Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream Slice

One word for this dish, DELICIOUS! Flicking through my collection of cookbooks (I only have 3 though), I found a recipe that instantly caught my attention and I wanted to create it straight away. The name is the Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream Slice. Slices of vanilla ice cream with strawberry cream swirled together to create a wonderful combination. Strawberries and cream really go well together. Originally, the recipe had raspberries in it and it required bought vanilla ice cream. But I changed it a little by swapping the main hero of the ice cream, the raspberries for the strawberries as well as making my Easy Peasy Ice Cream recipe that I use most of the time. You can tell by now how much I love this recipe. It is super easy and makes creamy ice cream without the hard effort.

Now, back to the ice cream. Photographing this was quite tricky as the ice cream started to melt (it was a little hot that day) really quickly. I had to put it back in the freezer again to take photos when some of it melted in a puddle. But the melted ice cream actually tasted like a good milkshake though. So make sure you store it in the freezer like any other ice cream and serve it right away. This specific recipe would need to be frozen overnight before serving (its worth the wait) and it is yummy on its own or with fresh strawberries and pouring cream. You can also have as many slices as you want but I suggest 2 slices would be good.

Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream Slice

Ingredients

250g (9oz) strawberries*

1 litre (35 fl oz/4 cups) good-quality vanilla ice cream*

250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) thickened cream

Extra strawberries and cream to serve (optional)

Method

1. Line the base and sides of a 1.75 litre loaf tin with plastic wrap or foil.

2. Puree the strawberries in a food processor or blender until smooth. Meanwhile, transfer the ice cream from the freezer to the fridge to allow to soften.

Ruby red strawberries

3. Whisk the cream until soft peaks form and fold the strawberry puree into the cream until combined and pink in colour.

Strawberry cream

4. Pour the mixture into a metal freezer tray and cover it with plastic wrap* before putting it into the freezer to cool. Stir occasionally until thick and remove from the freezer after half frozen and beat well.

5. Spoon blobs of softened vanilla ice cream over the base of the prepared loaf tin. Spoon the strawberry mixture between the ice cream blobs. Then use a sharp knife or skewer to swirl the two mixtures together while being careful to not dig into the plastic or foil. Cover the tin tightly with plastic wrap.

6. Freeze for 2 hours or until half frozen and smooth the top of the ice cream. Freeze overnight until set. Serve straight away as scoops or slices with extra strawberries and cream.

*Notes: You can use more strawberries if you want to give it a stronger flavour and colour or use any other berry like raspberries. You could also make your own homemade ice cream using your favourite recipe for the vanilla ice cream. The plastic wrap prevents the ice cream from having ice crystals in it which can ruin the texture of the ice cream. I'm sure everyone likes creamy but not icy ice cream.



Double-Decker Ice Cream Cake

I have been waiting a while to find the perfect occasion to make an ice cream cake. Since I've seen them on other blogs, I dreamed of having layers of my favourite ice cream flavours in the form of a massive cake. And then the time came when my friends came over. This was the result: beautiful layers of vanilla and chocolate ice cream with a chocolate biscuit base and brownie. Did I also mention a milk chocolate ganache and white chocolate shavings!? That seems to be a mouthful of words and A LOT of calories but it tasted heavenly. It was really heavy to carry in and out of the freezer though (a good workout for the arms!). Me and my friends actually couldn't finish one big piece because it was quite filling but I did see their eyes sparkle and their mouths open when they saw it. Even my mother called it a masterpiece (she doesn't usually like chocolate). And can I tell you, it was so HARD to cut so next time I would have to dip the knife into hot water to cut it more easily.

What did you say? How did I make it? Well, it was probably the most time consuming and challenging cake I have ever done because it is ice cream, so it needs to be kept in the freezer to prevent it from melting into a gooey puddle as well as ruining the other layers. There are also many elements to this cake so I had to start making it the day before my friends were due to visit and it took me almost all day. I'm warning you, for those who want to lose weight shouldn't try this, because it made us (including me) feeling bloated and really full afterwards. But it really is the best cake I've ever made so far and it did leave the guests happy. If you still want to go ahead and create this, I suggest serving small pieces and eating them a little at a time, although it does look tempting doesn't it?
For the cake, I used Rosie of Sweetapolita's recipe as a guide and adapted it to become a little bit more complicated. But of course you could follow her recipe if you would like to recreate her cake. I changed the instructions a bit below though if you would prefer making this. I made homemade ice cream, which I used the 2 batches of the same recipe as my Easy Peasy Ice Cream but you could buy it if you don't have enough time. I kept the first layer plain vanilla and the other layer with some nutella in it to make it chocolatey. I didn't add chocolate to the sides and to the biscuit base though like Rosie did because I thought it had enough chocolate in it. I also made the brownie but cut it into half as it was pretty thick and as a result, my poor springform cake pan nearly overflowed with all of the layers.

