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Easy No-Churn Watermelon Sorbet

Easy No-Churn Watermelon Sorbet

by | Jan 27, 2017 | 2 comments

It ain’t summer without watermelon, right? Long lazy weekends by the pool (or the beach) chomping on a slice of bright pink watermelon and not even noticing that the juice is dripping down your elbows 'cos it tastes THAT delicious! Aaaah watermelon TASTES like summer and it's even better when it's frozen. And so let me introduce you to my no-churn, instant (yes, you read that right - INSTANT) sorbet that requires almost zero effort. It's so easy to make the kids can help. I've added a touch of booze (which you can obviously leave out for a kiddy version - but the touch of sea salt on the glass? That's a must! It adds that salty tang that will bring back memories of munching watermelon slices on the beach!

No-Churn Watermelon Sorbet

Serves 3-4

 

4 tbsp Natura Sugars Golden Caster Sugar

4 cups chopped watermelon chunks or juice (seeds removed), frozen

squeeze of lime

1-2 tbsp Campari or Aperol (optional)

pinch of sea salt

 

Place the sugar and frozen watermelon chunks in a blender with a squeeze of lime and the Campari or Aperol, if using. Blend until the mixture is a thick, frozen slushy consistency. Served immediately or pour into a container or baking tin (a loaf tin works well) and freeze until firm. Serve scoops in frozen glasses rimmed with sea salt.

 

 

TIP Use this recipe to create whatever sorbet you're craving - simply swop out the frozen watermelon for frozen pineapple, mango, raspberries, strawberries or any seasonal fruit mix.

Instant 3-Ingredient Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt

Instant 3-Ingredient Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt

by | Jan 11, 2017 | 1 comment

My fondest memory of strawberries is the strawberry jam my mom used to simmer up when I was a child - she'd buy them in bulk when they were in season and cheap and torment us all by filling the house with the smell of sweet strawberries and boiling sugar on what always felt like the hottest of summer days! It was, appropriately, hard work which resulted in the sweetest of rewards!

And speaking of sweet rewards, do you remember the days when delicious, sweet strawberries were only available during summer? When you'd spot that first punnet on the supermarket shelf and do a little happy dance on the inside? (or on the outside - I don't judge). While they seem to be on shelf all year round now, I flat out refuse to buy them out of season - they never taste quite as good as when you have to wait for them don't they? And while my fondest memories of them do involve jam, I'm not about to sweat myself to death over a stovetop to relive my childhood memories (sorry mom!). So instead, I'm telling you to go the opposite way and not cook anything at all!

This strawberry FRO-YO (as the kids are calling it now-days or Frozen Yoghurt to the rest of us) is so easy I've called it instant and the only reason it is delicious is because all the glory goes to the strawberries and their natural sweetness (so you may not even need the honey!). While strawberries scooped my vote (see what I did there!) you may want to go with pineapple or mango or passionfruit or blueberries - the best thing about this recipe is it can be whatever you want it to be!

Instant 3-Ingredient Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt

Serves 4-6

 

250g strawberries, hulled, chopped and frozen

1 cup (250ml) full cream plain yoghurt, frozen in ice cube trays

2-3 tbsp honey, to taste

 

Place the strawberries, frozen yoghurt blocks and honey into a blender with ¼ cup water and blend until smooth and thick. Use a little water or milk if necessary. Serve immediately or pour into a freezer-proof container and freeze until firm.

 

 

TIP For a creamier frozen yoghurt, add a few more spoonfuls of yoghurt. Swop out the strawberries for any other summer fruit.

Neapolitan Ice Cream Cake with Raspberries

Neapolitan Ice Cream Cake with Raspberries

by | Jan 11, 2017 | 1 comment

They say you can't buy happiness, but you can buy ice cream. And that's sort of the same thing isn't it?! Well how about buying the ingredients to create this spectacular show-stopper of a beauty guaranteed to bring you happiness. This ice cream cake is so ridiculous easy to make I should be embarrassed for even sharing it. But I'm not.
This recipe combines two of my childhood memories; I'm sure I'm not the only one to remember licking melted dribbles of artificially-flavoured strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice cream off my fingers. And of course, the ice cream had to be served in those hideous pink cones!  The other childhood memory is trips to Milky Lane for soft serve - which meant an award for best parents for mom and dad!  I would sit and swoon over the intricate ice cream cakes that were made to order - if you managed to score a Milky Lane ice cream cake for your birthday party then you were the luckiest kid ever.
 
 Despite the kitsch-ness that we associate with Neopolitan ice cream, it actually has a far more dignified history. Invented in Italy (Naples to be exact) it was apparently first made up of the colours of the Italian flag - pistachio, vanilla and cherry! Over time, pistachio and cherry (sadly!) got ditched for the more popular chocolate and strawberry. I've subbed the chocolate layer for a brownie base but if that's too much effort, then go for chocolate cake, crushed chocolate biscuits or even just good ol' chocolate ice cream!

