Frozen

Caramelized Pineapple Ice Cream

I had an excess amount of pineapple in my fridge last week (a situation I’ve found myself in more than once) after cutting up a fresh one to eat with dinner. Even after we’d had our fill with dinner and I’d done some snacking on it through the week I still have enough left over that I needed to do something with it.  So I started brainstorming what to do.  Pineapple ice cream.

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I found a few recipes, but this one with pineapple cooked down with sugar and cinnamon sounded so delicious.  The blog where I found the ice cream recipe had a great set of pictures showing how to cook the pineapple.  She even includes are warning about being careful not to leave it cooking while you go do something else.  Well, even with the warning I left it cooking over low heat while I spent some time outside with the kids and it cooked a little too much.  After cooling it some of the sugar had hardened on the bottom of the pan.  I kept going with the recipe and was glad I did because the deep caramel flavor with the pineapple and cream was spectacular.

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I wound up using the raw egg version, but here are some cooked egg custard vanilla ice cream base recipes that you could easily substitute.  Just stir the cooled pineapple puree into the cold custard and freeze in the ice cream maker.

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This ice cream is rich, which isn’t hard to predict without trying it when you see the ingredient list!  With all that cream and milk a little goes a long way.   I really prefer to eat rich and creamy ice cream, it’s so much more satisfying.  I always wind up eating more of the light and airy stuff and it’s never as good as a small amount of the good stuff.

Caramelized Pineapple Ice Cream

From La Gringa’s Blogicito

Ingredients

  • 5 cups of fresh pineapple chunks
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 – 1 1/2 cups milk

Directions

  1. Place pineapple chunks in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add sugar and cinnamon and stir together.
  2. Cook, stirring occasionally and monitoring the heat so that it is just at a medium simmer, for 20-30 minutes.  The pineapple will release a bunch of juice at first and then start to thicken up.  Remove from the heat and let cool for a few minutes.
  3. Place pineapple and as much of the sugary stuff as you can scrape from the pan into a blender or food processor and mix until very smooth.
  4. Transfer to a bowl and let cool in the fridge until cold.  (You can also put it in the freezer to speed up the process without letting it freeze.)
  5. Whisk eggs in a large bowl for 2 minutes.  Add in the cream and the pineapple puree (Add in all of it if you have 1 1/2 cups or less, if you have more than 1 1/2 cups, then save the excess for ice cream topping).
  6. Add in enough milk to make no more than 5 cups of ice cream mix.
  7. Place the bowl in the freezer and stir every 30 minutes for 1-2 hours, until the edges of the mixture begin to freeze.
  8. Transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturers instructions.
  9. Transfer to a freezer safe container and let chill in the freezer for at least 1 hour.

Honeydew + Mint Sorbet

I am not a huge fan of honeydew.  I enjoy a good cantaloupe, but find honeydew to be an inferior melon.  But I wound up with a whole honeydew melon after trying unsuccessfully to take some cute maternity shots with it when baby was about the size of a melon.  So I had to find something to do with the honeydew.  I figured sorbet would be a good choice and it wound up being one of the best choices I’ve ever made with unwanted fruit!

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I found this recipe on Simply Recipes.  There is also a variation for a cantaloupe sorbet.  The mint in this honeydew sorbet makes it extremely refreshing and a perfect light summer dessert.  I think it would be a spectacular ending to a spicy meal.

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It’s lovely all by itself, but also quite good with some sparkling water poured on top, making for a rather wonderful slushy drink.  Come June I can easily see myself adding in a little vodka for a spiked version.

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Making the mint simple syrup doesn’t take much time, and neither does the prep for the melon.  But then you do have to let it sit in the fridge for a while.  And then you do have to let it freeze for a while longer after it freezes in the ice cream maker.  So this isn’t something you decide to make in the morning and enjoy that evening, unless you’re amazing or have a super cold freezer.  Make it a day or two or a week in advance and it will be ready when you want it.

The texture of my sorbet wasn’t super smooth, more on the icy side.  But it’s still delicious, lovely and sweet with added interest from the mint.  This is definitely a summer dessert that I’ll be making again in the coming months.

