I’m going to keep this short and sweet because, chances are, if you are still looking for a dessert for your holiday table, you need it now and don’t have extra time to read a long post from me.  Am I right?

This is actually, technically, my second Bûche de Noël.  I made the first one, the exact same recipe, earlier this month for a party we hosted and I meant to take a photo of it then and post about it so you would have plenty of time to decide whether or not this was the dessert for you.  Alas, things don’t always happen as we plan.  And sometimes I write run-on sentences.  So I made it again for another party this past Saturday.  I meant to post about it on Sunday but then this bug hit our house and it seems to enjoy taking its time attacking us one by one.

So here we are.  This is an easy cake – a very easy way to get lots of ooohs and aaaahs.  You will need a jelly roll pan and ideally a torch although the latter is not totally necessary.  If you have patience, you will be making chocolate leaves and if you don’t you will not.  (I chose not but I will include the how-to below).  Buy the best peppermint ice cream you can because that is the flavor that comes through most clearly.  The cake is very mild and the frosting is just sweet.  The chocolate sauce is divine though, of course.  Next year I will make a more involved Bûche, one with a chocolate ganache and homemade meringue mushrooms, and pistachio “moss”.  This was a good start though.

One Year Ago:  Holiday Biscotti with Pistachios and Cranberries
Two Years Ago:  Peanut Butter (or Caramel) Mini Candy Brownie Cups
Three Years Ago:  Ultimate Ginger Cookies (Ina calls them ultimate, I say not as my new favorites)

Frozen Chocolate-Peppermint Bûche de Noël
Bon Appétit
12 to 14 servings

Sauce
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped
¾ cup heavy cream

Chocolate leaves
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped
10 fresh camellia leaves or lemon leaves, wiped clean with a damp cloth

Cake
Nonstick vegetable spray
1 cup sugar, divided
¾ cup cake flour
¼ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
4 large eggs, separated
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
2 pints peppermint ice cream
1/3 cup coarsely crushed red-and-white peppermint candies or candy canes

Meringue and decorations
5 large egg whites
¼ tsp. cream of tartar
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract
Fresh mint leaves
Small candy canes

Sauce
Place chocolate in medium microwave-safe bowl.  Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan.  Pour cream over chocolate.  Let stand 1 minutes, then whisk until melted and smooth.  (Can be made 1 week ahead.  Cool cover, and chill.  Rewarm, uncovered, in microwave in 15-second intervals and whisk before using.)

Chocolate leaves
Stir chocolate in small saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth.  Remove from heat.  Using pastry brush, brush chocolate on underside (veined side) of 1 leaf to coat completely (do not allow chocolate to drip over edge of leaf).  Place leaf, chocolate side up, on small foil-lined baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining leaves.  Chill, uncovered, until chocolate is cold and firm, at least 1 hour.  Working with 1 leaf at a time, carefully peel green leaf away from chocolate.  Return chocolate leaf to same sheet; discard green leaf.  (Can be made 3 days ahead.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill.)

Cake
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375ºF.  Line 15x10x1-inch baking sheet with parchment.  Coat paper with nonstick spray and dust with cocoa.

Sift ½ cup sugar, cake flour, ¼ cup coca, baking powder, and salt into small bowl.  Using electric mixer, beat egg yolks in large bowl until thick.  Beat in oil, 2 tablespoons water, and vanilla.  Gradually add dry ingredients, beating just until blended.  Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites and cream of tartar in medium bowl until soft peaks form.  Gradually add remaining ½ cup sugar, beating until stiff but not dry.  Fold ¼ of whites into yolk mixture to lighten.  Fold in remaining whites in 2 additions.  Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.

Bake cake until puffed and tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 12 minutes.  Cool cake in pan on rack 10 minutes.  Sift light layer of cocoa powder over large smooth kitchen towel (not terrycloth).  Cut around pan sides.  Turn cake out onto prepared towel, leaving 3-inch cloth border on 1 long side.  Peel off parchment.  Starting at 1 long side with cloth border and using cloth as aid, roll up cake in towel (towel will be rolled up inside).  Place cake, seam side down, on work surface; cool completely.

Microwave ice cream in 10-second intervals until barely softened.  Unroll cake on work surface but leave on cloth.  Dollop ice cream over cake by spoonfuls.  Gently spread ice cream in an even layer, leaving 1-inch plain border on long side opposite cloth border.  Sprinkle ice cream with crushed candy.  Using cloth as aide and starting at cloth order, roll up cake, enclosing ice cream in cake.  Place cake, seam side down, on long platter; cover with plastic wrap.  Freeze cake at least 8 hours or overnight.

Meringue
Using electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar in large bowl to soft peaks.  Gradually add sugar, beating until still but not dry.  Bean in vanilla.

