Tag Archives: dairy

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Irish Coffee Milkshake with Whiskey Caramel

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Yes, it’s another ice-cream-drink…and yeah, maybe it was lunch yesterday. I hope you don’t mind, I’m just in the mood for stripey straws and swift-sweet-tooth-satisfaction…plus, this one is different because of the BOOZE factor.

It’s no secret that this weekend is a BFD for lovers of all things green, and pinching, and Ireland, and Guinness,  and corned beef, and whiskey, and drunk-stumbling camaraderie. As a certifiable hermit, I’m not one for crazy, raucous partying, but I do like to get down with a festive, boozey, treat to share with my favorites (you all included!). Enter this milkshake. It’s dead-simple, I mean…I know we can all handle making a milkshake, so think of this as more of a suggestive guide, rather than a recipe.

We’re blending together store-bought coffee ice cream, a little milk mixed with a little espresso powder, some whiskey (if I had any shame, I’d be real and use certifiable Irish whiskey…but I didn’t), and a boozed-up homemade caramel sauce. This shake has some of my favorite flavors ever–I mean, whiskey and caramel should just be BFF’s, right? plus, coffee? Get out. This shake is a quick indulgence for one, but can be easily adapted to make a batch of impressive, crowd-pleasing treats. Pop in a straw and knock one back!

Irish Coffee Milkshake

Makes 1 milkshake. 

I’m sure you guys know what a milkshake is all about and exactly how you like them, so ratios below are just a suggestion. Shake it up, add mix-ins, do yo’ thing. 

2 hefty scoops of your favorite coffee ice cream

2-4 tablespoons of milk

1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1 ounce (or as much as you want) whiskey

whiskey caramel sauce (recipe below)

whipped cream to garnish

Begin by dissolving the espresso powder in the milk, add to a blender canister along with the ice cream, whiskey, and a generous drizzle of caramel sauce. Blend it up! Drizzle the inside of your glass with more caramel, pour in the shake, top with whipped cream and more caramel if desired. Cheers!

Whiskey Caramel Sauce:

adapted from THIS recipe.

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1 Tablespoon golden syrup (or corn syrup)

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 ounce whiskey

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium saucepan combine the sugar, water, and golden syrup, gently combine. Heat over medium-high until the mixture becomes a syrup and comes to a boil. Continue to boil until the syrup becomes a deep golden, brown caramel color–as dark as you dare before it burns. Remove from heat and quickly whisk in the butter, cream, and salt, until smooth. Return to heat if needed to create a smooth sauce. Whisk in the whiskey to combine. Pour into a heatproof jar and cool. Can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for a week.

 

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Whiskey Brown-Butterscotch Pudding with Ganache + Sea Salt

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Pudding is my re-set dessert. It’s my no-fail stand-by.  The measuring is therapeutic–there aren’t that many ingredients and this recipe includes booze AND browned butter…so, there’s that. The constant whisking lets me get my thoughts together, there’s a comfort in the monotony. Plus, at the end…there’s warm, silky, lush pudding and there are few things finer than that.

This recipe combines some of my favorite dessert flavors all in one nostalgic cup. Think of these as the grown-up snack-pack…with all the layers that we all love, but with flavors that are decidedly adult. Toffee-like brown butter, sweet and deep brown sugar, fiery whiskey, dark and bitter chocolate, and a little flaky salt for good measure and crunch. The ganache top-hat does double duty–adding a welcome chocolatey bitterness, PLUS it seals the pudding, preventing the (dreaded) skin from forming. I love a practical and pretty garnish!

Whiskey Brown-Butterscotch Pudding w/ Ganache + Sea Salt

Makes 4 large or 8 moderate servings.

adapted from THIS recipe.

This recipe is adapted from an earlier post–I just really love homemade butterscotch pudding, guys! This version has a bit more butter and booze, and of course the ganache cap. This recipe can be made with whole or percent milk–I’ve made it both ways with great results. You can adjust the amount of whiskey for your liking. I did 4 tablespoons–it was super boozey and delish! 

Ganache:

3 ounces dark chocolate, chopped or chips

3 ounces heavy cream

sea salt for sprinkling

Pudding:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 1/4 cups milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

3 egg yolks

2-4 tablespoons whiskey

1 teaspoon vanilla

Make the ganache first. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Begin by scalding the cream in a saucepan–that means heat the cream until small bubbles begin to form around the edges and some steam starts to rise off the surface of the cream–just before it begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour the hot cream over the chocolate, cover the bowl and allow to sit for about 5 minutes. After resting the chocolate should be melted, gently whisk the cream and chocolate until it is smooth, shiny, and completely combined. Set aside.

In a medium sauce pot, brown butter over medium low heat. The milk solids will become brown and smell nutty like toffee, watch it closely  so it doesn’t burn. Remove from heat and immediately stir in brown sugar and salt. Once the sugar is completely moistened with the butter, whisk in the milk.

