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No-Churn Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

By in Cool, Sweets 27 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

bluberry cheesecake ice cream 2

Homemade ice cream is one of those things that leaves me drooling when I visit other sites. I have so many recipes bookmarked that if I ever bought an ice cream maker I wouldn’t even know where to start. The only thing that has kept me from making them is the extra effort it takes to make it yourself, without an ice cream maker. Not that it’s hard work, but on hot summer days when we’re practically living outside I have no desire to sit inside and babysit my ice cream with a bowl and whisk.

This recipe is the perfect compromise. It takes absolutely no babysitting and is a great alternative for lovers of ice cream who don’t have an ice cream maker.

I’ve seen variations of this ice cream on both Martha Stewart and Good Food. The sweetened condensed milk replaces the typical custard base making this smooth and luxurious as it melts in your mouth. My only issue with it, is that it doesn’t soften up as quickly as regular ice cream, so it’s a bit hard to scoop. But honestly, there’s none of the icy-ness that’s usually associated with no-churn ice cream and as soon as you start eating it you won’t even think about the fact that it wasn’t made in a more traditional way.

I took Martha’s basic No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream added some cream cheese and swirled in some fresh blueberry syrup. It turned out rich, smooth and creamy. Heaven in a cone… or in a bowl. :)

No-Churn Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

  • 200g spreadable cream cheese (about 3/4 cup)
  • 1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups heavy (whipping) cream, cold

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese until creamy and smooth. Slowly add condensed milk, creaming between each addition to avoid lumps. Stir in vanilla extract and heavy cream. Switch to the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form when beaters are lifted.

Spread half into an 8×8 inch, square baking dish. Dollop with half of blueberry syrup. Top with remaining cream mixture, spreading evenly. Dollop with remaining blueberry syrup. Using a knife, swirl the syrup into the cream mixture. Cover with foil and freeze for 6 hours or until firm.

Makes: 9 servings

*Allow to sit out for 20-30 minutes before serving.

*This is best eaten within one week.

Adapted from Martha Stewart.

Honeydew Raspberry Popsicles

By in Cool, Kids, Sweets 12 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Honeydew Raspberry Popsicles

We”ve finally been experiencing the summer weather that everyone”s been talking about for weeks. When we were in Canada it was all thunderstorms and tornado”s. When we came back to Norway it was rain, rain, rain, rain. Now the sun has finally come out to play and we”re taking full advantage.

As soon as the weather gets nice I get the urge to make popsicles. They”re so easy to whip together and need no special equipment. You”d think I would own some popsicles molds since I love them so much; but I never think of it when I”m out and really paper or glass cups work just fine. One of these days I”ll get around to buying one, but for now I”ll just enjoy them in their clunkier form.

These popsicles can be made with any combination of berries and melon you wish, although I really love this combination. The rich and tangy raspberries pair perfectly with the refreshing honeydew. It truly is the perfect refresher on a hot summer day.

Have you been having nice summer weather? What”s your favourite cool down treat?

Honeydew Raspberry Popsicles

  • 1/2 honeydew melon, peeled, seeded and chopped (2 cups)

  • 2/3 cup sugar, divided

  • 1/2 cup natural yogurt (Greek is best)

  • 1 cup raspberries

Place honeydew and 1/3 cup sugar in a blender. Process until smooth. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve to remove solids. Stir 6 tablespoons yogurt into honeydew puree. Pour into 6 (3 ounce) popsicle molds. Freeze for 1 hour or just until firm enough to hold next layer.

Rinse out blender. Add raspberries and 1/3 cup sugar. Process until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve to remove seeds. Stir 2 tablespoons yogurt into raspberry puree. Pour over honeydew layer. Freeze for an additional 2 hours, or until firm.

These are best eaten within one week.

Makes: 6

Adapted from Everyday Food.

Peanut Buster Parfait Ice Cream Cake

By in Chocolate, Cool, Sweets 20 Comments Tags: , , , , , , ,

Peanut Buster Parfait

Peanut Buster Parfaits were my favourite treat at Dairy Queen growing up. I’ve always loved that sweet-chocolate, salty-peanut combination. I don’t remember when my mom started making this version at home but I do remember that it was one of my favourite summer desserts growing up.