Honeydew + Mint Sorbet

From Simply Recipes

Ingredients

  • 5 cups honeydew melon chunks (1 medium sized honeydew melon)
  • 1/2 cup mint leaves (I used 1 pouch of mint, a little less than 1/2 cup)
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

  1. Make the simple syrup: combine sugar, water and lemon zest in a small saucepan set over medium heat.  Stir occasionally until sugar has dissolved.  Remove from the heat and stir in the mint.  Let sit for 10 minutes.
  2. Puree the melon in 2 batches in a blender until very smooth.  Transfer to a large bowl after blending.
  3. Strain the simple syrup and pour it with the pureed melon.
  4. Stir in the lemon juice and corn syrup.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
  5. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions.
  6. Scoop into a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least a few hours.  Sorbet will be hard, let warm up on the counter before scooping.

Coconut Milk and Pineapple Popsicles

I might have a little bit of an obsession with coconut and pineapple at the moment.  These ice cream sundaes, the coconut milk and honey lotion I bought yesterday and these popsicles make me wonder if I have a problem.  Maybe it’s the thought of summer and I’m just trying to mentally transport myself somewhere sunny and tropical.  And maybe it’s a pregnancy craving thing.  Either way, I’m ok with it.  And I’m totally ok with these pina colada-like popsicles.  They’re refreshing, the ingredient list is short and they take almost no time to make!  If you haven’t tried making your own popsicles (like me up until I made these) you should try it!

Coconut Milk and Pineapple Popsicles | Hottie Biscotti

All you need for these is a can of coconut milk, a small can of crushed pineapple, a little vanilla and a little sugar.  Mix it up, pour the mixture into popsicle molds and pop them into the freezer until they’re frozen solid.  That’s all there is to it!  Then you can sit outside and eat one of these and pretend you’re at the beach somewhere.  Maybe put on some island music, wear a big floppy hat and put your feet in your kid’s sandbox for added effect.

Coconut Milk and Pineapple Popsicles | Hottie Biscotti

Betsy couldn’t resist trying these, and I was surprised how much she liked it.  She enjoyed her bite so much that I had to go get myself another one because there was no way I was going to pry it from her hands.

Coconut Milk and Pineapple Popsicles | Hottie Biscotti

I found these popsicle molds at World Market.  I like that they have the built in drip catchers, it’s perfect for my kids who get all kinds of bothered when their hands start to get messy.  And really it’s a good thing for adults, too!  To unmold them after a full 24 hours in the freezer I had to run them under warm water and occasionally wiggle the sticks until they were ready to come loose.  Overall I was pleased with the $5 purchase.

Coconut Milk and Pineapple Popsicles | Hottie Biscotti

The texture of these popsicles is creamy thanks to the luscious coconut milk, but with just enough chew from the pineapple to make them interesting.  I found one tablespoon of sugar to be enough sweetness, but if you like things sweeter you could add another tablespoon.  These are also really satisfying because of the coconut milk.  It’s almost like eating ice cream.  Do you have a favorite at-home popsicle recipe?  I’d love to hear about it!

Coconut Milk and Pineapple Popsicles

Makes 6 pops

Ingredients

  • 1 can of full fat coconut milk
  • 1 small can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Directions

  1. Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl.
  2. Pour mixture into the popsicle molds.
  3. Freeze for at least 8 hours or until frozen solid.
  4. Unmold by letting popsicles warm up on the counter, or by running molds under warm water (without letting water get into the tops of the mold) wiggling sticks occasionally to see if they’ve thawed enough to remove easily.
  5. Eat and enjoy.

Simple Sundae: Brown Sugared Pineapple with Toasted Coconut and Almonds

I love ice cream.  And I eat it a lot.  I have some pretty much every night of the week.  And I usually have 2 flavors in my freezer at all times.  I’m not even lying.  Sometimes I keep it really simple, especially if I have a flavor that already has a lot of goodies in it.  When I eat vanilla ice cream, though, I just have to mix something in, chocolate chips, crumbled cookies or chopped up candy like Reese’s or Snickers.

With summer weather upon us I can’t think of anything better than trying out some new ice cream toppings!  This one has pineapple cooked in warm brown sugar sauce and is topped off with toasted coconut and almonds.  It’s real good and real easy,

Brown Sugared Pineapple Sundae with Coconut and Almonds | Hottie Biscotti

This week I found myself with an incredibly delicious container of fresh pineapple after using one as a pregnancy photo prop.  It’s great for snacking and for adding to yogurt, but I wanted to try something a little different with it.  A while back a friend made dessert for a dinner party by just cooking up some fresh pineapple in butter and brown sugar and serving it on top of ice cream.  I used the same method but added some toasted coconut and almonds to make a delicious, quick and simple ice cream sundae.