In a small bowl whisk together the cream and the cornstarch until smooth. Whisk in the eggs. Whisk the egg mixture into the milk and butterscotch mixture and heat over medium, whisking constantly, until the pudding thickens to coat a spoon and is the consistency of hot fudge sauce. Remove from heat and stir in whiskey and vanilla. Using an immersion blender or regular blender, pulse a few times to aerate. Pour into individual cups (4-8), spoon ganache over the top of each pudding cup and smooth over the top to cover completely, so that pudding is no longer exposed, and sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Allow to cool slightly and chill for several hours, or until ready to serve. Serve with softly whipped, unsweetened cream.

 

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Fresh Mint Chip Ice Cream

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I told you that I wasn’t going to be over frozen stuff, even if Michigan is chilling down with a quickness, and I didn’t lie. I don’t even care! I do what I want! I’ll eat ice cream in the snow.  I have mittens and hoodies and boots at the ready, so bring it seasonal change!

I’m not actually as mad all all those exclamations up there imply…I love Autumn.

LOVE IT.

Fall time layers are my fave and any excuse to wear a cardigan is good by me. There are walks to be had in the crisp air and bike rides through piles of vibrant leaves. Warm spices and hot drinks, braised stuffs and heating up the house with baking, are my jam…but, I’m not giving up ice cream, I’ll just enjoy it with a hot beverage on the side.

This ice cream is an old fave, freshened up with…well, fresh herbs. The natural color from the mint just hints at green, but really, it’s more buttery looking than that. The mint is totally there, from a good long steep in the cream mixture, but not astringent the way that extracts used with a heavy hand can sometimes be. Instead the minty flavor is smooth, lush, and almost buttery. Yeah, I mentioned “buttery” twice (now thrice), and it really is kind of like those little butter-mint-pillow-dudes that seem to grace the candy bowls of certain elder family members. The crisp shards of bittersweet chocolate throughout just compliment the smooth mint flavor, instead of stealing the show. Maybe you have some mint taking over your garden–mint is just that way, it likes to sprawl–or maybe you can just get it at the store. Either way, this ice cream utilizes it in a classic scoop-shop incarnation, all freshened up.

Fresh Mint Chip Ice Cream

adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home

I steeped the mint in the cream mixture overnight to really infuse the ice cream with mint flavor. 

2 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup loosely packed mint leaves, torn roughly

4 teaspoons cornstarch

2/3 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

In a medium saucepan heat milk with the cream and mint leaves. Heat to a simmer, cover, and remove from heat. Allow to cool and steep in the refrigerator overnight (12 hours is best).

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup of milk mixture with the cornstarch, set slurry aside.

Strain the mint leaves from the milk mixture and add sugar, corn syrup, and salt,  reheat in a medium saucepan to a low boil. Quickly whisk in the cornstarch slurry and continue to boil, whisking, until thickened. Prepare an ice bath and pour the hot ice cream base into a large plastic bag. Chill bag in ice bath until cooled and process the mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions. At the end of processing, with the machine still churning, drizzle the chocolate into the ice cream to create chips. Scrape the ice cream into a container and freeze until firm.

 

 

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Coconut Crumble w/ Summer Fruit & Vanilla Ice Cream

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Even though I complain about the heat and humidity for the entire summer–I’m a fun housemate–there are still times that I HAVE TO turn on the oven. If I didn’t, there wouldn’t be pies and crumbles made with the bounty of summertime fruit that I just can’t resist buying.

While pies take a touch more time and care, and though they are always worth the effort, a crumble is an easy, laid back reminder that summer baking can be done without much fuss and with ingredients that are often already on hand. You can really use any fruit you like for the filling and the topping can take any number of mix-ins, or can be kept simple with just flour, sugar, salt, and butter. I love a crumble topping with lots of texture and this one delivers with chewy oats and toasty coconut. The warm richness of the topping pairs so nicely with the off-tart flavors of plum, raspberries, and blueberries.

Coconut Crumble w/ Summer Fruit

Feel free to use any mixture of fruit, I had about 4 1/2 cups and only sweetened it lightly, as the topping and ice cream are both a sweet compliment to the tartness of the fruit. 

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

6 Tablespoons butter, cubed

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and work butter into the mixture with fingertips until you have coarse crumbs–some sandy bits and some that stick together in chunks. Set in refrigerator while you assemble the filling.

2 plums, seeded and sliced

8 ounces raspberries, rinsed and dried

12 ounces blueberries, rinsed and dried

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/4 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 375*F.

Combine all ingredients for the filling in a large bowl. Toss gently to combine. Scrape the fruit mixture into a 8-inch pie dish and top with refrigerated crumble. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the top is golden and the juices are bubbling.

Vanilla Ice Cream

adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home

If you don’t have a vanilla bean, use 2-3 teaspoons of extract. 

2 cups milk

1 vanilla bean, split and seeded

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 Tablespoons (1/5oz) cream cheese, soft

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup of milk with the cornstarch, set slurry aside. Set the cream cheese in a large bowl with a mesh strainer over the top. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan heat remaining milk with the cream and vanilla beans + pod. Heat to a simmer, cover, and remove from heat. Let steep for 30 minutes. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk mixture and add sugar, corn syrup, and salt,  reheat to a low boil. Quickly whisk in the cornstarch slurry and continue to boil, whisking, until thickened. Whisk a ladleful of the hot mixture into the cream cheese, before straining the remaining hot mixture into the cream cheese mixture and whisk to combine. Prepare an ice bath and pour the hot ice cream base into a large plastic bag. Chill bag in ice bath until cooled and process the mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions.

