Baked Sunday Mornings: Coffee Ice Cream--Not

FRESH RASPBERRY ICE CREAM

I Love Summertime!  Most of you, out there in cyberspace, would fry here in AZ today...we expect 116^...there is a heat advisory in effect...but I love the heat....reminds me of that line in Twilight where Bella is moving to Forks from Phoenix, and she will miss the heat.  It's addicting!  There are so many fun ways to cool off.  There is the pool, shopping at the mall, running through the sprinklers, the movie theaters, Sonic 44 oz sodas, and.....ice cream.  For today’s assigned Baked Sunday Mornings project we are churning the cream.

SUBBED RASPBERRIES, A LITTLE VANILLA AND 2T CHOCOLATE ITALIAN SODA FLAVORING

Because I am not a coffee drinker or an alcohol user I came up with different flavors to use with our “Coffee Ice Cream” recipe.  I did use the same base and followed the instructions for everything except the flavorings.  It worked great.   I'd say this is a custard; creamy and smooth...and wonderful!

IT'S HONEY'S DAD'S BIRTHDAY TODAY AND SHE HAS COME TO HELP

It is a son-in-law’s birthday and his favorite cake is chocolate cheesecake, so that is baking today.  He loves fresh berries and I have decided to garnish his cake with some lovely raspberries Honey and I picked up at the market earlier this morning...yes, it is Wednesday, my baking day with Honey.  She is my official taster and licks every non-breakable item with delight.

HONEY'S DAD'S FAVORITE BIRTHDAY CAKE

Since I have extra berries, I will use them to make raspberry ice cream, and just for fun, I will flavor the base with a chocolate Italian soda flavoring.  I guess I’m trying to match flavors with that chocolate-raspberry-topped cheesecake.  I doubled the recipe making enough for a fun family birthday time later today.  Fresh raspberry ice cream is one of life’s luxuries.  Most people prefer to strain out the seeds after making a puree.  But today, I decided to use the whole, fresh berries which will make it more “real.”  And that's just what No. 1 Son said, it is just more "real" with the whole berries.

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
6 egg yolks
1 3/4 Cups heavy cream
2 Cups whole milk
1 Cup sugar
1 t salt...a pinch is enough

Cook just like you would pudding or pastry cream.  Chill, Churn, Eat and Enjoy!

THE ICE CREAM IS CHURNING

FRESHLY CHURNED

A FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEMORY:  LICKING THE DASHER...ICE CREAM RIGHT FROM THE MACHINE

SMOOTH AND CREAMY; READY FOR THE FREEZER

The only complaint from my tasters is that this recipe has too much salt...it was a flavor that was noticeable.   Some even asked it salt from the churning process had entered the ice cream container.  No, it had not.  I checked other ice cream recipes that we enjoy and for a similar quantity of ingredients all my other recipes call for “a pinch” of salt, where this recipe asks for 1 teaspoon of salt.  A pinch would have been a better choice.

We always like an excuse to make ice cream and there are so many wonderful flavors that can be made.  Since everything is out and ready to go, I think we will make another flavor and then sit back and enjoy this beautiful summer day.  Nothing beats the taste of freshly made ice cream spooned right out of the machine.

Kris’ Chocolate Cheesecake
Makes one 9" Dark Chocolate “Cake”

THE TAKE HOME CAKE

 Crust: Place contents of one package, Nabisco Chocolate Wafers, in food processor and pulse until small crumbs, similar to making a graham cracker crust.  Add ½ Cup Sugar and pulse until combined (This added sugar is optional or the amount can be adjusted for taste).  Crust needs 1½ - 2 Cups crumbs/sugar.  Add 1/4 Cup (½ stick) melted butter to the crumbs and combine quickly  with a dinner fork.  Dump this mixture into a buttered 9" springform/cheesecake baking pan.  Spread  and press with hands  onto the bottom of the pan.  Bake 350^ for 10 minutes until set.  Let cool.

Soften to room temperature four 8 oz packages full-fat cream cheese.  Whip in mixer bowl until creamy and smooth...may take about 5 minutes.

10 oz bittersweet chocolate: Chop into small, uniform pieces, melt, and set aside to cool:.  (Melt in microwave for 1 minute, then stir till smooth)

Mix 1 2/3 Cups sugar and 1/3 Cup cornstarch together.  Add to cream cheese and whip together for 2-3 minutes.  Again whip until creamy and smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk 2 large eggs and add to the above whipped mixture, again whipping until  smooth.

Add in the melted chocolate and continue mixing until the batter is all a uniform color.

Add 3/4 Cup heavy cream.  Mix until jut incorporated.  Do not over mix.

Gently add the cream cheese mixture on top of the cooled chocolate crust.

Wrap a large, single sheet of aluminum foil around the springform pan, covering the bottom and up the sides.   (To keep out water from the water bath)

Place the foil covered pan into a shallow baking or roasting pan that will be used as the water bath and slide into a preheated 350^ oven.  Add very hot water to the water bath pan.  Water should come  about 1 “ up the sides of the springform pan sitting in that water bath..

Bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes, until the edges of the cake look  baked and the top of the cake is set.  Do not underbake or the cake will sink in the middle or be gooey.  Proper doneness may actually take an extra 5-10 minutes.  Make sure the water bath does not become dry.

Remove pans/cake from oven, remove springform pan from water bath pan, very carefully remove foil, and set cake to cool, undisturbed for at least 2 hours.  DON”T TOUCH!  Then refrigerate the cake until thoroughly chilled, about 4 hours.

This cake releases easily from sides and bottom of pan.  You may want to run a knife around the sides before releasing the spring, just to ensure that the cake comes out of the pan perfectly.    Any fears?  Just freeze the cake for 30 minutes and the stiffened cake will not break or stick to the pan.  After sides are removed, run an offset spatula between cake and pan bottom for a perfect release.  Cake is sturdy enough to handle gently and move to a pretty serving platter.

Now have some fun.  Make a ganache by melting together 6 oz chopped  chocolate, 1 stick (½ Cup) of butter, and 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup.  Cool slightly and then pour onto the cooled cheesecake.  Spread with an offset spatula.  You can let it drizzle down the sides or just keep to the top of the cake.  Then add chocolate curls, fresh fruit or berries, or any other fun decoration.  Caramel sauce, chopped nuts, marshmallow, and other candy toppings are also fun additions.  A slight dusting of confectioner’s sugar is nice and making a “dirty” platter is fashionable.  A chocolate web to top this cake can be made by piping thin lines of melted dark, milk, and white chocolate.

Refrigerate until just before using...then 10-15 minutes out of the fridge helps with slicing.  Also, slicing with a warm knife makes professional looking cuts.

We seem to be in to much of a hurry to eat the dessert to cut it correctly.  Oh well, it is delicious and a dessert fit for my birthday guy.

(A drizzle of sweetened raspberry puree on the serving plate is also fabulous if you are decorating this cake with fresh raspberries and have a few left over.)

CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE AND FRESH RASPBERRY ICE CREAM.  DOESN'T GET MUCH BETTER!