Double-Decker Ice Cream Cake
Adapted from Sweetapolita's Double Chocolate & Banana Ice Cream Cake:

Ingredients:
Biscuit base
1/2 cup (1 stick, 115 g, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 packages chocolate biscuits (9 ounce/255 g packages totaling 14.5 ounces/382 g) OR 14.5 ounces/382 g of Oreo cookie crumbs

Ice cream filling
3 1/2 cups of vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
3 1/2 cups of chocolate ice cream, slightly softened

Chocolate ganache
1/2 cup (4 liquid ounces) whipping cream (heavy cream, 35%)
6 ounces (170 g) premium bittersweet (extra dark) or semisweet (dark) chocolate
White chocolate shavings (optional)

Brownies       
6 1/2 ounces (185 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used 3/4 cup cocoa powder instead but if you're using the chocolate, omit the cocoa)
1 1/2 sticks (173 g) unsalted butter
1 2/3 (332 g) cups sugar
1 cup (140 g) all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Method:
Biscuit base
1. Grind the chocolate biscuits in a food processor until they become fine crumbs (unless you are using store-bought cookie crumbs).

2. Gently stir cookie crumbs into the melted butter until just combined. Set 1 cup (8 liquid ounces) of the mixture aside, and press remaining crumbs onto the bottom of an 8-inch round springform pan. Place in freezer until firm.

Brownie
1. Preheat oven to 163°C. Line an 8″ round pan with baking paper (leave some overhang for easy removal).

2. Melt the butter (and chocolate if you want) in a heatproof bowl over a small pot of simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted and smooth.

3. Remove bowl from the heat, and add the sugar, stirring until well incorporated. Add the flour (and cocoa if you're not using chocolate) and stir until well combined. Lastly, stir in the eggs, vanilla, and salt, and mix until thick and smooth.

4. Spread the batter among your pan evenly with a small offset palette knife and bake until the surface of the brownie is cracking and flaky for about 30 minutes. The centre of the brownie may not be cooked, but it will harden when it cools.

5. Cool it completely in pan on wire rack. Chill in pan, then remove using baking overhang.

Glaze
1. Warm cream in small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to bubble.

2. Add chocolate and whisk gently until smooth. Let it cool for about 45 minutes.

Assembly:
1. Spoon the chocolate ice cream onto the frozen crust and spread evenly with an offset palette knife (you will want to place the bowl of remaining ice cream into the freezer while you work on the first half).

2. Sprinkle and gently press the reserved crumb mixture on top, followed by one of the halved brownie layer. Freeze for about an hour.

3. Place remaining ice cream on top, and then the other brownie layer and freeze for about 4 hours.
4. Warm bowl of glaze over simmering water until it is pourable but not too warm.

5. Spread over top of the whole cake with the small offset palette knife.

6. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings or your own decorations while the ganache is still wet. Freeze overnight.

7. Loosen sides of cake with a small knife between pan and cake, then release from springform pan, and place on plate or cake stand.

*Note that if you don't want to include the brownie, simply omit it but it adds a chewy texture to the cake and it heightens the other flavours. You can use a different biscuit base or add your own ice cream flavours instead of vanilla and chocolate to the cake. The options are endless so be creative!

Easy Peasy Ice Cream

This is the EASIEST ice cream recipe I've ever tried. Being a lover of ice cream, I was checking out recipes that I could use for my new ice cream maker when I came across Chocolatesuze's Super easy ice cream recipe. There are only 3 ingredients to the basic vanilla ice cream but you can add other ingredients to make your favourite ice cream flavour or anything else that tickles your fancy. The result is a super smooth and creamy texture that melts in your mouth. Its really amazing what cream can do. It is also completely egg yolk free (no more separating eggs or throwing egg whites!), with no cooking and can be made without an ice cream maker. It's that easy! So if you want to make your own ice cream but don't want to use the regular custard-based ice cream recipe or go to your favourite ice cream shop, this is the one to go!

Easy Peasy Ice Cream recipe:

Ingredients
600 ml thickened cream
300 ml can of condensed milk
1 tsp of vanilla extract
*Try adding flavourings like fruit puree, chocolate, green tea powder, nutella, maple syrup, cookies, lollies...the additions and options are absolutely endless!
*Use only half a can of condensed milk if you are adding anything that already has sugar in it like chocolate otherwise it will be too sweet. Because no one likes their ice cream super sweet.

Method
1. Whip the cream with an electric mixer (or a whisk but it's easier for a machine to do it for you!) until it reaches soft peaks and doubles in volume.
2. Add the condensed milk and vanilla extract.

3. Combine the ingredients together along with your desired flavourings.
4. Pour into a freezer friendly container or split it into different containers if you want to make other flavours.
5. Freeze for a few hours and beat the mixture again to airate the ice cream but if you are too lazy to do that, you can omit this step.
6. Freeze overnight and serve it as scoops or slices with your favourite toppings, enjoy!


Note that if you have an ice cream maker like me, churn the ice cream according to manufacturer's instructions and omit steps 4 to 5.