Food Mamma

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ice cream

nutella ferrero no churn ice cream

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It’s been a great few days, weatherwise. If you don’t look at the yellowing leaves, you may almost forget that Fall is on it’s way. We are taking full advantage of the heat and sunshine, and using it as a great excuse to eat some ice cream.

I think this is my new favourite. I’m totally loving the no churn aspect. No worrying about chilled bowls and being able to just make ice cream anytime. This dessert combines my favourite things – Nutella and Ferrero Rocher. The result is creamy, decadent, and so satisfying!

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no churn mint chocolate ice cream

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The best part of summer is all the ice cream. Sure we eat ice cream all year round but it just seems more justified in the heat. When I saw that our chocolate mint that we planted in the garden had grown as much as it did, I knew that it was time to make some ice cream.

It seems that this is the season of no churn ice cream and I had to try it for myself. Basically you whip up 2 cups of heavy cream and fold it into 1 can of condensed milk and freeze. Easy peasy!

To make the ice cream minty, I simmered the cream with a big stem of chocolate mint until the flavour was infused. I let the cream cool in the fridge and then whipped it up in my mixer. Condensed milk is a favourite of mine and I can literally eat it like pudding. Needless to say, the whole can didn’t make it into the ice cream mixture. Once everything was combined, I chopped up ten mint chocolates and added it to the mix. The creamy mix was then poured into a pan and frozen for a few hours.

The resulting dessert was creamy and delicious and was a hit with everyone at our house. It’s a bit dangerous to know this easy method. I’m already planning my next batch!

No Churn Mint Chocolate Ice Cream

2 cups whipping cream
1 can condensed milk
1 stem of mint or chocolate mint
10 chocolate mints, chopped

Simmer the whipping cream with the mint until the flavour is infused into the cream, approximately 15 minutes. Let cool. Whip the cream. In a large bowl, add the condensed milk and gently fold the cream into the milk. Add the chopped chocolate and pour the mixture into a loaf pan or an 8″ x 8″ pan. Let freeze for a few hours or overnight.

2-ingredient chocolate magic shell

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One of my favourite things from when I was little is enjoying the chocolate magic shell on top of ice cream. You know the one: chocolate syrup that once it hits the cold ice cream becomes a hard shell.  I was happy when I rediscovered this a few months ago, adding nuts or sprinkles before the chocolate hardened.

A while back, I saw them make a homemade version of this on tv and was surprised at how easy it was. We had this tonight and it was so good! Be sure you use a chocolate that you like and you will love it!

Chocolate Magic Shell

1/2 cup chocolate, milk or dark
1 TB coconut oil

In a bowl, add your favourite chocolate and the coconut oil. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until the chocolate is melted. Let it cool a bit before pouring it on your favourite ice cream.

#MenchiesMyWay – win a summer vip pass!

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There’s nothing better than a cool treat on a hot day. That’s why Menchie’s is always a favourite this summer.

Menchie’s is the largest growing frozen yogurt franchise in Canada. Menchie’s just launched the new Oreo cookie flavour, one of over 150 flavours available at the froyo joint. The best part of Menchie’s is it lets your creativity shine.

You start at the yogurt bar where you can mix up your favourite frozen yogurt and sorbet. Next you head on over to the snack bar where you can add toppings like nuts and candies. Next stop is the toppings bar where you can add fruit, cookie dough or bobas. Last stop are the sauces  – from Nutella to peanut butter sauce, there’s a topping for everyone.

Menchie’s is giving away a Summer VIP Pass giving you 7 complimentary visits to any Menchie’s location across Canada. Winning is easy!

1. Get creative and take a picture of your Menchie’s creation
2. Follow @Mechies_CA and @fareenjj on Twitter or Instagram
3. Name your creation and share it on Twitter or Instagram – be sure to hashtag #MenchiesMyWay as well as tag both @Menchies_CA and @fareen.

I’ll pick a winner on August 18th.

I went to Menchie’s on 17th Avenue in Calgary a couple weeks ago and came up with this creation – The Nutty Chocolate Bomb made with Oreo and Nutella froyo, topped with Nutella, almonds, peanuts and Nanaimo bars!

What’s your creation?

strawberry kulfi

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One of the best things about summer is all the great fruit. From cherries and lychees to watermelon and strawberries, there is something for everyone.