Cut off 1/8 of cake at angle at 1 end.  Press cut off part onto center of 1 side of log, cut side in.  Spread meringue all over top, sides and ends of cake.  Using fork, make long grooves in meringue down length of cake and in circles on ends to resemble tree bark.  Freeze cake until meringue is cold and firm, at least 3 hours.  Using torch, brown meringue in random spots.  Return cake to freezer.  (Can be made 2 days ahead.  Keep frozen.)  (DT:  I found I was not able to cover the cake because it stuck to the meringue so I just kept it in the freezer uncovered.)

Garnish cake with chocolate leaves, fresh mint, and small candy canes.  Cut cake crosswise into 1-inch wide slices.  Drizzle with warm chocolate sauce.

It’s simple really.  Homemade ice cream sandwiches.  Chocolate dipped.  Sprinkles.

But first!  I have to tell you about a way that you can try one of my treats, if you live in the Seattle area.  Do you know about Savour?  It’s a fabulous specialty foods store in Ballard.  In addition to having a wide selection of carefully selected and very fine goods, they also have an incredible cheese counter (burrata!), and prepared foods.  They serve sandwiches and quiches all day and really the place could not be any lovelier.  My friend Julie (she of Julie’s Salad) works there and has started a new program called Savour September.  Each week, the store will feature a local food blogger and a treat of their choice.  I am the first!  So, if you would like to try my now-famous-and-much-requested Brown Sugar Pound Cake in mini form, head down to Savour.  And say hi to Julie!

We had some friends over for Labor Day.  We were 8 adults and 8 kids.  I needed to make a cake to thank our friend Brad for fixing my oven but I also wanted to make something special for the kids.  Few things are better than seeing a child’s entire face light up at mention of a special dessert.  Soon after photographing these treats, the kids descended on them.  Some asked that they be cut into slices because they couldn’t get their mouths around them.  Others (my Spencer included) just chowed right down on them.  I sat with the kids.  The girls all eyed me carefully.  “Did you make these?”,  they all asked, one and then another and then another.  Shock and awe.  What a great feeling.

These are huge sandwiches and one by one, the kids brought the remnants into the dining room so the adults could taste them (except Spencer, who was the 2nd youngest kid there and the only one to finish his sandwich).  I’m glad I got a taste because these are really good.  I mean, of course they are.  They are homemade ice sandwiches for crying out loud.  But I was surprised by how well they turned out and by how good the cookie part was.  This is a surefire way to win fans young, middle (ahem), and old.

One Year Ago:  Grilled Padrón Pepper Pizza
Two Years Ago:  Corn and Zucchini Timbale with Ancho Chile Sauce
Three Years Ago:  Chocolate Peanut Toffee

Chocolate-Dipped Ice Cream Sandwiches
Adapted from Bon Appétit
Makes 8 large sandwiches

Nonstick vegetable cooking spray
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. baking soda
Pinch of salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
2 large egg yolks
½ tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups premium ice cream (I used cookies and cream), softened
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2½ tbsp. vegetable oil
Assorted decorations (I used colored and chocolate sprinkles, you can use nuts, toffee bits, whatever you want)

Preheat the oven to 325ºF.  Line a 13x9x2 metal baking pan with foil, leaving 1-inch overhang on long sides.  Lightly coat with nonstick spray.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and pinch of salt in medium bowl.  Melt butter in medium skillet over medium heat.  Cook until milk solids on bottom of pan turn deep golden brown, stirring often, about 5 minutes.  Transfer browned butter to small bowl.

Place sugar and corn syrup in large bowl.  Pour browned butter over.  Whisk to combine (mixture will not be smooth).  Whisk in egg yolks and vanilla.  Add flour mixture; stir just to blend.  Transfer soft dough to prepared pan; press into an even layer.

Bake cookie layer until golden brown around edges and sides are just beginning to pull away from pan edges, 15 to 17 minutes.  Cool completely in pan on rack.

Using foil overhang as aid, lift cookie layer from pan and place on work surface.  Place sheet of plastic wrap lengthwise in same pan, leaving overhang on both short sides of pan.  Place another sheet of plastic wrap in pan, leaving overhang on long sides of pan.  Cut cookie layer in half crosswise.  Return 1 cookie half, top side down, to pan, placing snugly in 2 short end of pan.  Slightly soften ice cream in microwave in 15-second intervals.  Spread ice cream evenly over cookie in pan.  Place second cookie half, top side up, atop ice cream, pressing slightly to adhere.  Fold plastic wrap up and over ice cream-filled cookie.  Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper.  Unwrap ice cream-filled cookie; place on work surface.  Using serrated knife, cut cookie lengthwise in half, then cut each strip crosswise into 4 sandwiches (8 in total).  Place on sheet; freeze.

