two small ladle full of hot milk and cream mixture whisking rigorously.
  3. Add the egg mixture to the remaining milk and cream mixture in saucepan, whisking rapidly.
  4. Heat the egg mixture in saucepan on a low heat, stirring continuously, until the custard coats the back of a wooden spoon.
  5. Take the custard off the heat. In another bowl, whisk together the mascarpone, remaining cream, custard, coffee granules, espresso and dark rum (if using) to make smooth mixture.
  6. Cover with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly in fridge, preferably overnight.
  7. Freeze the chilled mixture in your ice cream machine, as per manufacturer's instructions.
  8. Once ice cream is ready, drizzle the mocha sauce in the bottom of container. Working quickly, layer half of the ice cream in container with mocha sauce alternating with ice cream and the mocha sauce.
  9. Freeze the ice cream in freezer for 3-4 hours.
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop
The White Ramekins http://thewhiteramekins.com/

 

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream {Egg Free}

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Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

Scorching sun these days doesn’t seem to show any mercy on us and it is just the beginning and temperature has already started touching 43 degree C here. But it is quite natural for us. In fact both mind and body are kind of getting prepared for the intense hot days which are about to come. How interesting it is, no? That is the beauty of nature, gradually all your surroundings seem to be so adaptable, however hostile the condition be. And it is not just nature, I have observed this phenomenon of adaptability along various different walks of life. Be it work, or be it your friends or family. A pain from a long observed hardship which never seems to end suddenly start diminishing. But is that really the truth? Is the pain really starts to go off? May be yes or may be not. But whatever it is, the endurance to bear the pain definitely sees an uptick. And that is what matters the most. You become all the more stronger and better prepared for even harder situation to come. And I believe the same phenomenon can very easily be applied to the weather condition and how body adapts to suit itself.

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

I am leaving you all here with this thought {hoping, at least some of my gibberish would have made sense to you} and a delightful yet easy Strawberry sour cream ice cream recipe adapted from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop. It’s a wonderful concoction of very berry strawberries and the tangy sour cream, which suite themselves so well. Try it!

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

Ingredients

450 gm fresh/frozen strawberries {thawed if frozen}
250 gm sour cream
250 ml low fat cream {can use heavy cream, if you like}
1/2 tsp lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar

Directions

  1. Slice the strawberries and toss them with sugar in a bowl and let them macerate for about an hour.
  2. Pulse all the ingredients including strawberries in a food processor or blender 3-4 times, until almost smooth, but still slightly chunky.
  3. Refrigerate mixture in a bowl for 3-4 hours, preferably overnight.
  4. Freeze in the ice cream maker, as per manufacturer’s instructions.
  5. Serve it with fresh sliced strawberries and some strawberry compote, if you like.