The other best thing – ice cream! You don’t really need much of an excuse in the summer, right?

I decided to add some strawberries to one of our favourite ice creams, kulfi. The marriage of the berries with the kulfi mixture was a delicious one.

Kulfi is one of the easiest things to make. You don’t even need an ice cream machine. Just mix everything together and pour into the molds. Easy peasy!

Strawberry Kulfi

1 cup whipping cream
1 can evaporated milk
1 can condensed milk

1/3 cup strawberries, pureed
3 splashes of kewra
essence

Mix everything together and pour into popsicle molds. Once frozen, enjoy!

** Kewra is an Indian essence used in desserts. It can be found in most East Indian grocery stores.

Kulfi

1 cup whipping cream
1 can evaporated milk
1 can condensed milk
3 splashes of kewra essence
roasted almonds

Mix the milks and essence together and pour into a shallow dish and top
with almonds.  The mixture can alternately be put into popsicle molds. 
If using an ice cream machine, add the almonds in the last five minutes.
– See more at:
http://www.foodmamma.com/2011/07/kulfi-two-ways.html#sthash.ujjuXylV.dpuf

chocolate mint ice cream….and a vanilla giveaway!

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Did you know that July is Ice Cream Month in the United States? Not that I need an excuse to make or eat ice cream, but this is a good one!  I managed to convince hubby to make a little garden for me this year as well as an herb planter box. As much as I love having fresh veggies and herbs, I am no green thumb, so having hubby do this was quite the treat.  This year, we found a chocolate mint plant that we placed in our planter. The plant had a strong mint scent and flavour with a subtle hint of chocolate. It just seemed logical that this belonged in ice cream.  I let the leaves steep in the cream for a good while to get the perfect minty flavour.

Nielsen-Massey had sent me a bottle of their pure vanilla extract to try and this ice cream was the perfect vehicle for it. The vanilla, which was from Madagascar, was lovely! When smelling the vanilla and tasting it, there was no question that this was unlike any other.  The flavour was intense and provided the perfect addition to the ice cream.  Nielsen-Massey uses a cold extraction process which “gently extracts vanilla’s essential oils, preserving the
more than 300 distinctive flavor compounds present in the beans. By
protecting our vanilla from heat, we ensure that even its subtlest
flavors survive extraction.”

The folks at Nielsen-Massey are generously giving one of Food Mamma’s readers a chance to win a bottle of vanilla. Leave a comment below telling me what you like to use vanilla in. Facebook likes and Twitter follows will give you extra entries. Contest closes on July 25th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chocolate Mint Ice Cream

4 cups heavy cream
1 large bunch of chocolate mint leaves
1 can condensed milk
1 TB vanilla

Place the heavy cream and the mint leaves in a pot and let it come to a boil. Turn down the heat and let the leaves steep in the cream for 30 – 45 minutes, until you get the flavour as strong as you would like. Place the mixture in the fridge until cooled. Once cooled, strain the leaves out and stir in the condensed milk and vanilla. Let the mixture cool again before placing in an ice cream machine.  Follow the directions of your machine. For a firmer ice cream, place in the freezer until set. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings if you prefer and serve.

salted caramel ice cream & liquid nitrogen

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When we went to Teatro earlier this year for their tasting menu, we had one of the best desserts I have ever tasted – caramel ice cream made with liquid nitrogen. The ice cream was so creamy because it didn’t have time to form ice crystals the way it does with a traditional method.  It was amazing!

R and P were with us that night and they asked if we could attempt the ice cream for one of their wedding events last week. Getting to make and eat ice cream and getting to play with liquid nitrogen, how could we say no!

I searched for a recipe and found a great one from Charmian from The Messy Baker.  I made a couple changes, omitting the milk and using only cream.

Making the ice cream on the spot with the liquid nitrogen provided some entertainment while people waited for dessert.  Everyone seemed intrigued with the cloud of smoke coming from the standmixer as the cream and sugar liquid turned into a frozen delight.  The resulting ice cream was delicious and creamy. Definitely a fun and entertaining way to make ice cream.


Congratulations R and P!! Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness!