Stir chocolate and oil in medium metal bowl set over saucepan of barely simmering water until melted and smooth; cool to lukewarm.  Arrange decorations on plates.  Working with 1 ice cream sandwich at a time, dip half of sandwich in melted chocolate, allowing excess chocolate to drip back into bowl.  Press sandwich gently into decorations on plate.  Return to sheet in freezer.  Freeze until chocolate sets and freezes, about 1 hour.  (Can be made 2 days ahead.  Wrap each sandwich individually in foil and keep frozen.)

I have a prediction and I can almost guarantee it will come true.  Guar – an – tee.  Like sure enough that if I was a betting woman and if they placed bets on things like ice cream or cookbooks or ice cream cookbooks, I would clean up in Vegas.

The internet is soon going to become overrun with recipes pulled from the Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home book.  For real.  It’s going to hit big and it’s going to hit hard, maybe not with the same strength as No-Knead Bread or the New York Times chocolate chip cookies, but strong all the same.  This time I am on the cutting edge, not joining in the club two years after it has formed.

“What is the big deal?”, you might ask.  Have you ever made ice cream?  Used lots of yolks, and had to strain out the scrambled bits?  Made a truly delicious treat but with just a bit more iciness than you would like in your ice cream?  This woman, Jeni, she has been making ice cream for years and she has nine ice cream shops (and counting) to prove that she knows her stuff.  She doesn’t use eggs.  At all.  What she does is use a bit of cream cheese and cornstarch and a couple of tablespoons of corn syrup.  The cooking method is streamlined – milk and cream get boiled together for exactly four minutes.  A cornstarch slurry is stirred in and then the mixture boils for exactly another minute.  Whisk the whole thing into cream cheese with a bit of salt, and you have the base for your ice cream.  I’ve always thought that making ice cream was so easy for how delicious it is – now I think it’s even easier.

In addition to coming up with and streamlining this process, Jeni has shared her treasure trove of recipes in a delightful book.  They are arranged seasonally – seasonal ice creams!  Who knew?  I’m a person who likes to chew when eating ice cream and I love that there are plenty of add-ins, mix-ins, and pairings that make even the most routine flavor exciting.

Graham’s eyes got really big when he saw the cover of the book.  He immediately pointed to the scoop that looked like it had cherries in it.  We made Cherry Crisp Ice Cream.  We roasted cherries, made the crispy bits (think a streusel on a cherry crisp), and used our new technique to make the ice cream.  We licked the paddle (swoon!), alternated the vanilla bean ice cream with the other goodies in the container, and put it away in the back of the freezer to firm up.  The result?  The boys did not like it.  I had a feeling they wouldn’t.  Their ice cream tastes are more simple.  They probably won’t like the Sweet Corn and Black Raspberry Ice Cream which intrigues me, or the Black Walnut Divinity Ice Cream which does not.  It might be that I have to use my other more traditional ice cream cookbook when making that special treat for them.

As for Randy and I…well.  Randy said it was the best ice cream I have ever made.  Most recently I made a strawberry version (from another book) and both of us were turned off by how icy it was.  This was the opposite.  So creamy, velvety, not a hint of an ice crystal.  This is totally Randy’s type of ice cream flavor and totally not mine.  But holy cow was this good.  I’m a little worried.  If a totally-not-my-type-of-flavor has me dipping my spoon directly into the container over and over again, what am I going to do when I make a totally-me flavor?

One Year Ago:  Big French Salad
Two Years Ago: Coconut Bars
Three Years Ago: Panzanella with Artichokes, Olives and Manchego

Cherry Crisp Ice Cream
Adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home
Makes about 1 quart

For the ice cream
2 cups whole milk
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. cornstarch
1½ ounces (3 tbsp.) cream cheese, softened
1/8 tsp. fine sea salt
1¼ cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out, seeds and bean reserved
1 recipe roasted cherries (recipe follows)
About 1 cup Crisp Streusel (recipe follows)

Mix about 2 tbsp. of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.  Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.  Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla seeds and bean in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes.  Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.  Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.  Remove from the heat.

Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth.  Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath.  Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

Remove the vanilla bean.  Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy.

Spread about ½ of the cherries over the bottom of a freezer safe container.  Scoop out about 1/3 of the ice cream and sprinkle with 1/3 of the streusel.  Top with the other half of the cherries, another 1/3 of the ice cream, and another 1/3 of the streusel.  Repeat with the remaining ice cream and streusel.  (There will be quite a bit of streusel left over.  Use it for another ice cream or for a pie or crisp topping.)  Press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface and seal with an airtight lid.  Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, about 4 hours (if you can wait that long.)

