S'mores Chocolate Ice cream

S'mores is my daughter's favourite snack. S'mores is basically graham biscuits with semi-melted chocolate and roasted marshmallow. And I simply just add marshmallow and some graham biscuit to my Eggless Chocolate chip ice cream that I made not long ago. 

Recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder 

1/2 cup of sugar 

1/4 cup of firmly packed brown sugar 

3/4 cup of full cream milk 

1.5 cups of cream with at least 35% fat content 

1.5 tsp of vanilla extract 

A small pinch of salt 

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup mini marshmallow (optional - roasted)

1/2 cup graham biscuit pieces/dust

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Whisk together the cocoa and both sugars until thoroughly combined. (Pic 1&2)

2. Add the milk to this, gently incorporate by hand, and then continue whisking either manually (2-3 mins) or with an electric mixer (30 seconds).

3. Time to add the cream(pic 3).Pour in the cream, vanilla and add a pinch of salt.

4. Mix again until full incorporated.

5. Pour this mixture into the bowl of your ice cream maker and churn for 20 mins, approximately.

6. . The mixture should turn into soft serve ice cream. Pour in chocolate chips and churn for 2 minutes. Finally, stir in the marshmallow and graham biscuit pieces/dust. You can serve it at this stage or freeze for a harder more ice-cream-like consistency.

Prosciutto and Gruyère Palmiers義式帕瑪火腿和瑞士乾酪蝴蝶酥

I first tried this Palmiers during last New Year Eve party. It was a potluck party and my friends brought their favorite dishes over. One of the dishes that my friend Elaine brought and made by herself was this Prosciutto Palmiers. She said she just used cheddar cheese and she thinks it is a  bit salty. Therefore, I tried to use Gruyere when I try to make it this time. And the taste is awesome.

Serves: Makes approximately 40 palmiers

Ingredients (Pic 1)

• 1 pound good quality puff pastry, halved
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
• 3-4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 ½ cups grated Gruyere cheese (about 6 ounces)
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one half of the pastry to form a rectangle approximately 12” x 16”. With the long side facing you, brush the top and bottom edges with some of the beaten egg (Pic 2), about ½” from the top. Spread half of the mustard in a very thin layer all over the pastry(Pic 3), avoiding the edges brushed with egg. Top the mustard with half of the prosciutto (Pic 4) and then sprinkle with half the cheese and some black pepper (Pic 5).
2. Starting with the side near you, roll the dough, jelly-roll fashion, just to the middle(Pic 6). Do the same from the top so the two rolls meet in the center. Brush the dough rolls, where they meet, with some beaten egg so they adhere gently. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm (Pic 7), at least one hour. Repeat with remaining dough and filling ingredients. Note that the formed dough rolls can be tightly wrapped and frozen up to one month.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silpats.
4. While still relatively firm, cut the dough logs crosswise into palmiers, about ½-inch thick. Place them, cut side down, on the prepared baking sheets(Pic 8). Bake in the center of the oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer palmiers to a rack to cool just slightly then serve warm(Pic 9).

Recipe source: San Francisco Cooking School Blog

London Fog (Earl Grey) with Dark Chocolate flakes Ice cream Sandwiches 黑朱古力碎伯爵奶茶雪糕三文治

Ernest Ice cream is a big hit in Vancouver. And the name "London Fog Ice Cream" is what I learned from their menu. London Fog means Earl Grey. And I love Earl Grey tea very much. I never try Ernest Ice Cream shop version, but I am definitely sure it will taste well.