Neapolitan Ice Cream Cake

Serves 10-12

 

300g The Kate Tin Dark Baking Chocolate, roughly chopped

150g unsalted butter

2 tsp vanilla

150g caster sugar

3 eggs, beaten

75g plain flour

2 tbsp The Kate Tin Cocoa Powder

1 tsp salt

1L vanilla ice cream, softened

1L raspberry, strawberry or mixed berry sorbet, softened

Chocolate sauce, to decorate

Fresh raspberries, frozen, to decorate

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 20cm spring form cake tin with baking paper. For the brownie base, melt 200g chopped chocolate, butter and vanilla together in a heatproof bowl, set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the surface of the water does not touch the bowl. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar, then leave to cool for a few minutes. Beat in the eggs, then sift in the flour, cocoa and salt and fold in until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Stir in the remaining chocolate. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and level the top. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until the top starts to crack but the centre remains gooey. Turn off the oven and leave the brownies inside for a further 5 minutes before removing. Leave to cool completely in the tin. Loosen with a palette knife, clean the tin and place the brownie base back in the cake tin. Spread over the softened sorbet and place in the freezer to set. Top with softened vanilla ice cream and and freeze until set. Remove from the mould, top with chocolate sauce and decorate with raspberries.

 

 

TIP

No-Churn Passion Fruit Cheesecake Ice Cream

No-Churn Passion Fruit Cheesecake Ice Cream

by | Jan 11, 2017 | 10 comments

If there is ONE ingredient that perfectly sums up the flavour of summer it would be passion fruit right? (side note: we call it granadilla here in South Africa and I'd love to be able to tell you a funny, quirky story as to why we do but frankly the internet let me down on this one!) And if there is ONE dish that perfectly sums up the feeling of summer, it's of course, ice cream. Put them together and you're basically eating a summer holiday! My kinda food.
Also, incase you haven't noticed yet, there are TWO desserts in ONE here. Bonus! Cheesecake and ice cream are always a good idea.
Put them together and you have a damn good idea! This ice cream is for those days when someone asks you, would you like cheesecake or ice cream? And your answer? Just say 'YES!'
I crumbled in my favourite Eet Sum Mores (appropriately named, yet innappropriately spelled) but you could use Oreos or gingersnaps or chocolate chips, throw in some caramel swirl or lemon curd, or crushed up meringue!
*sigh* I love my job.

No Churn Passion Fruit Cheesecake Ice Cream

Makes 1L
225g full fat cream cheese

1 tin (400g) sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups cream, whipped to stiff peaks

230g passion fruit pulp

5-8 shortbread biscuits, crumbled

Beat cream cheese until smooth then add in the condensed milk and mix until creamy. Fold in the whipped cream gently and lightly to retain the air.

Pour a third of the mixture into a freezer-proof container (a metal loaf tin works well), swirl 1/3 of the passion fruit into the mix then crumble over some of the shortbread. Repeat with the rest of the mix, swirling and scattering in between each layer. Freeze until firm (about 4 hours). To serve, remove from the freezer for 10 minutes then serve scoops with extra passion fruit pulp and crushed shortbread, if desired.

 

TIP Not a passion fruit person (are you even human?!) then imagine this frozen creamy cheesecakey goodness swirled with strawberries, or blueberries, or mango - no pineapple!

Chocolate Peppermint Crisp Ice Cream Cake

Chocolate Peppermint Crisp Ice Cream Cake

by | Jan 11, 2017 | 0 comments

#SPONSORED

Is Chocolate and Peppermint THE power couple of the dessert world?

Why yes, yes I think they are! Just look at how good they look together - they were clearly just mint to be! (#sorrynotsorry)

I have an odd relationship with mint chocolate. It was not something I always loved but what I do remember, is that during the holidays after my sister and I would go to bed, my mom would sneak out a box of those thin mint chocolates when she thought the coast was clear. The fact that the grown-ups were devouring chocolate when I was trying to fall asleep to the sound of wrappers crinkling, elevated those mint chocolates to lust-worthy status. You know, you always want what you can't have!

Don't worry, I've made up for the amount of mint chocolate I missed out on as a kid though - probably 3 times over - which brings me to my latest flavour combination. This ice cream cake is so retro it would be embarrassing if not for the fact that it tastes so darn good! I know frosted mint leaves are so 70's but there's a reason why they've been around so long! When you add that beautiful thin veil of the best sugar you can find onto fresh mint (I used the unrefined Natura Sugars Golden Caster Sugar), the crisp crystallized leaves add a sweet crunch to the ice cream that's just perfection with the dark chocolate sauce!

The ice cream itself is the real deal - none of that fake mint flavouring here please! It's rich, creamy and made with mint from that bush that's been taking over your garden and just keeps growing back (don't worry, we all have one!). Layered with homemade bitter chocolate biscuits (which is hands-down the biscuit recipe I make the most) and topped with dark chocolate, this is the kind of decadent deliciousness that I imagined the grown-ups were devouring while I was trying to fall asleep - except it doesn't involve wrappers, so you're safe!