Roasted Cherries
2 cups pitted fresh or frozen (not thawed) red or black cherries
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Combine the cherries, sugar, and cornstarch in a 9-inch square baking dish, tossing to mix.  Roast for 30 to 45 minutes, until the juices are thickened and bubbly, stirring every 15 minutes.  Let cool completely, then chill in the refrigerator.

Crisp Streusel
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes and chilled
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
½ tsp. salt
1½ cups old-fashioned oats

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Put all the ingredients except the oats in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until mixture looks like coarse sand.  By hand, add the oats and mix well.  Spread out on a baking sheet and break up any large clumps into crumbs about ½-inch in size.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until toasted and browned, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, especially in the corners, and to turn over the unbaked portions.  Let cool completely, then freeze until ready to use.  The streusel can be frozen for up to 1 month.

Let’s pretend for a moment that this is a great photograph.  Let’s pretend that it was taken outside in natural light with no shadows and just moments after this Tin Roof Sundae was made.  So it is not melty and there are no artificial lights bouncing their glare off the glass.

My brother Michael’s birthday is August 26th.  It is sandwiched between my anniversary ( August 24th) and our brother Alex’s anniversary (September 1st).  It falls in the last week of August when my parents are always in Sun Valley.  That last week of August also happens to be when people are cramming their days full of summery things because school is about to start.  And Michael is always very aware of the fact that school is about to start because he is a teacher.  Suffice it to say, Michael’s birthday tends to get a little overlooked.  (I have tried to teach him that if you make a big stink about your birthday, you can actually milk it for a month or more.  But I am a Leo and he is a Virgo and Virgos seem not to care.)

This year, our other family members and his girlfriend were out of town on his big day, so I offered to make him dinner.  I told him he could invite friends and I would make whatever he wanted.  He paused for one second and then told me he wanted the Banh Mi-like Vietnamese Tofu Sandwiches.  He left the appetizers and sides up to me but he was adamant about dessert.  Hot-Tin-Roof Sundaes.

Last summer, Micheal asked me to cook a special bachelor dinner for his best friend who was about to get married.  It was a long night – five courses.  It was the night that I made vegan pâté, a melon soup, and that tomato-burrata salad that I won’t shut up about.  By the time the main course rolled around, I was tired and just done taking pictures.  The sundaes turned out really well and the very full groom-to-be and his friends wolfed down every bite.  I was sorry I didn’t get a picture so I could share with all of you.

So, if you are excited about this, it’s Michael you should thank for asking me to make them again.  To be honest, I was surprised this was his birthday choice.  Michael is a cookies guy, a cake guy, a pie guy – I didn’t really think he was an ice cream guy.  At least not as his first choice.  When I asked him, he said that he just loved the combination here.  He remembered the components better than I did.  Cocoa nib ice cream, chocolate caramel sauce, and chile-lime peanuts.  Oh yeah.  That was pretty good.

So I couldn’t let another stab at this beauty go by without sharing.  Please, look past the bad photo and give this a try.  Of course, you could do any one part of it and have a great dessert.  Or just make the peanuts for a pre-dinner snack.

One Year Ago: Holly B’s Bruschetta
Two Years Ago: Pomodori Al Forno (this is one of my most requested appetizers)

Hot-Tin-Roof Sundaes
Adapted from Gourmet
6 to 8 servings

In my experience, this recipe makes way more chocolate sauce than you will need for the sundaes.  This is not a terrible problem to have.  However, if you make it in advance and are reheating it, don’t reheat the whole portion at once.  Just scoop out as much as you will need and rewarm that portion.

Chocolate-Caramel Sauce
1 cup sugar
¼ cup water
¼ cup corn syrup
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. vanilla extract
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 60% cocoa), chopped

Ice Cream
3 cups reduced-fat milk (2%)
12 tbsp. cocoa nibs, divided
6 tbsp. sugar
6 tbsp. light corn syrup
3 large egg yolks
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1½ cups chilled heavy whipping cream
Pinch of kosher salt
Chile-Lime Peanuts (recipe follows)

For Chocolate Sauce:
Stir first 4 ingredients in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves, occasionally brushing down pan sides with wet pastry brush.  Increase heat and boil until syrup is deep amber, swirling pan occasionally, about 10 minutes.  Turn off heat.  Add cream and butter (mixture will bubble up).  Stir until any caramel bits dissolve.  Stir in salt and vanilla.  Add chocolate; stir until melted.  (Can be made 1 week ahead.  Transfer sauce to medium bowl.  Cover and chill.  Rewarm before using.)

For Ice Cream:
Bring milk, 6 tablespoons cocoa nibs, sugar, and corn syrup just to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat; cover.  Steep 20 minutes.

