Coffee and Cardamom Instant Soft Serve

Coffee and Cardamom Instant Soft Serve

by | Mar 1, 2018 | 0 comments

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No-churn ice cream recipes are my favourite. Not only because, let’s face it, who can afford to buy an ice cream machine?! But secondly, they are so much more flexible when it comes to getting creative with flavours. Making your own soft serve is as easy as heating everything together, freeze it in ziplock bags then blend it up in a food processor and voila! Soft serve!

Coffee and Cardamom Soft Serve in a glass tumbler with pistachios sprinkles

Although soft serve ice cream reminds me of trips to the beach as a kid I wanted to give it a very grown up flavour – coffee, cardamom and the deliciously malty flavour of Natura Sugar’s Unrefined Molasses Sugar.  The molasses sugar doesn’t just add sweetness, but loads of flavour which is so important when you have only a handful of ingredients! Many of you have asked where you can find the Natura Sugars range – find them in Clicks, Checkers, PnP and Spars (Hint: Clicks are having a 3 for 2 special on the sugar at the moment!). Or alternatively you can shop them online here.

If you’d rather make the flavour of the soft serve a bit more traditional, replace the espresso with fruit puree and change up the spice. Give my no-churn watermelon sorbet a whirl too – it’s perfect for summer!

Molasses sugar spilling out on a pink surface

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Coffee and Cardamom Instant Soft Serve

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp ground cardamom
  • 90ml hot espresso
  • 1 cup milk
  • 300g (1 cup) Natura Sugars Molasses Sugar
  • 3 cups (750ml) cream

Instructions

  1. Place the cardamom, espresso, milk, Natura Sugars Molasses Sugar and cream in a pot and stir gently over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. Divide the mixture between two ziplock bags and press out as much air as possible. Place each bag flat on a baking tray and freeze until solid. Remove the ice cream from the freezer, break into pieces and place in the bowl of a food processor until smooth. Working quickly, place the soft serve in a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe the soft serve into waffle cones or cups.
https://thekatetin.com/coffee-cardamom-instant-soft-serve/

 

Brown Butter Pancakes with No-Churn Chestnut Ice Cream

Brown Butter Pancakes with No-Churn Chestnut Ice Cream

by | May 17, 2017 | 0 comments

brown butter pancakes

There’s no better way to celebrate Autumn than with hot, crispy-edged brown butter pancakes and chestnuts!  I’m sure you can feel it… The chill in the air, the leaves crunching under your feet and the sense that everything is ready to go to sleep. Autumn is my absolute favourite time of the year. Snuggly jerseys, copious cups of tea, ridiculous amounts of butter and fluffy socks. There’s also the promise of the Newlands forest floor being covered in mushrooms ready to be plucked – which is, to be honest, my only form of winter exercise. But while I was a tad too early for porcini, on my last forage I stumbled upon chestnuts – loads and loads of chestnuts.

brown butter pancakes

They instantly reminded me of my trip of Italy a few years ago, where standing on a street corner in Venice, freezing cold, I scoffed two paper bags of chestnuts that had been toasted right in front of me over a fire made in a tin can. Casual for Italians, a revelation to me – mostly because my first taste of chestnuts as a child, had been a disaster. My dad had come home one day with an entire bag of prickly green balls and announced triumphantly that we would be toasting them! While much excitement ensued, our enthusiasm didn’t make up for the apparent lack of knowledge of just how to cook them – my mom threw them into the oven with the hard brown shell still on and so we all bit into teeth-breakingly hard nuts. If only Google was around then!

Chestnuts

After that trip to Italy, where I realised that the shell had to be scored with a kiss (an X) before going into the oven, so that the chestnuts split open while roasting, releasing the creamy, sweet nut inside – I was hooked! After roasting you can turn them into a puree which is amazing on pavlovas, in between cakes, cookies or in this deliciously creamy ice cream. I’ve paired it with my favourite Autumn dessert, brown butter pancakes. Another revelation of frying ‘plain’ pancakes in brown butter to make the edges go all crispy (the best bit!). If you can’t find fresh chestnuts, use the tinned chestnut puree which you can find at most delis or online here. Otherwise, simply swap it out for any nut butter – think pecan, almond or cashew. And don’t skip the spiced caramelised nuts – they absolutely make the dish!

Brown butter pancakes

BROWN BUTTER PANCAKES WITH CHESTNUT ICE CREAM AND SPICED PECANS

Serves 4

 

BROWN BUTTER PANCAKES

100g salted butter

125g cake flour

pinch of salt

2 large eggs

250ml milk

 

ICE CREAM

3 cups (750ml) cream

1 cup (250ml) milk

1/2 cup (125ml) icing sugar, sifted

100g tinned sweetened chestnut puree

 

SPICED PECANS

100g pecan nuts

1/4 cup (60ml) brown sugar

1 tsp (5ml) ground cinnamon

 

To make the brown butter pancakes, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling every now and then, until the butter froths and starts turning brown. It is ready when it smells like toasted nuts. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. Place the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk the eggs and milk and whisk into the dry ingredients. Add 2 tablespoons of the brown butter. Allow the batter to stand for 30 minutes. Heat a non-stick frying pan and brush with the brown butter, pour a 1/4 cup of batter into the hot pan and swirl to coat.  When the edges begin to lift, flip over and cook the other side until brown. Repeat with the remaining batter and brown butter.

To make the ice cream, whisk the cream, milk, sugar and chestnut puree together in a large jug. Divide the mixture into two large ziplock bags and seal well. Lay the bags flat and freeze until firm. Break the frozen cream mixture into junks and place it in a blender of food processor – process until the mixture forms a soft serve consistency. Quickly pour into a freezer proof container and freeze until firm.

To make the nuts, place the sugar in a small saucepan or frying pan with 1 tbsp water and heat until golden and caramelised. Add the pecan nuts and stir to coat. Add the cinnamon and keep stirring until the sugar starts crystallizing (you can speed the process up by adding a teaspoonful of brown sugar), once the nuts are coated well, spread onto a lined baking sheet to cool.

Serve the pancakes with a scoop of chestnut ice cream and a sprinkling of the spiced nuts.

 

 

 

TIP Make your own sweetened chestnut puree by roasting 200g shell-on chestnuts; to do this, score an ‘X’ into the flat side of the chestnut and place them on a baking sheet in an oven preheated to 240C for 10 minutes. Allow to cool then peel off the hard shell. Place the chestnuts into a saucepan with 2 cups milk, 1 tsp vanilla (if desired) and simmer until the chestnuts are soft. Add 1/2 cup more milk, 1/4 cup sugar and stir to dissolve. Place the mixture into a food processor and blend until smooth. Strain through a sieve and bottle in sterilized jars to store.

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.

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

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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.