Posts Tagged ‘David Lebovitz’
Roasted Banana Ice Cream
Posted on: January 26, 2010
My whole family flipped for this!
Again, I took this recipe from David Lebovitz’s masterful cookbook on all things frozen, The Perfect Scoop. Even though it uses just a bit of whole milk and a smattering of butter, this ice cream came out remarkably creamy. In fact, I think the lack of fats really allowed the sumptuous flavors of oven roasted bananas and caramelized brown sugar to take center stage. The dot of butter actually went quite a long way, combining beautifully with the brown sugar to create a sweet-salty butterscotch flavor. The members of my family on diets went wild for this recipe, and we all polished it off in one sitting.
The three bananas left in the house...
I decided to make this when I wanted to make a new ice cream, but I didn’t have enough milk, cream or eggs to make the proper, custard style variety. Being too lazy to go out to the store, I decided to stick it out and scrounge around the house for ingredients to make some kind of frozen treat. When I saw the three bananas on sitting in a bowl on my kitchen table, I immediately remembered David Lebovitz’s Roasted Banana Ice Cream. I made it last year, and it was equally delicious then as it is now.
Getting ready for roasting.
This ice cream was pretty easy to make. Just chop up some bananas, add some brown sugar and melted butter and then pop the whole thing in the oven to roast. I would advise checking it frequently. David Lebovitz suggesting roasting the bananas for 40 minutes, but mine were done in 30. So check frequently and stir often to prevent a whole different kind of burnt caramel!
Fresh from the churn!
This ice cream was so awesome, one family member told me that I should package it and start a line of low-fat, insanely tasty banana based ice creams. I don’t know if I’m going to do that (I think David Lebovitz might have something to say about it!), but it was exceptionally good. Especially if you are on a diet and looking for a fairly healthy treat. This is honestly as good as it’s going to get and frankly, better than many full fat ice cream flavors I’ve made.
Roasted Banana Ice Cream
Adapted from David Lebovitz’s cookbook, The Perfect Scoop, 2007.
Ingredients:
3 medium-sized ripe bananas, peeled
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tbsp. butter (salted or unsalted), cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ tsp. coarse salt
1.) Preheat the oven to 400°.
2.) Slice the bananas into ½ -inch pieces and toss them with the brown sugar and butter in a 2-quart baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring just once during baking, until the bananas are browned and cooked through.
3.) Scrape the bananas and the thick syrup in the baking dish into a blender or food processor. Add the milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt, and puree until smooth.
4.) Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If the chilled mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisking will thin it out.
Make it a Sundae!- This would be a great ice cream to use in a banana split! Use three scoops of this with chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce and marshmallow. Add a split banana, whipped cream, toasted walnuts for crunch and a maraschino cherry on top. An updated and great twist on classic!
The best rice pudding I've ever had!
I’ve been making David Lebovitz’s Rice Pudding Gelato ever since I purchased his wonderful book, The Perfect Scoop, a year ago. It immediately jumped out to me because I love gelato and I particularly love this type of rice pudding that Scandinavians call Riskrem. Riskrem is rice pudding as you’ve never had it before and one of my all time favorite desserts. Part of what makes it so special is that freshly whipped cream is folded into the rice pudding, making it both decadent and light as a cloud. Combining my two favorite desserts is brilliant and this recipe captures the very best qualities of rice pudding and ice cream.
This ice cream starts life in the oven.
Part of what makes this ice cream so great is the way it’s prepared and its delicious flavorings. You bake arborio rice with milk, a whole split vanilla bean and some orange rind for an hour and a half until the rice is tender and deeply flavored. The milk infuses with the orange and vanilla flavors creating a rich and complex base.
The best of both worlds, take that Hannah Montana!
Another genius aspect of this recipe is the fact that some of the rice gets put into a blender, creating little nubbly textured grains of rice. Texture is really important in almost all food and ice cream is no exception. With some grains of rice being left whole and some pureed fine, this ice cream has a delightful mouthfeel that’s a joy to eat.
A sprinkling of cinnamon makes it perfection!
Even if you’re not a rice pudding lover, do try this ice cream. I think it’s an improvement on the traditional rice pudding and the subtle nutmeg, vanilla and orange flavorings keep every bite delicious and intriguing. Another great ice cream from David Lebovitz! With him you just can’t go wrong.
Rice Gelato
Adapted from Perfect Scoop.