Whisk egg yolks and cornstarch in medium bowl until blended; gradually whisk in warm milk mixture.  Return custard to same saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until custard thickens and just begins to boil, 2 to 3 minutes.  Strain custard into large bowl; discard nibs.  Whisk in cream and salt.  Chill custard until cold.

Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Transfer to container; mix in remaining 6 tablespoons cocoa nibs.  Cover and freeze at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

For each sundae, place 2 scoops ice cream in a short tumbler; spoon warm sauce over.  Sprinkle with Chile-Lime Peanuts.

Chile-Lime Peanuts
Makes about 2 cups

2 cups raw Spanish peanuts
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. coarse kosher salt
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
¾ tsp. cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Toss peanuts, olive oil, coarse kosher salt, and sugar in medium bowl to coat evenly.  Scrape mixture onto rimmed baking sheet.  Roast nuts until fragrant and beginning to darken, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.  Transfer nuts to large bowl.  Add lime juice, hot pepper sauce, and cayenne pepper; toss to coat.  Cool nuts completely.  (Can be made 1 week ahead.  Store in airtight container in refrigerator.)

In a moment, I am going to show you a photo of some ice cream.  The ice cream is white and it kind of looks like vanilla.  Actually if it were homemade vanilla, at least the way I make it, there would be black flecks in it from the vanilla bean.  So, the ice cream I am going to show you looks even more vanilla than vanilla – if you catch my drift.

This is my garden.  I posted about it in May and, as you can see if you compare the photos, it has exploded.  Our study, where I do all my writing and emailing, faces this garden.  As I gaze out the window in January, it seems impossible that plants will every bloom again.  Everything is cut back and looks completely dead.  But then, right on schedule this happens.

And this.

And this.

Back to the ice cream.  You see those plants up there?  Lavender.  As you walk up to our front steps, you get a tremendous whiff of lavender.  I used to think I didn’t like the scent.  I still don’t if you are talking about a perfume, an essential oil, or a sachet.  But fresh is something else all together.  At the risk of sounding like one big cliché, I first smelled fresh lavender in Provence.  On our way home, after our year in London, we spent a week at a special little villa with some friends.  The English couple who owned the villa harvested the lavender and left it out to dry around the property.  It was there that I learned that the scent of those purple flowers is much more delicate and much sweeter than the potpourri in a bad B&B would leave you to believe.

Still, lavender in ice cream?  When I told my brother I had made Lavender-Honey Ice Cream, he immediately yelled, “Soap!”.  But no.  It tastes of cream and honey with just the slightest and most subtle floral undertone – and I mean that in the most flattering way possible.  This is actually the second time I have made this flavor and the first time Randy told me it was the best ice cream he had ever eaten.  Randy is not a big food person but he loves ice cream.  He loves it enough that if I said I couldn’t live without one of those $500 ice cream makers which take up a tremendous amount of room but don’t require the bowl to be frozen for 24 hours before using it, he’d probably run right out and buy me one.  But then I would be making ice cream constantly so it’s probably best that I stick with my $50 Krups model.

In my head this is also known as the ice cream that almost burned my house down.  The first time I made it, I was steeping the honey with the lavender.  This is accomplished by putting the honey and lavender flowers in a small pot, bringing the heat up so the honey is hot, and then turning off the heat and allowing the flavors to meld together.  Right as I turned the heat on under the burner, I got a phone call.  I ran into the study to check something on the computer while still on the phone and proceeded to forget about the honey.  I also forgot that I had left a rubber spatula (heat resistant to 650ºF!) in the pot and by the time I smelled my error, the entire pot was burned (my one quart!), the spatula was non-existent and there was smoke throughout the house.  Just as I ran upstairs to try and furiously fan the smoke away from the detectors so my boys wouldn’t wake up, alarms all over the house went off.  This is a long story.  All I’m really trying to say is – don’t walk away from the honey.

One Year Ago: What do you know?  Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Lavender-Honey Ice Cream
The Perfect Scoop
Makes about 1 quart

½ cup good-flavored honey
¼ cup dried or fresh lavender flowers
1½ cups whole milk
¼ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1½ cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks

Heat the honey and 2 tablespoons of the lavender in a small saucepan.  Once warm, remove from the heat and set aside to steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan.  Pour the cream in a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.  Pour the lavender-infused honey into the cream through the strainer, pressing on the lavender flowers to extract as much flavor as possible, then discard the lavender and set the strainer back over the cream.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream.  Add the remaining 2 tablespoons lavender flowers and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture overnight in the refrigerator.  The next day, before churning, strain the mixture, again pressing on the lavender flower to extract their flavor.  Discard the flowers, the freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

The first time I ever tasted Nutella, I was on a three month-long bike trip in France.  It sounds romantic, doesn’t it?  Rather than spending spring trimester of junior year in a classroom, I spent it on a bike riding through five different regions of France.  Even as I type that I think,”Man, that sounds amazing”.  Parts of it were amazing.  But not seeing the sun for 14 days straight and camping in soaking wet tents along the side of the road was not.  I was 16, cold, wet, hungry, and homesick.  Food was more important to me than it ever had been in my life up until that point.  Meals, homestays, and mail were the things that kept me going through what proved to be a difficult trip.