Chocolate Peppermint Crisp Ice Cream Cake

Serves 8-10

 

Chocolate Biscuits

100g butter, softened

50g Natura Sugars Golden Caster Sugar

100g self-raising flour

25g The Kate Tin Cocoa Powder

 

Mint No-Churn Ice Cream

1 x 400g tin condensed milk (Make your own with my recipe here - I made mine using the Natura Sugars Golden Caster Sugar)

Handful fresh mint leaves* (about 12g)

500ml cream, whipped

50g chopped peppermint crisp bar

 

Ice Cap Chocolate Sauce

1 cup The Kate Tin Dark Baking Chocolate, chopped

3 tbsp coconut oil (use unflavoured if you like)

 

Frosted Mint Leaves

Handful fresh mint leaves

1 egg white, beaten

1/2 cup Natura Golden Caster Sugar

Chopped peppermint crisp, to decorate

 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius conventional (or 160 degrees celcius for fan-forced). Line a cookie sheet with baking paper. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Mix in the rest of the ingredients to form a soft dough then shape into a log on a lightly floured surface, wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Once chilled, cut the dough into 1/4cm thick discs and place on the lined baking tray, leaving enough space for the cookies to spread. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cookies are cooked through but still soft.  Allow to cool completely.

For the ice cream, place the condensed milk in a blender and add the mint leaves. Blend until smooth. Pour into the whipped cream and fold through gently. Lastly, fold in the chopped peppermint crisp. Prepare 20cm springform cake tin by lining the outside with cling wrap.To assemble the ice cream cake, arrange a layer of the biscuits in the bottom of the cake tin then pour 1/2 the ice cream mix over the top, add another layer of cookies, the rest of the ice cream and finish with a final layer of cookies then place in the freezer until firm. Pour any leftover ice cream in a seperate container and freeze until firm.

To make the frosted mint leaves, brush the leaves with a thin layer of egg white then toss in the caster sugar. Place on a cooling rack and allow to dry for 3-4 hours.  Unmould the ice cream cake by dipping briefly in room temperature tap water then loosening the bottom. Place on a cake stand then top with scoops of the leftover ice cream, drizzle with the chocolate sauce and decorate with chopped peppermint crisp and the frosted mint leaves.

 

*TIP To get a bright green colour, blanch the mint leaves in hot water briefly then refresh in ice water and drain well.

This post has been created in collaboration with Natura Sugars who produce a range of really special sugars that are unrefined and made according to traditional Mauritian sugar-making techniques. The sugars are non-GM, non-irradiated and unbleached with no preservatives, colourants or syrups added which basically means they are pure, natural and packed with flavour!  They're available from Spar, Checkers and Pick 'n Pay stores. 

Chocolate Amarula Ice Cream Lollies

Chocolate Amarula Ice Cream Lollies

by | Jan 11, 2017 | 4 comments

My childhood memories are filled with late-night trips to the shops to buy 4 x Magnum ice creams; white chocolate for my mom, mint crisp for my dad, almond for my sister, and plain for me. The fact that we lived on a farm 10km away from the closest corner shop was not a relevant factor when a craving struck at 8pm after dinner on a Friday night. And so my dad would get in the car and drive to make the women in his life happy (relationship goals, I tell you!). I don't think there is a South African alive who doesn't have an extreme soft spot for a Magnum ice cream, so I thought I'd have some fun and create a grown-up version of one of my favourite childhood treats; loaded with Amarula! I can't really decide what the best part of this lolly is; is it the ridiculously rich and creamy no-churn ice cream in the middle? Or the homemade chocolate ice cap sauce coating that cracks when bite into it? Either parts will change your life.

Chocolate Amarula Ice Cream Lollies

Makes 6-8

 

600 ml double cream

1 tsp vanilla

3 tbsp Amarula (optional)

1 x tin (397g) sweetened condensed milk

200ml cream, whipped

 

Dark Chocolate Dip (Ice Cap)

200g The Kate Tin Dark Baking Chocolate drops (click to shop)

160g odourless coconut oil

 

50g milk chocolate, melted, to decorate (optional)

 

To make the ice cream, whisk the double cream, vanilla, Amarula and condensed milk together until smooth and thickened slightly. Fold in the whipped cream then pour into lolly moulds. Insert wooden popsicle sticks and freeze for about 4 hours or until firm. Make the dip by melting the dark chocolate and coconut oil in a bowl of a saucepan of gently simmering water until melted and smooth. Allow to cool slightly then pour into a drinking glass or jug (to allow for easy dipping). Dip the ice cream mould briefly in hot water to remove the lollies then dip into the melted chocolate. Place on a tray lined with baking paper, drizzle with the melted milk chocolate and quickly put them back in the freezer until firm.

 

 

 

TIP Freeze a baking tray to pop the dipped lollies onto – this will stop them from melting fast on a hot day!