1/2 cup Italian Arborio rice
3 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lenghtwise
Two 1-inch-wide strips of orange zest
5 large egg yolks (save the whites for use later)
1 cup half-and-half or cream
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Preheat the oven to 350. In a 1.75 to 2 quart baking dish, mix together the rice, milk 1/4 cup of the sugar and the salt. Add the vanilla bean and strips of orange zest (I made the mistake of actually scraping out the vanilla, but it’s not really a mistake… it’s delicious.)
Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove the rice from the oven and remove the foil. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, then continue to bake the rice, uncovered for another 30 minutes.
Remove the rice from the oven a second time, remove the vanilla bean and orange zest and briskly whisk in the egg yolks at once. Then whisk in the half and half or cream and nutmeg.
Puree half of the rice mixture in a blender or food processor until chopped fine then stir it back into the cooked rice.
Chill the mixture in the fridge then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.
Chocolate-Raspberry Ice Cream
Posted on: November 21, 2009
A Sophisticated Treat.
I never planned on making this ice cream. I love cooking seasonally, so I usually confine berry based ice creams and sorbets to summer, when they’ve reach their very zenith of ripe freshness. But truth be told, I love raspberries and strawberries whether or not it’s the middle of July or the dead of winter. What truly inspired me to make this ice cream was the simple fact that pints of raspberries were on sale for only a $1 each at my local supermarket. Where I live, that’s an unheard of, ridiculously low price! I came home from the grocery store with a great bounty of beautiful raspberries and I knew I couldn’t let them go to waste. Flipping through David Lebovitz’s extraodinary ice cream cookbook, The Perfect Scoop, I came across his recipe for a Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream and was sold on the idea immediately. The dark chocolate with the tart, yet sweet raspberries made for an incredibly rich, luxurious ice cream. This is the tuxedo or the evening gown of frozen desserts. Rich, velvety and luxe- perfect for the sophisticated palate.
Fresh berries!
Even though raspberries aren’t in season right now, I still think that a Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream qualifies as a fall/winter ice cream. Sure the berries are summery, but for some reason chocolate ice cream always struck me as more of a winter flavor. Speaking of chocolate, this recipe calls for dutch process cocoa. Different from the regular variety, “dutched” cocoa is treated with alkali, which neutralizes acids. The resulting cocoa powder is a bit milder, and darker in color and flavor in comparison to natural, unsweetened cocoa. Unable to find pure dutch process cocoa, I used Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder, which is a mix of both cocoas. This cocoa worked beautifully, and gave the ice cream a deep, dark chocolate flavor.
My Perfect Scoop!
Part of what makes this ice cream such a treat is the fact that so often the raspberry/chocolate combination can result in a dessert that’s sicky sweet and cloying. Artificial raspberry flavor is truly gross, and tends to taste more like cough syrup than anything found in nature. This ice cream is the opposite of that, using only real, fresh and natural ingredients. When I told a friend that I was making this ice cream she remarked that she didn’t like chocolate and raspberries together. After having one bite of the finished product she quickly changed her mind.
Haute Ice Cream
I know I say this every week, but this truly has to be up there with my all time greatest ice creams. Once again, David Lebovitz delivered with another fabulous recipe. My family and I enjoyed this so much that we’re planning on using it as a centerpiece dessert after a filet mignon dinner on New Year’s Eve. We’re actually planning on turning it into a deluxe ice cream pie by filling a chocolate cookie crust with the freshly churned ice cream and topping it with a whipped cream/creme fraiche mixture, chocolate shavings and more fresh berries. Yum, I can’t wait!
Recipe adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
Chocolate-Raspberry Ice Cream
Ingredients:
2 Cups Heavy Cream
7 Tbsp Unsweetened Dutch-process Cocoa Powder
3/4 Cup Sugar
2 3/4 Cups Raspberries, fresh or frozen
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1.)Whisk together the cream, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla and sugar in a large saucepan. Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it comes to a full, rolling boil (it will start to foam up). Remove from the heat and add the raspberries. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes.
2.)Puree the mixture in a food processor or blender. If you wish, press the mixture through a mesh strainer to remove the seeds.
3.) Allow the mixture to chill thoroughly, then freeze it in an ice cream maker.
Make it a Sundae!- Top with hot fudge laced with a few tablespoons or Chambord or Framboise to heighten the rich flavors. Add whipped cream and more fresh raspberries and enjoy!
Lighten Up!– You can substitute half and half for the heavy cream pretty successfully in this recipe.
Cold Comfort Ice Cream: Creative Ice Cream Recipes from Snowy New England 