All of us carried food with us either in our paniers or, as in the case of baguettes, strapped to the back of our bikes.  There were certain things that some people were never without.  For me it was a large bar of chocolate.  Others were intensely loyal to Nutella.  I thought the idea of spreading a chocolate/hazelnut mixture on bread sounded like a strange and not-all-that-appetizing practice.  The color and consistency of Nutella turned me off  so I didn’t eat it.  Then one day, when I had run out of jam, I accepted a smear from a friend and then – oh yes – I understood.

What does this have to do with ice cream?  Friends, this is Gianduja Gelato.  In other words, Nutella ice cream.  Oh, and with a ribbon of dark chocolate running through it.  Homemade ice cream will impress just about any dinner guest (“You made the ice cream??”), but just to totally blow peoples’  minds, try serving this with Nutella Pound Cake.  Prepare yourself for praise.

(If you are looking for something more savory, I posted a terrific Eggplant Parmesan recipe over at Amazon Fresh.)

Gianduja Previously: Gianduja Mousse
One Year Ago: Classic Currant Scones

Gianduja-Stracciatella Gelato
The Perfect Scoop
Make about 1 quart

1½ cups hazelnuts, toasted
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
¾ cup sugar
¼ tsp. coarse salt
4 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
5 large egg yolks
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
Stracciatella (recipe follows)

Rub the hazelnuts in a kitchen towel to remove as much of the papery skins as possible, then finely chop them in a food processor or blender.

Warm the milk with 1 cup of the cream, sugar, and salt in a saucepan.  Once warm, remove from the heat and add the chopped hazelnuts.  Cover and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

Put the milk chocolate pieces in a large bowl.  Heat the remaining 1 cup cream in a medium saucepan until it just begins to boil.  Pour it over the milk chocolate pieces and stir until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.  Set a mesh strainer over the top.

Pour the hazelnut-infused mixture through a strainer into a medium saucepan, squeese the nuts firmly with your hands to extract as much of the flavorful liquid as possible.  Discard the hazelnuts.

Rewarm the hazelnut-infused mixture.  In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Slowly pour the warm hazelnut mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the milk chocolate mixture.  Add the vanilla and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Stracciatella
Make enough for 1 quart of ice cream

5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (do not use chocolate chips)

In a clean, absolutely dry bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate stirring it until it is absolutely smooth.

Mixing it in: Drizzle a thin stream of the warm chocolate into the ice cream during the last possible minute of churning.  If the chocolate clings too much to the dasher, remove the ice cream from the machine and drizzle the chocolate into the frozen ice cream by hand while you layer it into the storage container, breaking up any chunks as you stir.

I grew up on an island.  It sounds exotic, but it was anything but.  My island was a floating bridge away from Seattle and it was suburbia to the hilt.  It was safe and scenic, but it was also boring.  If you wanted to grocery shop, pick up your dry cleaning, eat bad Thai food, or check on your bank account, then you would never have had to leave the Island.  If you wanted any other kind of services – restaurants, shopping of any kind, movie theatres, you know…culture – then you had to head over the bridge to Seattle.

We did, however, have a Baskin and Robbins.  My mother, who is incredibly careful about her weight, actually has a serious thing for ice cream.  Most Sundays, we would head down to the shop and get my mom her Jamocha Almond Fudge while my brothers and I would get a scoop of our choice.  I always pretended to not be able to decide between two flavors so that she would say,”OK, you can get two scoops.”  Chocolate chip or mint chocolate chip were always in my bowl.  (I never did then, and I still don’t now, like eating my ice cream on a cone.  I’m a bowl girl.)

I’ve been on a bit of an ice cream making kick lately.  Since discovering the wonder that is homemade, I have been making up for lost time with my ice cream maker.  When I brought dinner to my friend with a newborn last week, the gnocchi and the broccoli, I decided to bring ice cream.  I know I have said before that you must bring a nursing mother brownies.  But that was before my ice cream making days and besides, it was too hot to turn on my oven that day.