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
3 1/2 cup whipping cream, divided
1/2 tsp fleur de sel, or any sea salt

In a large pot, heat 1 cup of sugar over medium heat. Stir gently until the sugar starts to melt. When it does, stop stirring but continue to cook the sugar, swirling the skillet occasionally to ensure the sugar melts evenly. The caramel is done when it turns dark amber.

Immediately remove the pan from heat and carefully stir in 1 1/4 cups cream. Continue cooking until all the caramel has dissolved. Pour the caramel into a bowl. Add sea salt and vanilla. Allow the caramel to cool to room temperature. This caramel is delicious, try to save some for the ice cream.

Meanwhile, bring the remaining cream, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar just to a boil. Allow to simmer 15 minutes then set aside to cool.

When both the cream mixture and caramel have cooled to room temperature, remove the skin from the cream mixture and stir it into the caramel. Refrigerate until ready for ice cream.

With your mixer running, add the liquid nitrogen in batches until you get it to ice cream consistency. Be extremely careful when using the liquid nitrogen.

creamy coconut popsicles

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Hubby has been wanting to go on a road trip for a long time. Having been on many family road trips when I was younger, I felt I had done more than my share.  These were fun trips, with family, squeezing into cars that didn’t fit all of us and driving across the country and down to the States. We created a lot of memories on those trips.

On our recent trip, I decided that he could have his road trip and we drove from Vegas to San Diego. It was a long five hours and I’m really hoping he got the road trip bug out of his system! On our way, we stopped in a little town for gas and had some coconut popsicles. These were so good and so refreshing.  The real coconut embedded throughout the popsicle was delicious.

I wanted to recreate these at home and found a recipe for these Mexican Coconut Popsicles. These actually didn’t turn out like the ones we had on our trip, they were a more creamier version. With all that cream and coconut flavour, these have been a hit!

Creamy Coconut Popsicles
From Daily Candy and My Popalicious

1 can coconut milk
1 can organic sweetened condensed milk
2/3 c. half-and-half
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut

Put the coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, half-and-half, salt, and vanilla in a blender; blend until smooth.

Stir in the shredded coconut.

Freeze.

kulfi two ways

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In our house, we love kulfi.  Kulfi is a popular indian ice-cream. It is 3 types of milk mixed together and frozen in a mold.  It’s easy, and can be made by anyone since an ice cream machine is not needed.

Using my mom’s recipe, I made some kulfi and froze it in a glass dish, topped with some roasted almonds.  I got to thinking though (since I’ve kidnapped my dad’s ice cream machine) – would it taste better if placed in an ice cream machine?  Would the addition of air actually change the taste?  Using the same recipe, I placed it in the machine to compare.

The answer – YES!  The ice cream that came from the machine was more decadent than the kulfi that was just frozen.  Hubby was convinced that I used a different recipe since it tasted so different.  Don’t get me wrong, we love the kulfi that I have been eating for most of my life.  The machine version though, turned it into something very different, in a good way.  I just love ice cream experiments!

Kulfi

1 cup whipping cream
1 can evaporated milk
1 can condensed milk
3 splashes of kewra essence
roasted almonds

Mix the milks and essence together and pour into a shallow dish and top with almonds.  The mixture can alternately be put into popsicle molds.  If using an ice cream machine, add the almonds in the last five minutes.

father’s day and passion fruit ice cream

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This year, we celebrated Father’s Day with a Mexican Fiesta!  Fried fish, tortilla chips with fresh salsa and guacamole started out our meal alongside some margaritas.  Our main was fajitas with shredded, barbecued chicken with grilled peppers and onions.  It was a simple menu but packed a lot of flavour and our families were full and satisfied.

For dessert, we cooled our palates with homemade ice cream.  I’m a bit addicted to my dad’s ice cream machine.  It was supposed to be a weekend loan but I’m having too much fun, I haven’t given it back.  This time, I experimented with passion fruit!  Using only one passion fruit gave the ice cream a subtle flavour.  It was a hit and this recipe is definitely a keeper.  Hope all the fathers had a great day being spoiled by loved ones!

Passion Fruit Ice Cream

1 cup whipping cream
1 can evaporated milk
1 can condensed milk
1 – 2 passion fruit (pulp and seeds)

Mix the above ingredients together and follow the instructions of your ice cream machine.