Strawberry Ice-Cream

Singapore's weather is getting crazy nowadays. It was cold, windy and rainy yesterday (flooding in some areas) and today the sun is blazing hot outside!

Well, the weather's perfect for the strawberry ice-cream that I've just made :)
Maybe I'm missing a strawberry in the bowl...

And I still made the ice-cream without an ice-cream maker.
Maybe I don't need one after all...

How to make simple Strawberry Ice-cream without Ice-cream maker

Mango Ice-Cream

I think I'm getting addicted to making ice-cream & of course eating them :P

Fresh Mango Ice-cream with fresh strawberry

Recipe for Mango Ice-cream:

(makes about 8 scoops)

Ingredients:

2 ripe sweet mangoes (about 400g of puree)

200ml whipping cream (Pour & Whip)

1 tbsp icing sugar

Method:

1) Process 2 ripe sweet mangos into a puree. Add icing sugar if necessary.

2) Chill the mango puree in a freezerproof container (big enough to add in whipped cream & for beating up the ice-cream)

3) Whip cream till it thickens but still falls from a spoon.

4) Fold in the whipped cream into the mango puree till well incorporated.

5) Put back into the freezer to freeze, beating up the mixture with a fork occasionally to break up the ice-crystals. This will give you a smoother ice-cream.

* For pictures, refer to Strawberry Ice-cream Recipe :)

Easy Strawberry Ice-cream

After I made the strawberry ice-cream last week for my sister's birthday cake, Jerome also wanted some for our own. So I made them again since they're so easy, as you can see from the pictorial recipe. :)

A scoop of fresh strawberry ice-cream. Yummy!

Ingredients: (makes about 6 scoops)

250g fresh strawberries

30g icing sugar

juice from 1 slice of lemon, about 1 tbsp

150ml of whipping cream

1) Put the strawberries into a food processor & process till a puree.

Add the icing sugar & lemon juice to the puree & process again to mix well.

Pour the puree into a freezer proof container & chill.

2) Whip the whipping cream till...

...cream has thickened but still drops from a spoon.

3) Fold in the whipped cream into the strawbery puree...

...until smooth.

4) Put into the freezer, beating up the freezing mixture occasionally as it freezes.

This breaks up the ice-crystals, giving you a smoother ice-cream.

5) Enjoy your ice-cream :)

Strawberry Ice-cream Cake

My sis, Si Qing, has casually remarked that she wanted an ice-cream cake for her 25th birthday after I made a fruit flan cake for my mum's birthday last weekend. So I decided to try making some ice-cream first. After succeeding in making some chocolate ice-cream, I decided to make some strawberry ice-cream for a strawberry ice-cream cake. It's covered by chocolate ganache and decorated with 25 gum-paste flowers. Yap, I made the flowers too :) And so this is the 3rd birthday cake I've made...







Matching cupcakes for the birthday gal :)


Looking sweet & pretty... Like the birthday gal...


Opps! Too much cream!

Strawberry ice-cream using fresh strawberries puree. Yummy!
Quite surprised that the sponge cake remained soft after it's been frozen.

Recipe for Simple Strawberry Ice-Cream

Ingredients:
500g strawberries
50g icing sugar (subjected to personal preference)
juice of 1/2 lemon (I used orange juice instead as the strawberries are quite sour already)
300ml whipping cream

Method:
1) Use a food processor & blend the strawberries till it becomes a smooth puree.
Add the icing sugar & lemon/orange juice & process again till smooth.
2) Press the puree through a sieve into a bowl. (I forgot to do this step but the ice-cream still tasted great in the cake. Maybe it'll make the ice-cream smoother.) Chill till cold.
3) Whip the cream until it just thickens but still falls from the spoon. Fold the whipped cream into the strawberry puree. Pour into a freezerproof container.
4) Freeze for 6 hrs until firm, beating occasionally with a fork/electric whisk to break up the ice-crystals.

Step by step pictorial recipe of making strawberry ice-cream

Assembling the Cake
1) Cut the sponge cake horizontally in halves. Place 1 piece of the cake into an adjustable cake ring.
2) Scoop soft ice-cream onto the cake and smoothen it. Place the other piece of cake over the top.
3) Cover up the cake with cling wrap or a freezer proof airtight container (I used a Lock & Lock) & let the ice-cream set in the freezer for a few hours.

I used a Lock & Lock airtight container to keep the cake in the freezer & keep the odours away.

4) After the ice-cream has set, remove the cake ring. Apply a layer of whipped cream over the cake.
5) Let the cream set before applying a layer of chocolate ganache over the cake.
6) Decorate as desired. Keep in the freezer until you're ready to serve.

Classic Dark Chocolate Ice-Cream

My sister, SQ, has requested for an ice-cream cake for her birthday. So that set me my next challenge. Had been thinking of whether to buy a tub of ice-cream & assemble into a cake or should I try making some home-made ice-cream. Of course, I chose to try making some ice-cream. I don't have an ice-cream maker & don't really intend to get another machine for my small kitchen. So I went in search for a recipe for home-made ice-cream...

First I tried a recipe from AllRecipes.com that required double cream as an ingredient. So I went to Cold Storage & spent about $10 for a 300ml container of double-cream. It was the first time I tried using double-cream. When I started to whip the cream with my mixer, it started to curdle. I thought that I can save it by increasing the speed of the mixer. But regardless of how much whipping is done, the cream remained yellowish & thick. I quickly did a quick read-up on the net & found out that I've done the unthinkable! Overwhipping double cream = butter! So 1st attempt into ice-cream making failed...

I took out "The Ice-Cream Book" (by Joanna Farrow & Sara Lewis) that I bought quite some time back & looked for another recipe to try. And found the recipe for "Classic Dark Chocolate" that's "rich, dark & wonderfully luxurious". I'm glad that this recipe worked for me as you can see from the picture of the ice-cream... And I'll be trying more ice-cream recipes from this book :)


Rich, dark & wonderfully luxurious Classic Dark Chocolate Ice-cream

Recipe for Classic Dark Chocolate Ice-cream
(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:
4 egg yolks
75g caster sugar
1 tsp cornflour
300ml semi-skimmed milk (I used full-cream milk)
200g dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
300ml whipping cream

Method:
1) Whisk egg yolk, sugar & cornflour in a bowl until thick & foamy.
2) Pour milk into a saucepan & bring just to a boil.
3) Gradually whisk it into the yolk mixture. (Use a hand whisk. The 1st time I use the machine, the mixture became so foamy. I had to start all over.)
4) Return the mixture to the saucepan & cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly until the custard thickens & is smooth. (The custard will coat the back of a wooden spoon.) Remove from heat.
5) Stir the chocolate into the hot custard until it has melted. Leave to cool, then chill.
6) Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon.
7) Fold the whipped cream into the chilled custard.
8) Pour into a freezerproof container & freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating a few times with a fork. (This will break down the ice crystals & ensure that the ice-cream remain smooth & creamy. So the more you beat the ice-cream while it is freezing, the finer & silkier the finished texture will be.) Since I'm at home, I actually check on the ice-cream every other hr :P