In all my years of subscribing to food magazines and dutifully cutting out recipes and carefully taping those recipes into my notebooks, I know I have thrown away many a recipe for ice cream.  Before I got over my fear of using my maker, I just passed all those delicious recipes by.  I don’t fret though because I have The Perfect Scoop which is, in my and many others much more esteemed than myself’s opinion, the last word when it comes to ice cream.  I’m pretty simple with my ice cream tastes.  Something with chocolate in it, please.  However, as I go through this book, things that have never appealed to me suddenly sound good.  Rum raisin?  Sure, why not?  Fresh Apricot?  Let’s make it!

So far, I’ve kept it pretty simple.  This chocolate chip ice cream is tears-in-your-eyes sublime.  It’s just super incredible vanilla ice cream with shards of bittersweet chocolate running through it.  It’s a million times better than Baskin and Robbins.

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop
Makes about 1 quart

This recipe is fairly simple, but read it carefully as you go.  The first time I made it, I followed it to the letter.  The second time, I had too many things going on in my kitchen and I forgot to add the milk to the custard.  Somehow, it still ended up being delicious.  Believe it or not, Costco is a great place to buy vanilla beans – they are incredibly affordable and very high quality.

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
6 large egg yolks
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate (not chocolate chips), chopped

Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of the cream, and salt in a medium saucepan.  Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk and add the bean as well.  Cover, remove from the heat and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.  In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens an coast the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream.  Put the vanilla bean into the custard, add the vanilla extract, and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.  When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing and reserving it for another use, and then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a measuring cup in the microwave in 30-second intervals.  Remove from the microwave while there are still small chunks, the residual heat will melt those.  Right before you are ready to turn off the ice cream maker, carefully pour the warm chocolate in through the spout, avoiding the beater blade as best you can.  Turn off the machine and scrape any chocolate that has collected on the blade back into the bowl.  Either serve or scrape into a container and place in the freezer.

So, here is a peek into the world of Dana Treat.

I will often start writing a post hours (or even a full day) before I actually post it.  I start thinking about the story behind a recipe and will start on that track before I get a decent photo and before I type in the recipe.

For today’s post, I had a long story about how I have made this Strawberry Shortcake before, many years ago.  I wrote about how I tried bringing it over to a friend’s house assembled and how it totally slid into disaster (literally slid) before we even arrived.  I wrote about how I had the brilliant idea these many years later to bring the bring the components of the cake (biscuit, strawberries, chocolate sauce, whipped cream) over to a different friend’s house and to assemble the cake on site.  I wrote a few witty things (namely that I don’t usually like strawberry shortcake because if I am going to eat cake, I’m not interested in a biscuit masquerading as cake) and I was looking forward to taking photos and posting the recipe on our return home.

Well, instead of bringing the lovely slightly sweet and vanilla spiked whipped cream, I accidentally brought the feta and Greek yogurt mixture I had prepared in advance for Tuesday’s meal.  In my defense, they were both white and whipped looking and both were in glass bowls.  This mistake necessitated my husband making an emergency trip to a local market where they didn’t have whipping cream but they did have this.

So this is what I used.  As I was putting it all together, a full third of the cake broke away from the rest and the spray can whipped cream started melting on contact.  I do have to say that the flavors were lovely.  Fresh local strawberries can cover up for a lot of mistakes.  So can homemade chocolate sauce.  But I feel confident that I will never make this dessert again.  If you want to attempt it, you can find the recipe here.

Normally, making a mistake like this and having a cake that I spent a lot of time not turn out would have totally bummed me out.  But the truth is that it did taste good and I made ice cream.  Somehow I made it through my whole life up until very recently without purchasing David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop.  Really, I made it through my whole life up until very recently without using my ice cream maker.  Any dessert you make, no matter how simple – or how disastrous, is dramatically improved by pairing it with homemade ice cream.  People go nuts over it.  For the amount of joy it brings, ice cream should be extremely difficult and time consuming to make.  But it is just the opposite.  This one in particular is not custard based so it really just a matter of slicing strawberries, letting them macerate in a little sugar and vodka, and then whizzing them and a few other ingredients together in a blender.  A rest in the refrigerator and a swim in the ice cream machine and you are done.

Is it the perfect strawberry ice cream?  I would have to say no.  I’ll try another recipe another time.  But this one certainly worked well enough to distract people from the the mistakes of the cake.

One Year Ago:  A Love Letter to Lopez

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream
The Perfect Scoop
Makes 1 1/2 quarts

1 pound fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp. vodka or kirsch
1 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Slice the strawberries and toss them in a bowl with the sugar and vodka or kirsch, stirring until the sugar begins to dissolve.  Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring every so often.

Pulse the strawberries and their liquid with the sour cream, heavy cream, and lemon juice in a blender or food processor until almost smooth but still slightly chunky.

