Gianduja Gelato

I'd like to think my palate has evolved enough to allow ice cream jostle and vie for a place that has long been occupied by cake (ok, chocolate cake). Chocolate ice cream and its variations only seemed an organic offshoot of that happy decision.

And thus, Gianduja gelato. Gianduja (pronounced giyandooyah) is this magical concoction of chocolate and ground hazelnuts, of Italian origin and the best(est) tasting cousin of the famous Nutella. Naturally, it had me at 'hazlenut and chocolate'. The texture is ultra smooth and not overly sweet. I have only tasted it at Fenocchio, the famous Glaçier in Nice, France, and while some of you may argue it isn't exactly what they serve in Turin, Italy, it did get me intrigued and hooked enough to eat it every single day of my stay there. 

I am no longer in Nice, France, nor am I in Turin, Italy. But I am thankfully with access to David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop that has the same dazzling flavor. And I went the whole 9 yards by making the waffle cones AND the super addictive magic shell! (That shell is da bomb! Just two ingredients, but the transformation it has when poured over the ice cream is beyond amazing)

So without further ado, here's the ice cream that has us swooning and having it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Ingredients

Heavy cream 2 cups (500 ml)

Whole milk 1 cup (250 ml)

Sugar 1/2 cup

Vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon

Salt 1/4 teaspoon

4 yolks

Toasted and skinned hazelnuts 185g

Milk Chocolate, chopped  115 g

Method:

-Process the hazelnuts in the food processor till it starts to become a paste. 

-Heat a cup of the cream in a saucepan until it just begins to boil. Once warm, remove from the heat and pour over the chopped chocolate. Mix it with a spoon till it has melted completely and is smooth.

-Heat milk, remaining cream, sugar (all but 3 tablespoons) and salt in a thick bottomed saucepan. Once it is warm to touch, add the hazelnut purée and mix it in. Turn off the flame and leave it steep for an hour at least.

-Here again I deviate from the original recipe: I used a powerful stick blender and blended the milk/hazelnut mixture for 2 minutes: the result is a super creamy and flavourful mixture. The original recipe says that you strain the mixture with a strainer.

-Prepare an ice bath.

-Heat the hazelnut/milk mixture again on a low flame.u

-Whisk by hand the yolks and the remaining sugar in a bowl till pale in color.

-Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the warm hazelnut mixture into the yolks mixture in a steady drizzle while steadily whisking with the other hand (this is to temper the yolks; so that the yolks don't scramble on contact with heat).

-Pour the entire contents of the bowl into the saucepan over the heat and keep whisking. Continue cooking the mixture till it thickens and coats the back of a spoon.

-Pour the custard through a strainer and stir in the melted chocolate. Add the vanilla and stir. Place over an ice bath and let it come to room temperature. 

-Chill the mixture in the fridge for 8 hours and then freeze it in your ice cream maker according the manufacturer's instructions.

Note:

-The original recipe calls for milk chocolate but I happened to have and thus use good quality dark chocolate from France and it made a world of a difference. In any case, use good quality chocolate. 

-The original recipe also calls for 5 yolks, but I only used 4.

As David himself recommends, I added a a good drizzle of melted dark chocolate to the ice cream during the last minute of churning. That extra step ensured that I have extra chocolate shards to bite into and the contrast in textures is amazing.

Magic shell

Recipe adapted from Serious Eats

Dark chocolate, chopped 125g

Coconut oil 50g

Heat the chopped chocolate in a double boiler. Add the coconut oil and stir to get a smooth mixture. And voilà! Store in an container in room temperature. For best results, let your dip harden on ice cream for 30 seconds before digging in. You'll know it's ready when the surface turns from glossy to completely matte and a light tap with a spoon gives you a knocking sound.

Waffle cone 

Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop

I make my waffle cones in this nifty contraption that I got from the US (Please make note that there is a non-compatibility with regard to the voltage/plug point, I made alternate arrangements to make it work for me). Needless to say, it is a priceless addition to my pantry and lets us don our self-appointed titles of ice cream connoiseurs with panache.