 

 

 

 

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Recipe: Vanilla Malt Pudding

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I have to be real for a moment.

Sometimes, I get into a major baking/cooking slump. Lately, there have been a lot of recipe fails..which, inevitably, leads to frustration. I find that stepping back and letting other tasks distract me is just the thing that helps. I’ve been letting myself get lost in the task of making our rental house feel more like our own space. There have been paint samples, scheming up organizational solutions, and much online shopping.

My time spent in the kitchen has been limited to essential meals. Yesterday, however, I felt like getting back into it. Nothing fancy, serious, or time consuming. Enter pudding. There are few things so comforting and simple as pudding. Some milk, a few egg yolks, a little sugar and cornstarch, plus flavorings–in this case vanilla bean and malt. Add a bit of gentle heat, some attention to stirring, and done. Simple, comforting, non-failure…the perfect thing to climb out of that slump.

Vanilla Malt Pudding

adapted from Martha Stewart

3 cups whole milk

1 vanilla bean, split and seeded

3 egg yolks

2/3 cup sugar

1/4  cup cornstarch

6 Tablespoons Malted Milk Powder (I used Carnation brand)

pinch of salt

3 Tablespoons butter, unsalted

In a medium sauce pan heat milk with vanilla seeds and pod until hot, but not boiling, remove from heat. Cover and allow to steep for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks to break up well. Set aside.

In a small bowl whisk together sugar, cornstarch, malt, and salt.

Remove vanilla pod from milk and discard. Whisk in a small amount of the milk into the sugar/cornstarch mixture and whisk that mixture back into the pot of milk to dissolve the cornstarch, making sure there are no lumps. Whisk in the eggs until incorporated well. Heat over medium-low, whisking constantly until mixture becomes thick and a bubble or two breaks the surface, continue to cook–whisking still–for another minute. Remove from heat and add butter, either whisking to combine or buzzing with an immersion blender. Divide pudding among cups, serve warm or cover and chill.

 

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Recipe: Butterscotch Pudding

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Let’s talk pudding.

Pudding, in the all-American sense, is that soft, spoonable, comfort dessert that we all know and love. The homemade stuff, not to be mistaken with dry-packet you stir with some milk or those little plastic cups with the foil on top. Not those guys, not ever. Let’s talk about the stuff made on the stovetop with things from your pantry and fridge. The kind that stirs up faux-nostalgia, ’cause my mom never made pudding and definitely never made it from scratch, or the real kind of nostalgia if your mom/grandma rolled that way. Let’s talk about the kind that has egg yolks, lots of dairy, and begins or ends with butter. That’s the kind of pudding I have come to love, being the kid that was deprived of the good stuff until I had my own kitchen and will to whip it up myself. Usually, I stir some butter into the pudding at the end, it makes it silky, lately that butter has been browned for the sake of flavor and science. Not really for science, I just like to say that I’m doing stuff for science. It seems more official that way.

Anyway…this pudding begins with butter–and duh, I browned it–also, lots of brown sugar. Those two things are what butterscotch is made of, not those orange-colored hard candies you find all stuck together in a dish at grandma’s.

Butter + brown sugar=butterscotch and love. A pinch of salt makes the sweet, sweet sugar sing. There’s also whole milk, egg yolks, and a little bit of cream. All of those guys add richness and goodness. You can add bourbon, or whiskey, or scotch if you want. That’s not necessary, but it is delicious and slightly boozy tasting. You can decide whether or not  you want to go that route and get the bonus points.

Butterscotch Pudding

Adapted from David Lebovitz 

So, if you find you are out of brown sugar, like I totally did, you can make it your self by mixing together plain-old-granulated sugar with molasses. My ratio is 1 cup of sugar to 1 tablespoon of molasses, mix, mix, mix, and done.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 1/4 cups whole milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

3 egg yolks

1 tablespoon whiskey

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium sauce pot, brown butter over medium low heat. The milk solids will become brown and smell nutty like toffee, watch it closely  so it doesn’t burn. Remove from heat and immediately stir in brown sugar and salt. Once the sugar is completely moistened with the butter, whisk in the milk.

In a small bowl whisk together the cream and the cornstarch until smooth. Whisk in the eggs. Whisk the egg mixture into the milk and butterscotch mixture and heat over medium, whisking constantly, until the pudding thickens to coat a spoon and is the consistency of hot fudge sauce. Remove from heat and stir in whiskey and vanilla. Using an immersion blender or regular blender, pulse a few times to aerate. Pour into individual cups (4-6) or into a large bowl and cover well with plastic touching the surface (to prevent a skin from forming), allow to cool and chill until ready to serve. If you place all of the pudding in a single bowl, whisk vigorously to smooth before serving. Serve with softly whipped , unsweetened cream.