Refrigerate 1 hour, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

My husband Randy likes to rate things on a scale from 1 to 10.  The rating system applies to meals he has had, presentations he has done, movies he has seen.  It is a way for his linear mind to organize input.  My non-linear mind has no need for such organization so I find it somewhat irksome that he often asks me to rate certain things.  I can’t assign a number to a meal or an experience.  When he presses me, I will come up with a number, but it feels so wrong to me and I immediately question whatever number I have chosen.

Having said all that, I have no problem telling you and anyone else who will listen that this dessert is a 10.  It was that good.  This is huge because for me, desserts fall into one of two categories.  #1 – Chocolate, #2 – Everything Else.  I call that second category “sort of desserts”.  Don’t get me wrong, I love lemon and I love apple but they are not chocolate and therefore not truly dessert…in my opinion.  The possible exception here is caramel which I love with enough passion to put it in the chocolate category.

If you scroll through the dessert section of this site, you will notice plenty of non-chocolate things.  That is because I am almost always baking for people other than myself and I recognize that there are many misguided souls out there who don’t fully appreciate a chocolate dessert – my husband being one of them.  In the interest of broadening my horizons, I decided to make this rhubarb tart (rhubarb? not even on my radar) for a dinner party on Saturday night.  It is in season right now and I know there are people who feel about rhubarb the way I feel about chocolate, my husband being one of them.

Where to start?  The recipe is perfect.  The crust was easy to work with and had just the perfect hint of sweetness.  The rhubarb is cooked down with plenty of brown sugar and cinnamon, so a sweetness emerges, but it still retains it’s delightful tang.  The crisp part is amazing as the crisp part of crisp desserts always is – the difference being that here there is a ton of it but not so much so that it is all you taste.  Again, the flavors and textures are perfect – a very well-written recipe.

And then there is the ice cream.  Brown Sugar – Sour Cream Ice Cream.  Do I really need to attempt to find words to describe it?  Suffice it to say that is the perfect match for the tart.  This is only the second time I have made ice cream and, as with the first time, I wondered why I don’t do this everyday.  If you have made ice cream you know, the texture and flavor cannot compare with store-bought – even the very best store-bought.  And it really takes no effort.  If you are looking for a perfect spring time tart, look no further.

Rhubarb Streusel Tart with Brown Sugar – Sour Cream Ice Cream
The Farm to Table Cookbook
Makes one – 9 inch tart

For the Crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 egg yolks

For the Streusel:
6 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 1/2 tbsp. almond paste or marzipan
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

For the Filling:
1 1/2 pounds (about 6 cups) rhubarb, thinly sliced
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1.  To make the crust, blend the flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a food processor or an electric mixer with the paddle attachment until the butter lumps are no larger than peas.  Whisk the egg yolks in a small measuring cup and add enough water to make 1/4 cup liquid; add to flour mixture.  Mix until the dough just starts to come together.  (DT: I had to add another couple tablespoons water to get the dough to come together.  I also used ice cold water.)  Gather the dough, shape into a disc, and wrap in plastic.  Chill for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.

2.  To make the streusel, combine the butter, almond paste, sugar, flour, and cinnamon in food processor and process until the mixture is in fine crumbles.  (Alternatively, use a pastry blender.)  Refrigerate until needed.

3.  Allow the dough to stand at room temperature for 5 minutes.  Roll on a lightly floured surface into a 1/2-inch-thick disc, frequently rotating the dough to prevent sticking.  Transfer to a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom.  Ease the dough into the pan, fitting it to the pan’s contour with fingertips, leaving some dough hanging over the edges.  Trim the pastry edges by rolling the pin over the rim and discard trimmings.  Freeze the shell until firm, about 30 minutes.

4.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

5.  Make the rhubarb filling by combining the rhubarb, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a large sauté pan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the rhubarb is fall-apart tender, about 10 minutes.

6.  Fill the tart shell with the rhubarb mixture to within 1/2 inch from the top of the crust.  Sprinkle on the streusel and transfer to a baking sheet.  Bake until the streusel is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 45 minutes.  Transfer the tart shell to a wire rack and cool completely.  Using a small sharp knife, gently loosen the crust from sides of pan.  Push up pan bottom to release tart.  Serve with ice cream.

Brown Sugar – Sour Cream Ice Cream
Makes 1 quart

2 cups half-and-half
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
8 egg yolks
2 cups sour cream

1.  In a small saucepan, scald the half-and-half over medium-low heat until hot.

2.  Whisk the brown sugar and egg  yolks together in a medium bowl.  Slowly whisk in the half-and-half.

3.  Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula until the mixture thickens enough to coat it, about 5 minutes.

4.  Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl.  Refrigerate until cold, then whisk the sour cream into the half-and-half mixture and freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.