2 large egg whites

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup flour

2 tablespoons melted butter

In a small bowl stir together the egg whites, sugar and vanilla. Add the salt and half the flour, stir, then stir in the melted butter. Beat in the remaining flour until the batter is smooth. Make waffle cones as per manufacturer's instructions. 

Passion Fruit Ice Cream with a drizzle of honey!

There's quite a bit that's been happening around here lately. one highlight was, i had the good fortune to spend three days with the brilliant and extremely talented Rumana of Cake Bake fame. She is so professional, you'd think twice before calling her a home-based pâtissière. oh, she's much, much more than that! Check out her umpteen albums on facebook dedicated to her food art and you'll get where i'm coming from. and let me tell you, the stuff taste as amazing as it looks!! We got to learn techniques and little things watching her at work and helping her; things that i'm certain i wouldn't get watching any number of youtube videos or reading blogs.

if i have'nt mentioned it already, i have a crazy schedule that is choc-a-block with a gazillion things, most of which i love (the rest, well, you learn to live with it). BUT, i could'nt wait to get started, so i set out experimenting and baking up stuff i learnt over the past few days. It's challenging, but soo much fun! not to mention satisfying! pictures will follow soon.

In the meanwhile, my romance with passion fruit continues. It has graduated to the ice cream stage. Yes, a tub of refreshing and tangy-in-a-pleasant-way passion fruit ice cream is resting in my freezer as we speak. Happy days!

 Recipe adapted with slight changes from the ice cream guru David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop.

You will need:

-1 cup fresh cream

-6 teablespoons milk

-7 tablespoons sugar

-1/2 cup passion fruit pulp

-3 egg yolks

-pinch of salt

-1/2 teaspoon peach schnapps

-Spoonful of passion fruit seeds (optional)

-Tablespoon of honey to drizzle over the ice cream (optional)

-Mix together the passion fruit pulp and 1/2 cup of the cream in a bowl. Set a strainer above it and keep aside.

-Warm the milk, sugar, salt and remaining cream in a saucepan. In a seperate bowl, whisk together the yolks and slowly pour in half of the hot milk mixture into the yolks to temper it. Keep whisking to ensure the yolks dont get scrambled. Pour back the mixture back into the saucepan and set it back over the heat and continue stirring (scrape the bottom as you stir). Continue till the mixture thickens and you reach the 'coat back of the spoon' stage : rougly translated, it's the stage when the custard thickens lightly but more importantly, when a spoon, when dipped into the custard and removed, you run your finger through the custard along the back of the spoon, and the line remains, your custard has thickened enough to ''coat back of the spoon'. If the liquid flows back into where your fingre drew the line, then it's an indication that the custard is not thick/cooked enough.

-Pour the custard through the strainer and into the passion fruit-cram mixture. Mix in the peach schnapps and stir to incorporate. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

-Pour into a flat bottomed container with an air-tight lid and freeze. Blend with a hand held blender once it begins to set and put it back in the freezer to set. Blend again and repeat the process till you have blended and frozen it thrice. If adding, remember to add the passion fruit seeds the last time you blend the ice cream.

-Let it freeze the last time and once set, scoop out in a waffle cone or bowl (or dig in as is, like i do!), drizzle  the honey, and enjoy!

On another note, the Chennai Food Guide or the versatile group that binds all of us foodies, restaurateurs, eaters, food bloggers, food bloghoppers and Chennaites alike is having its 8th anniversary bash on the 29th of Sepetember at the Residency Towers, T-Nagar, Chennai. Tickets are priced at INR 999 per head. It is a formal dress code affair with the works: dinner and entertainment. What more can one ask for? You want an incentive besides the awesome foodie company that you will be in? There's over INR 40,000/- worth prize money to be won! Interested folks please reach out to Nishanth and he'll answer your queries and/or help book your tickets.
See you there!!