James has never been a big fan of cake so I usually opt to make him a frozen cake or pie for his birthday instead. In fact, when we were engaged this was the very first birthday cake that I ever made for him.

I’ve made a few changes since then. Not in the recipe, but in the presentation. My mom always cooked for a crowd because our house was always full of people, especially hungry teenage boys (and one very hungry teenage girl), so her version was quite simple and made a lot. I’ve included her assembly in the directions below as well, so you can use whichever suites your fancy.

I wanted to give it layers to better replicate a real Peanut Buster Parfait, so I made the process a tad bit more lengthy but I love the results. Nothing wrong with the way mom made them, I just had to make it my own. :)

I think this would be a perfect dessert for Fathers Day coming up because a) I’ve never met anyone who didn’t love this cake. b) It’s so simple to throw together and can be made ahead. c) I’m pretty sure a barbecue has to be the most common meal on Fathers Day and what better dessert to have at a BBQ then a homemade ice cream cake

Tip from James

To make ice cream a spreadable consistency quickly: scoop it into a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment until smooth. This will, effectively, turn it into soft-serve ice cream.

One of the things I love most about this cake is the fact that the chocolate sauce starts melting before the ice cream does. Even when this sauce is stored in the fridge it’s still pourable, where as other sauces, like ganache, firm up once they’re cold. I think it would be great simply poured over ice cream and sprinkled with peanuts. But an ice cream cake presentation is definitely a lot more fun.

If you’re a dark chocolate fanatic feel free to substitute that for the semi-sweet in this recipe. I think I may try that next time just for kicks.

What’s your favourite ice cream treat?

Peanut Buster Parfait Ice Cream Cake

  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 quart (4 cups) vanilla ice cream, softened to a spreadable consistency
  • 1/2 cup salted peanuts
  • chocolate sauce (recipe below)
  1. Line a 8 inch round baking pan with foil.
  2. Mix together cookie crumbs and butter until evenly combined. Press into bottom of prepared pan.
  3. Top with half of the ice cream, peanuts and chocolate sauce. Repeat layers. Freezing in between if necessary.
  4. Once fully assembled freeze until solid (about 2 hours).
  5. To serve: loosen foil from sides of pan (warming up with hands if necessary) and lift out. Peel away foil; slice and serve.

Serves: 8

*If you need to freeze the cake in the middle of assembly place the remaining ice cream in the fridge to slow down the thawing process.

Chocolate Sauce
  • 1/3 cup icing sugar
  • 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup evaporated milk (1/2 can)
  1. Place all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer for 7 minutes, until slightly thickened (it will thicken more as it cools).
  2. Cool completely, whisking occasionally to prevent a skin from forming.

*You can make the sauce a day ahead and store in the fridge until assembly. Just make sure to put plastic wrap directly on the surface so that a skin doesn’t form.

If making for a crowd: Double all ingredients. Press the cookie crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Cover with all of ice cream. Top with peanuts and chocolate sauce. Freeze.

Five Minute Chunky Monkey Ice Cream

By in Cool, Fruit, GF Sweets, Gluten Free, Kids, Smithfield, Sweets 13 Comments Tags: , , , ,

I“ve been dreaming about this ice cream for a long time. I”ve seen the idea of pureeing frozen bananas and turning them into ice cream quite a bit around the web and I had to give it a try to see if it was actually true. Could pureed frozen bananas really have the same texture and feel of ice cream?

In one word. Yes!

“It is amazing what happens to a banana once it is frozen and pureed. It becomes, remarkably, a lot like ice cream. Your kids will feel like they”re getting an extra special treat in the middle of the day, but really they”ll be eating fruit. Even when I”m eating this I have to remind myself that it”s not ice cream. The texture of the banana as it “melts” in your mouth is not unlike the silky texture of custard.”

Read more and get the recipe on Smithfield.com

Sweetheart Ice Cream Cakes with Strawberry Sauce

By in Cakes, Chocolate, Cool, GF Sweets, Gluten Free, Mothers Day, Sweets, Valentine's 19 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

GF Icecream Heart

I have the best mom in the world. Don’t fight with me on this. Your mom can be just as awesome as my mom, but she can’t possibly be better. My goal has never been to be a better mom then my mom, but to be just as good. To be as loving, caring and selfless.

