Bakery Days » ice cream

caramelized banana m ice cream

karen — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:00:12 +0000

April 2012 . Carmalized Banana M Ice Cream

Happy birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday dear {Mr. T}; happy birthday to you!

Sunday was a special day. It was Mr. T’s birthday. I prepared for him a special surprise and made him homemade carmalized banana ice cream. Mr. T loves bananas and I had talked so much about how rich and creamy my ice creams were. I just had to make some for him.

April 2012 . Caramelized Banana M Ice Cream

I made him close his eyes and hold his hands out while I sang happy birthday to him and presented him with his own special tub of ice cream. I told him I chose this specific flavor because of his love of bananas and even named it after him: Caramelized Banana M. This was a very simple ice cream, which I made using Bi-Rite’s recipe in 7×7 Magazine.

history of ice cream

karen — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 03:39:48 +0000

March 2009 . Ice Cream: The Delicious History

Here’s to another wonderful weekend of good books. I tend to read rather heavy food books but Ice Cream: the Delicious History by Marilyn Powell surprised me — it was a quick, fun, and light-hearted recount of how ice cream made it’s mark in life (but it’s also not all that factual, so it’s best to treat it as a fictional story).

I’ve got stacks of books ranging from memoirs and biographies to the edible history of culture and once I’m back from my vacation away from gastronomy (currently reading Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens: Frank Oppenheimer and the world he made up by K.C. Cole), I’ll dive into my collection of edible history books with much zest.

But really, can I truly separate myself from food?!

soy lemon ice cream

karen — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:11:09 +0000

February 2010 . Soy Lemon Ice Cream

Four years ago, during a time I like to refer to as Sacramento’s great summer heat wave, I decided to venture into the realm of homemade ice cream. Little did I know, my life would completely transform and I would never look at ice cream the same. The whirling machine hummed as it churned the smooth creamy mixture. When I took my first lick, my taste buds were so delighted with the frozen creamy goodness that I stopped buying ice cream from the grocery store and never looked back. In general, I’m not a big ice cream eater, but when I do have some, I savor each and every moment.

The above image is of a new home recipe, soy lemon ice cream. I love cream-top milk and when possible, try to incorporate it into as many recipes as I can. There’s nothing quite like spooning that thick top layer out of the bottle and savoring its taste and texture. But on this particular Saturday, it was so blustery wet out that I didn’t have it in myself to don my coat, pull on my elephant rain boots and trudge to the market. I had to make do with what I had on hand.

Using a tried-and-true recipe that I’ve changed and altered over time, I decided that logically I could substitute milk with soy on a 1:1 ratio. It only occurred to me while I was pouring the custard into the ice cream maker that a 1:1 ration might not work. But that’s OK. I’m well on my way to becoming a mad scientist for all things sweet and in about 30-40 minutes I would get my answers.

Soy Lemon Ice Cream
Makes 1 Quart

1 1/2 cups soy milk 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream 1 lemon, zested 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise	In a heavy 2-quart saucepan, combine soy milk, cream and lemon zest. Using the tip of a sharp knife, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the soy mixture and then add the vanilla bean.
	Cook over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes.
6 egg yolks 1/2 cup sugar	Meanwhile combine the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and the sugar begins to dissolve.
	Remove the milk mixture from heat and gradually whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot soy mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, until smooth. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan with the remaining hot soy milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Keep the custard at a low simmer, until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, 4-6 minutes. Do not let the custard boil.
	Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Discard the vanilla bean.
	Cool and cover the custard with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on to the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Refridgerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
	Pour the custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to ice cream maker’s instructions. Transfer ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days before serving.

Editor’s note: the original recipe for my first batch (vanilla bean ice cream) has long since become lost in the crevices of my mind—but when I do manage to locate it, I will definitely post (and credit). It’s a good basic ice cream and well worth it to try.

an oldie but goodie

karen — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:01:44 +0000

February 2008 . Swensen's

One of my favorite local stomping grounds for ice cream. Nothing beats good old fashion ice cream from Swensen’s. It’s my goal to try all the flavors, but somehow I always manage to get suckered into ordering my usual toasted almond ice cream in a cone. =)