Ingredients
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
4 earl grey tea bags (Pic 1)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tbs vanilla extract
5 egg yolks 

1 cup of dark chocolate flakes

16-20 Digestive Biscuits or Marie Biscuits

Directions
1| Prepare the night before: Stick freezer bowl in the back of the freezer the night before you plan to make ice cream.
2| Heat milk and heavy cream until it begins to simmer – do not let it boil. Remove from heat and add in tea bags (Pic 2). Let it steep for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3| In the meantime, whisk yolks and sugar until pale in color and thick. When tea milk mixture is done steeping, gently stream into yolk/sugar mixture, whisking constantly after each addition. This is called tempering – the point is to prevent cooking of egg yolks. Have patience, and do this slowly.
4| Pour mixture back into a saucepan and heat until custard is thick. I like to use the spoon test – dip a wooden spoon into the mixture, and remove it. Run a finger in a line down the back of the wooden spoon. If the line remains visible, then the custard is thick enough.
5| Take out tea bags. Pour custard through a sieve into a bowl(Pic 3). Cover with plastic wrap and immediately chill in fridge for at least 2 hours.Sprinkle in ground up early grey tea. 

6| Pour into ice cream maker and churn according to instructions
7|  Stir in dark chocolate flakes. And then pour churned ice cream into an airtight container and freezer for another few hours. (Pic 4)

8| Unmold the ice cream block(Pic 5). Then cut half way.(Pic 6)
9| Use a round cookie cutter and cut out the ice cream same size as the digestive biscuits (Pic 7). Place ice cream in between two biscuits. Serve chilled.

Recipe adapted from: Le Jus D'orange Blog

Pineapple Coconut Ice cream 菠蘿椰子雪糕

On my second week of work, beside Durian Panna Cotta, I also made this Pineapple Coconut Ice cream. Since not all my friends and colleagues are in love with Durian, therefore I made this to make sure everyone is happy! ^_^

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup Coconut milk

1/2 cup whole milk

2 cups whipping cream

1 cup canned crushed pineapple (save the "100% juice" it's packed in), chilled

1/3 cup pineapple juice (drained from canned pineapple), chilled
1/2 cup toasted flaked coconut for decoration (Optional)

Direction:

1 Freeze the empty ice cream churner-canister (churner blades and the canister with its top), if possible, overnight. It is highly preferable that the mixing "can" be very cold. The can should be kept in the freezer until needed (not the motor or hand crank, of course)

2 About two (2) hours prior to time you it to finished and/or to serve the ice cream, mix the ingredients in your mixing bowl and heat under low heat until sugar dissolved: sugar, milk, coconut milk, and whipping cream

3 Add pineapple juice to ice cream mix. Then place your ice cream mix, covered, in your refrigerator. Chill for about half an hour or so. Chilled ingredients plus chilling the mix helps you to speed up the ice cream freezing really consistently/evenly.

4 Get the frozen canister apparatus from the freezer to set up the ice cream churner.

• Pour in the chilled ice cream mix.
• Assemble churn and start
• Then add crushed pineapple (save some for decoration if you like)

5 Churn your ice cream for about 20 to 25 minutes. The ice cream may be quite soft, if you like that. Keep churning for a firmer texture, for 35 to 45 minutes.

6 Serve your (soon to be prized) cold, cooling treat "immediately"!

Or, instantly put it in a container and in your refrigerator-freezer, or as quickly as possible.

Recipe adapted from: Wikihow Website

Durian Panna Cotta 果王【榴槤】奶凍

I am so happy that I start to work again after my 13 years of maternity/paternity leave. I was excited about staring a new journey of my life. This is a good news for me but not my party friends. I organized lesser party than before and they will start to realize that dessert may not in menu sometimes. So I try to make sure I will keep making my desserts for my friends as well as my colleagues. I made Cheese puffs for them on my first week of work. Here, I make them Durian Panna Cotta on 2nd week.

Ingredients:

250ml Fresh milk
430g Whipping cream
60g Sugar
15g Gelatine powder
60ml Water
200g Durian puree (blend durian to smooth)

Preparation: 

1. Add gelatine to water to soak for 5 minutes. 
2. Combine fresh milk, whipping cream and sugar in a pot, put under medium heat and stir until sugar dissolved. Bring the liquid mixture to light boil. Then add in soaked gelatine into it and stir until gelatine dissolved. 
3. Lastly add durian puree and mix well, do not boil but keep stirring it for 5-8 minutes at low heat. 
4. Strain and pour mixture in cups or moulds. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and serve. 

Recipe adapted from Foodista