I used vanilla ice cream in this sundae, but coconut would be delicious and add to the tropical-ness of the dessert.  To toast the coconut and almonds, simply spread them out on a cookie sheet and pop them in a 350°F oven for a few minutes, until everything just begins to brown.  The coconut will brown quicker, so you can do them on separate cookie sheets, or remove the coconut from the cookie sheet and continue to toast the almonds.  But do make sure to have them toasted!  The flavor is better and so is the texture in the sundae.

Brown Sugared Pineapple Sundae with Coconut and Almonds | Hottie Biscotti

Do you have any favorite toppings for your ice cream?  I can always use some new ideas!

Brown Sugared Pineapple, Toasted Coconut and Almond Sundaes

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the Pineapple

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 heaping cup fresh pineapple, cut into chunks

For the Sundaes

  • vanilla ice cream
  • toasted coconut chips or unsweetened coconut
  • toasted sliced almonds

Directions

Pineapple

  1. Heat a small skillet over medium heat and add the butter.  Allow it to melt almost completely.
  2. Add in the brown sugar and increase the heat to medium high.  Stir the sugar and butter together until the sugar has dissolved.
  3. Add in the pineapple and stir to coat each piece of pineapple.  Let it cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar mixture has thickened a bit and the pineapple has warmed through.  Remove from the heat.

Sundaes

  1. Scoop ice cream into 4 small bowls.
  2. Divide the pineapple and sauce evenly among the bowls.
  3. Sprinkle coconut and almonds on top and serve.

 

 

Frozen S’mores Mousse

The name of this retro dessert in the cookbook I found it in is chocolate marlow, but I figured that while that might intrigue some people, it would be better to describe it more…descriptively.  It’s a chocolate and marshmallow mousse that’s frozen then topped with whipped cream, sugar coated graham crackers and some chopped chocolate.  In other words,  amazing.

Frozen S'mores Mousse | Hottie Biscotti

If you like the flavors of a s’more but want something a little different and dressed up, then you’ll love this.  The marshmallow flavor is there but is not overwhelming or cloying.  The graham crackers are baked with egg white and a sprinkling of sugar that transforms them into something really incredible.  There’s a terrific crunch from the sugar and a kind of toasted-ness that makes these a perfect garnish.  I’d definitely make more graham crackers next time since they’re also a good alternative to a spoon or fork!

After making a chocolate base of marshmallow, chocolate and milk it is chilled then folded in with whipped cream.  After a 1 hour chill in the freezer it is perfectly scoop-able.  If you allow it to harden completely in the freezer you need to let it sit out for 20-30 minutes before scooping.

Frozen S'mores Mousse | Hottie Biscotti

After scooping I decided topping this with a little sweetened whipped cream couldn’t hurt anybody.  A couple of the graham crackers and a square of chocolate top this off perfectly.

Frozen S'mores Mousse | Hottie Biscotti

Crumble up the graham crackers over everything before enjoying!

Frozen S'mores Mousse | Hottie Biscotti

Frozen S’mores Mousse

From America’s Best Lost Recipes 

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

Mousse

  • 2 cups mini marshmallows
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 6 ounces semisweet chocolate (I used 4 ounces semisweet and 2 ounces 60% cocoa) chopped
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 1/3 cups heavy cream

Sugared Crackers

  • 4 whole graham crackers (or more)
  • 1 egg white, lightly beaten
  • granulated sugar

Garnish

  • Sweetened whipped cream
  • chocolate squares

Directions

Mousse

  1. Combine the marshmallows, milk and chocolate in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly until marshmallows are melted completely and mixture is smooth.
  2. Pour the mixture into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill for an hour in the refrigerator.
  3. Whip cream to soft peaks and stir in vanilla.
  4. Fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture,
  5. Scoop into a 2 quart souffle dish and freeze for 1 hour.

Sugared Graham Crackers

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Lay crackers out on cookie sheet.  Brush each with the egg white, then sprinkle evenly with sugar.
  3. Bake for about 5 minutes, then let cool completely and break into pieces.

Assemble

  1. If mousse is still scoop-able, scoop into dessert bowls.  If it is too hard to scoop, let warm up a bit.
  2. Top with whipped cream, a couple of crackers and a chocolate square.