Sunday, July 21, 2013

Ice cream maker recipes

Last year, Sidharta talked me into getting an ice cream maker.  We had some good success, but didn't really push the envelope.  This year we took it up a notch.

We've had fantastic success, so far, with Raspberry Sorbet, Peach Sorbet and Papaya Ice Cream.  If you have an ice cream maker...you can try the below.  If you don't:  get one!  It's pretty cheap, and there's just no comparison.  The annoying part is finding space in the freezer for the bowl.

Black Raspberry Sorbet - I was stupid enough not to write the recipe down, but I got it off the internet, so I trust to finding it again.  It's mostly a question of finding the right ratio of raspberries to sugar and water.  And removing the seeds (a major pain, but worth it).  I don't think I put anything else in, though I thought about some cardamom.  It goes wonderfully with a little chocolate ice cream.

Peach Sorbet - my own recipe:
- 10 smallish-medium peaches - very ripe, on the verge of overripe
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 3/4 cup simple syrup (made from equal parts sugar and water)
- juice from 1/2 lime
- strawberry chunks (optional)

I made the simple syrup by using 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water and boiling with the cinnamon stick.  I used 3/4 cup of the resulting syrup.

I peeled the peaches, chopped them to remove the pits and threw them in the blender to puree them.  Then threw in the syrup and lime juice and blended some more.  This batter should probably be chilled (but I don't remember if I did or not).

Then into the ice cream maker.  When it's done you can throw in some pieces of strawberry for texture.  I threw them in  the ice cream maker when it wasn't quite done, and the strawberries got slightly mashed into the sorbet.

I don't know exactly how much this produced but probably around 3 cups.

Papaya Ice Cream - my own recipe (warning, hi fat special):
I decided I wanted papaya ice cream while I was out shopping for fruits and vegetables and saw some nice papayas.  So I bought a papaya and some cream, but had no idea of what was needed.  When I got home I searched the internet for recipes and found surprisingly few, so I made it up.

- Papaya - 2 cups of puree - I don't know how to tell you how much to buy - I bought one of the large Mexican papayas that was probably about 2 pounds and used maybe about 1/3 of it.  I know I used 2 cups of puree
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened finely grated coconut
- zest of about 1/2 lime
- 2 cups heavy cream
- chocolate chips (optional)

I pureed the papaya first, and then added the sugar and coconut and lime in the blender and then added the cream. And blended until it was nice and even.  Again, it should probably be chilled, but I didn't.  Straight into the ice cream maker.  It makes a lovely color.

Again...not sure how much this made, especially after extensive sampling, but I'll guess around 3  or 4 cups.

I threw some chocolate chips into part of the ice cream, and kept some without.  I like it both ways, though you can never really taste chocolate chips well in ice cream.

I think a bit of cardamom would be nice here, too, instead of chocolate chips.  I didn't try it.  And I saw some recipes on the internet that involved use of a can of coconut milk which I didn't have, but they sounded nice.