Magic Chocolate Ice Cream

A recent freebie issue in the mail from Cook's Country, one of the publications from the charming and oh-so-scientific folks at America's Test Kitchen, arrived at La Casa Errant Cook not long ago, and I've begun working my way through some of the supremely delicious-looking recipes.

Naturally, when I came upon the recipe for Magic Chocolate Ice Cream, promising rich and creamy chocolaty decadence without the need for churning in an ice cream machine, I knew that I had found my first test subject. 

My husband and I normally eat chocolate ice cream with shovels rather than spoons, but even we were floored by the richness of this stuff.  Small servings won't leave you disappointed.  You and your waistline have been warned.

Magic Chocolate Ice Cream
Adapted from Cook's Country
Makes about a half gallon

2 tsp. instant coffee or espresso powder
2 tbsp. hot water
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch salt
2 1/2 cups cold heavy cream

Combine the coffee powder and hot water in a medium bowl and let it sit for about 5 minutes, until the powder is dissolved.  Add the chopped chocolate and sweetened condensed milk and microwave until melted, about 2 minutes, stirring every 20 seconds or so.  Stir in salt and vanilla and set aside to cool.

Whip the heavy cream in a large bowl or in a stand mixer until soft peaks form, about 5-7 minutes.

Whisk about 1/3 of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture until incorporated.  Stream the chocolate mixture into the remaining whipped cream and fold gently with a large rubber spatula until combined.

Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze 6 hours or overnight.

The inspiration.

The chocolate.

If you don't have sweetened condensed milk, you can use evaporated milk and sugar- one 12 oz. can to about 1 2/3 cups of sugar, heated gently in a saucepan and stirred until the sugar is dissolved.  Measure what you need out of the pan and put the rest in a glass jar with a lid in the fridge to use later.

Chopped chocolate.  Try not to eat too much of it.

Chocolate is combined with coffee powder, hot water, and condensed milk before being melted in the microwave.  Try not to eat too much of it.

Whip the tar out of the cold heavy cream until soft peaks form.

About 1/3 of the whipped cream is whisked into the chocolate mixture.

Fold the chocolate mixture into the rest of the whipped cream.

Be careful.  You too will make stupid faces like this once you taste what you've created.  Try not to eat too much of it.

The completed mousse-like mixture, ready for the freezer.  An old sherbet container serves me well in this instance- it's the perfect size and it's a good way to reuse!

OH SWEET LORDY, YES.

Wordless Week, Episode Three: Apple-Raisin Turnovers

Key Lime Icebox Pie

The recent grocery store find of $0.89/pound bags of organic key limes sent me scurrying to the recipe from Cook's Country for Key Lime Icebox Pie.  I'm a huge citrus fan and have wanted to try this recipe for a while now.

It's a simple, no-cook dessert, and despite being a *bit* too tart (which I could've fixed but didn't- don't ask me why because I don't have a good reason), we still enjoyed it after adding ridiculous dollops of homemade whipped cream.

My first task was to juice two pounds of key limes.  The original recipe calls for using regular (Persian) limes, which would've been easier, but apparently I'm a glutton for punishment.  Juicing 50 to 60 teeny tiny limes is a great way to find every single cut and hangnail on your hands! 

It's also time-consuming, but I just juiced a few here and there while I was doing other stuff in the kitchen, rather than all at once.  And thankfully, these little green gems were thin-skinned, which made for easier juicing.  Take note- it's also easier to juice citrus that has been brought to room temperature rather than cold fruit.

So tiny and cute!

Strained juice, lime carcasses, and whole limes being stripped of their zest.

The chilled pie, complete with homemade graham cracker crust.

Plain slice - a bit too tart for our tastes but still pretty!

Now *that's* more like it!  :D

Day Twenty-Five: Creamy Lemon Squares

Day 25 of Operation: Expand Horizons brings another dessert from Everyday Food- Creamy Lemon Squares from the June 2008 issue.

This simple yet delicious dessert comes together quickly and easily. The crust only has four ingredients: butter, salt, flour, and powdered sugar. The filling has only three: lemon juice, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks. After briefly baking the shortbread-like crust, whisked-together filling is poured in and the whole thing gets baked until set. Chill, cut, and dust with powdered sugar, and you have a dessert that's sure to please.

Yum!

Day Nineteen: Quick Lemon Mousse

Day nineteen of Operation: Expand Horizons brings a fast and easy dessert from Martha's minions- Quick Lemon Mousse from the May 2010 issue of Everyday Food.

This citrusy, creamy concoction is made up of no more than gelatin, sugar, lemon juice, water, and heavy cream, and is chilled briefly before being served with some berries to balance the tanginess. I would love to have used the blackberries called for in the recipe, but again, my budget dictates my ingredients, and blackberries are about $5.00 for a half pint. No thanks! I had some good (and inexpensive) strawberries, and they were an excellent substitute.

The recipe states it serves 4, but it could have easily served 6 instead, especially when you have plenty of fruit to pair with. The generous portions were a little too much, and the lemony flavor can be a little overwhelming if you eat the whole bowl. Nevertheless, this super fast and elegant dessert is a must for the repertoire of sweets.

Leftover Chocolate Cake Trifle

Baking my cousin's groom's cake left me with an extra 9" square of chocolate stout cake, but no frosting. On a whim, I decided to turn the cake into an easy dessert.

I used about 3/4 of the cake and cut it into 1" cubes, and whipped and sweetened some heavy cream. If you've never made homemade whipped cream, WHY THE HELL NOT? It's super easy and much tastier than the frozen artificial crap in the tub, or the greasy stuff in the aerosol can.

Chill a small glass bowl and the beaters from an electric mixer in the freezer for about ten minutes. When they're icy cold, deposit about half a cup of heavy cream, a tablespoon or so of sugar, and a half teaspoon of vanilla extract into the bowl, attach the beaters, and beat the ever lovin' tar out of it. Taste it halfway through and adjust sugar if needed. You don't want to add sugar after it's fully whipped, or the sugar won't dissolve. When you can hold the bowl sideways or even upside down without spilling, it's done.

Once I had my sweet whipped cream and cake cubes, I put a layer of cake pieces on the bottom of a small round casserole. I drizzled some cold leftover coffee over the cake, spread on a layer of whipped cream, generously drizzled on some Hershey's chocolate syrup, and repeated with a second layer of cake, coffee, whipped cream, and syrup.

I chilled the whole mess for about 20 minutes before scooping some out into bowls. Delicious!