My mom has the tendency to bring out the best in people. She’s had some tough years but has allowed them to turn her into a better person. Her laughter is contagious and her  ever happy attitude is equally so. My mom always told me that happiness is a choice. I think that is one of the best gifts she could have given me. When I’m having a crap day I always remember those words and I know that I have the choice to make the day worse by moping around or better by choosing to be happy. I’m not saying I always make the right choice but I know that it’s possible because my mom always did.

The screaming matches were always one sided (stupid puberty). She never used tears to get her way. She was always available for me and never too busy. She is the mother I aspire to be. And, I pray that my children will one day look up to me the same way I look up to her.

Every Mothers Day that I was around I always tried to pamper my mom like crazy. I would give her a manicure, pedicure, foot massage, face mask and I even sometimes did her hair before church (with not always the best results. Sorry Mom!). So, when I started thinking about Mothers Day I really wanted to make something special for my mom. I can’t be there to pamper her this year so I wanted to make a dessert just for her.

These ice cream cakes are a bit like my mom. Classy, sweet and a little nutty. Mom, is a hard one to read when it comes to food because she’s always cooking what everyone else wants. So I tried to take the things I knew she liked and put them together in one sweet little package. Ice Cream. Pistachios. Strawberries. (Gluten-Free) Chocolate Cake.

I could never do you justice Mom. I love you so much. These Sweetheart Ice Cream Cakes are just for you! {xoxo}

This recipe is a lot more simple to make then it appears and requires no special flours or tools (even though it’s gluten free). It can be completely made ahead for those who will be making their own desserts on Mothers Day. :) I have included photos below on how to assemble these cakes (including the string of hearts) so that you can see just how simple it really is.

Sweetheart Ice Cream Cakes with Strawberry Sauce

{all recipes to follow}

  • gluten free chocolate cake
  • pistachio ice cream
  • strawberry sauce
  • decorating sour cream
  1. With a 3 inch heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out 6 hearts from the cake and remove carefully with a spatula.
  2. Remove the pistachio ice cream from the pan and unwrap. Clean the cookie cutter and dip it into a bowl of warm water, dry it off and cut out 6 ice cream hearts, rewarming in the water if needed.
  3. Place a heart shaped piece of cake on top of an ice cream heart and wrap with plastic wrap. Continue with remaining cakes. Freeze for at least 2 hours.
  4. To serve: Put the strawberry sauce and sour cream into two separate squeeze bottles (this type is best, although the kind I used is pictured below). Pipe a large pool of  strawberry sauce and dot with a line of sour cream. Drag a toothpick or skewer through the dots to connect and form hearts. Place frozen cake beside and serve.

Makes: 6 servings, plus scraps

* You will want to move rather quickly through assembly as the ice cream will start to melt once it comes out of the freezer. Once wrapped in plastic wrap, I like to place them back into the 8×8 pan and cover with foil for freezer storage.

* I place all the scraps from the cake and ice cream into the freezer and make a parfait of sorts when the mood strikes.

* It is best to allow the cakes to sit for 5 or 10 minutes before eating, this will allow the cake to thaw a bit and soften up. I would place it on the plate immediately as the ice cream will start to soften as well.

* You can use whatever shape or size of cookie cutter you would like, to fit any occasion.

* Serve with a chocolate and pistachio dipped strawberry for an extra special garnish.

* If you don’t like pistachios, almonds would make a great substitute. If you don’t like nuts period,  feel free to leave them out.

(click to enlarge)

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Pistachio Ice Cream
  • 2.5 cups vanilla ice cream, softened
  • 1/2 cup chopped pistachios
  1. Line a 8×8 pan with plastic wrap. Spread softened ice cream into pan and sprinkle with pistachios. Cover the top with plastic wrap and freeze until firm.
Strawberry Sauce
  • 1.5 cups strawberries
  • 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
  • 3 Tbsp. sugar
  1. Puree the strawberries and strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove seeds. Pour into a measuring cup and add water, if needed, to make 1 cup.
  2. Put cornstarch into a saucepan and mix in enough puree to liquify. Add remaining puree and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Add sugar and simmer for a couple of minutes until thickened.
  3. Allow to cool and refrigerate until needed.
Decorating Sour Cream
  • sour cream
  • milk or cream
  1. Add milk to sour cream until it is the same consistency as the sauce. It is better to have it a little too thin then too thick because you want it to sit on top of the strawberry sauce not sink to the bottom. Refrigerate until needed.
Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