An ice cream cookie sandwich and a wish

I did a batch of Mango Ice cream Cookie sandwiches because both the mothers in our lives are huge fans of the 'Mother' of all fruits (pun intended). Recipes to follow in consequent posts.

While the cyber world and the blogging world in particular are kicking up a storm over the very in-style Mother's day, i'm going to write a note to my mother (a very rare thing, the last time i wrote to her, i still needed pocket money from her to buy a toothbrush) and my mother-in-law.

So, here goes:

Dear Amma,
You go way beyond the 'Mom' tag that ensures lines like ''Amma, can u make me my favorite bhindi fry today'' from us. You also go way beyond the ''Can you please run my errands for me?'' You go way way beyond the pampering, multi tasking, full time functioning, ultra patient, super awesome skills that are required of a Mother. Fact is, you are God sent, the biggest person i look up to and my best friend. Need i really say more? Amma, you are my favorite person in the world. for reasons i can and can not really fathom. You and i know we don't need a 'Mother's Day' to show each other we care. i tell you i love you every time i speak to you, and i mean it. i wish i become as good a Mother as you are with us brats. Till then, i leave you with lots of love and this, because you love mangoes, and so do i!!! :D
Me!

For my mother-in-law, a.k.a 'Mummy'

Dear Mummy,
I know how much Mother's day means to you, so here's wishing the most fantastic mom-in-law a blessed Mother's day! I have learnt so much from you. You are strong and i admire the way you live life with so much guts and so much enthusiasm. But most importantly, you are the mother of the man i live with, so, that says it all. We have seen each other through some crazy times and we have so much fun when we are together. We share so many interests, including food, Grey's Anatomy and Mohanlal! :)
Here's wishing you a lifetime of happiness, because you totally deserve it!
Leaving you with lots of love and a little something we are having today, because we know how much you love mangoes! :D

Me!

So here's wishing all my beautiful mommy, mommy-to-be and adoptive mommy friends a very blessed life as a mother. i hope the special people in you life appreciate all that you do for them and don't wait for 'Mother's Day' to show how much you mean to them!

Honey Lavender Ice cream

Lavender is the new smell and flavor doing the rounds chez Zachs. i am hooked and am hoarding it for tough times. and good times. and fun times. It's amazing what a sniff of these babies can do to you, it's pretty amazing. When we were traveling in Turkey, this was one of the exotic things that caught my eye and i had to have a bunch.  The smell and flavor are heady, flavorful and in-your-face refreshing. It's very precious and am guarding it with a lot of love (and armed ferociousness). So stay tuned for more recipes involving this brilliant flower.

 

The honey lavender ice cream is one of the first things that came to my mind. David Lebovitz has a recipe in his 'The Perfect Scoop', and keeping that as inspiration, i went ahead and scaled down the number of eggs and also referred to Kitchen Fervor, her recipe is brilliant. Honey gives the ice cream gorgeous flavor and texture, plus honey and lavender are a combination made in heaven. The outcome was this brilliant, creamy and luscious ice cream that i'm licking and finishing off as i write this.

P.S: Resist the urge to add heaps of lavender and stick to the recipe. The flavor will kick in, trust me.

1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons dried lavender
2 egg yolks
1 cup milk
1/2 cup fresh cream

Bring the milk, cream, honey and lavender to a gentle boil. Once it starts boiling, take it off the flame and let the lavender steep for at least half an hour or an hour if you have that kind of time.
Strain the mixture and return it back to the flame - turn the flame on simmer.
In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks and add half a cup of the milk mixture to the yolks. Keep whisking, and add it back to the saucepan on the flame and continue to stir. Continue to cook till the custard thickens and coats the back of your spoon (approximately ten minutes). Strain to remove lumps if any and set aside to cool.
Pour into a flat bottomed tray or air tight container, cover it with a cling wrap and freeze.
Have fun with the newest cool thing! :)