adapted from Martha Stewart

  • 3/4 cup chocolate chips
  • 3 Tbsp. butter
  • 3 large eggs, separated, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  1. Prepare an 8×8 pan: Grease the bottom of the pan. Cut out a square of parchment or wax paper and fit it inside. Grease the top of the parchment.
  2. Melt together chocolate chips and butter. Allow to cool a bit and mix with egg yolks. Set aside.
  3. Beat eggs whites until soft peaks form. With beaters running, slowly add sugar and continue to beat until glossy and stiff peaks are formed when beaters are lifted.
  4. Stir 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen. Fold in remaining whites. It will be very runny and is ok if there are a few small lumps.
  5. Bake at 325ºF for 25 min or until centre is set and edges start to pull away from sides. Set aside to cool completely before assembly. The cake will fall and the top will crack but that just adds to the charm.

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Mango Strawberry Sherbet

By in Cool, Featured, Fruit, GF Sweets, Gluten Free, Sweets 21 Comments Tags: , , , , ,

Mango Strawberry Sherbet

We are coming off of two weeks of non-stop rain and my son and I have been practically living outside, now that the sun is shining. We’ve been having picnics, going to the park, walking to the creek, playing in the sandbox. You name it. We’ve done it. I’m surprised at how hardcore Max is about being outside. His little 21 month old legs do not tire out easily. The forecast is for rain again next week so I figure we better enjoy it while we can.

Every afternoon when Max is down for his nap I’ve been taking some time to sit out in the sun and soak up some rays. It reminds me of all those summer days back home when my mom and I would sit out on the deck and talk for hours. The only thing missing is Mom (and the talking, I try not to talk to myself out loud too much in public places). Thankfully I have this Mango Strawberry Sherbet to comfort me.

I know there is a lot of confusion between Sorbet and Sherbet, so let me break it down for you. The only difference between the two is that Sherbet contains dairy and Sorbet doesn’t. It’s as simple as that. The addition of cream in this sherbet smooths out the texture as soon as it hits your mouth.

One of the best things about this recipe is that you do not need an ice cream maker to make it. All you need is a large ziploc bag and a blender. The other best thing about this sherbet? It tastes like mango, strawberry heaven.

This is an ice creamy treat that you don’t have to feel guilty about feeding your kids because it’s packed full of real fruit and you control the amount of sugar intake. The addition of cardamom adds a hint of background flavour that rounds it out nicely and leaves you wanting more, but you could just as easily leave it out or substitute it with another spice such as cinnamon.

What summer/spring events transport you back to your childhood?

Mango Strawberry Sherbet

  • 1 mango, flesh removed and chopped (2 cups)
  • 1 cup strawberries, hulled and chopped
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup ice
  • 1 cup cream
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp. cardamom
    1. Puree mango, strawberries and sugar in a food processor or blender until smooth. Strain through a sieve to remove seeds.
    2. Rinse out blender (to get rid of seeds) and place remaining ingredients along with pureed fruit inside. Puree until smooth.
    3. Place a large resealable plastic bag into a large pitcher allowing the side of the bag to drape over. Poor in Sherbet. Remove from pitcher and seal tightly.
    4. Freeze for 45 min. Remove from freezer and mash the bag around in your hands to break up the ice crystals. Place back in the freezer and repeat the process every 30 min. until the entire mixture is frozen (2-3 hours). Set a timer so you don’t forget!
    5. Freeze overnight. Leave out for 10-15 minutes before scooping and serving.

Makes approximately : 4 cups

* If your mango doesn’t have enough flesh to make 2 cups just add more strawberries to equal a total of 3 cups of fruit.

* You could really make this with any soft seasonal fruit but you may need to add more sugar depending on the sweetness of the fruit. I like to take a spoon and taste it once its all mixed together to make sure the sugar is right.

* The reason you mash up the sherbet as it freezes is to break up the ice crystals as they are forming so that you can get the smoothest possible consistency. Alternately, you could place this in a shallow dish and mash it with a whisk or spoon every 30 min. until frozen. If you do have an ice cream maker by all means use it!

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