How to make Baileys Brown Sugar Ice Cream

I know, I know.

There are a thousand and one ways to make ice cream from Baileys and I chose the most boring and straightforward flavour pairing.

Well, well. What can I say? Brown sugar and regular Baileys make for a deadly combination together. The molasses from brown sugar add a layer of flavour that goes together very well with the lush creaminess of Irish cream.

The overall scent makes it really palatable.

So here's what you need to do:

1. Beat 2 egg yolks with 30g of brown sugar

2. Heat 100ml of milk in pot and mix the heated milk into the sugar-yolk mixture

3. Transfer back into pot and cook until thickened

4. Stir in 75ml of cream when custard is hot

5. Set aside for 10 minutes and stir in 35ml to 40ml Baileys

6. Hand churn mixture

Ta-da!

What to do with a frozen solid custard

Sometimes I tend to forget and sometimes I just get plain lazy.

And one consequence is that the ice cream custard that has been left in the freezer for too long (usually overnight) becomes frozen rock solid. So what now?

For Already Been Churned ice cream custard:
Well, if the frozen ice cream custard has already been hand-churned at least twice, it should be of pretty decent texture. Simply leave the frozen custard in the chiller or fridge section for about 10 to 15 minutes and it will soften enough to scoop and serve.

For Never Been Churned ice cream custard:
Alternatively, let it chill for about 30 minutes or so and when the texture is soft enough, start whisking by hand again. Proceed to hand-churn and freeze normally until firm but soft enough to scoop and serve.

Do note that large ice crystals might have already formed in a frozen custard that has NOT been hand-churned at all. To reduce the ice crystals from big and flaky bits to less perceptible ones, it is advisable to allow the frozen custard to melt considerably, so that any icy bits will be melted down as well, and proceed to churn the custard by hand normally and leave to freeze firm.

Conclusion:
But if you aren't the particularly picky type, I guess a frozen custard texture can still taste pretty good.

Is there a basic custard recipe for fruit puree to be added into to make into ice cream?

According to this query, is there a basic custard recipe where fruit puree can be added into to make into different varieties of fruit ice cream?

Well, yes and no.

And here's the "Yes" answer:
To make a basic custard recipe, you need:
1 egg yolk
50ml milk
50ml cream
15g to 20g sugar

Basically, this basic custard is good for fruit flavours and you should preferably only dump in frozen fruit puree (such as those found in Phoon Huat). Try not to use canned fruits because they tend to be less flavourful and taste more syrupy than frozen fruit puree that have not been treated in heavy syrup.

And here's the "No" answer:
Not all fruits are created equal. So, if you were to, say, mix in fresh watermelon into your custard, you WON'T get nice ice cream at all. The watermelon is too moist and will result in a pretty mild and icy concoction.

But it you were to toss in fresh durian flesh, maybe you stand a chance of having a pretty decent and strong flavoured ice cream.

So, the all important question: How much fruit puree should I use? Well, there is no hard and fast rule. Use as much puree as you like. It's really up to personal preference.

Make ice cream using baby food: Pear puree for babies = Pear ice cream for adults

I have been asked this many, many times before: "So what exactly is fruit puree?"

Well, if you wanted THE MOST accessible option, Gerber baby food is fruit puree and you can use it to make into a fruit ice cream. (In this case, I have decided to try out the Pear puree to see how fragrant it is. The last time I ate it was several years ago when I snitched a few sips from my nephew's jar while watching my aunt feed him. So I don't even have the faintest idea how it taste like - until now.)

And I can just imagine working on this recipe for a Top Chef challenge (if there ever was one like this): Given a measly budget of $3, you are required to whip up a frozen dessert item using any form of basic ingredients, processed or otherwise, bought from a supermarket.

The catch? Well, there isn't any, except that you only have 10 minutes to prepare it, 30 minutes to freeze it and the final product shouldn't look or taste cheap.

So, here goes:
80g jar of Gerber pear puree ($1.50)
50ml cream (approx. $0.50)
1 egg yolk ($0.25)
10g sugar ($0.02 or less)

Total cost: $2.27

1. Beat egg yolk and sugar until smooth and mix into cream. Pour into pot and turn on heat.
2. Cook gently until custard thickens and pour into pear puree inside bowl.

3. Hand churn ice cream.

So, the most important question is: How does it taste like?

Well, turned out a little disappointing. The pear wasn't as fragrant as it should be. The texture was very much like pear though: A little raspy with a sandy fibrous mouth feel. The custard was well-balanced, with the cream evened out by the fruit.

But I know what helps: Adding a 10ml dash of vodka while churning the ice cream! (An additional $0.53 to the cost.)

At $2.80, we still beat the challenge but I doubt it is enough to win it. But hey, you must admit baby food is a pretty neat idea for ice cream-making.

How to make Dark Orange Liqueur Chocolate ice cream: Rich, dark and bitter

A very good start to the Make Your Own Chocolate Ice Cream series is to build on something that you have already made and innovate a little more to make an unbeatable combination: Instead of just overdosing on super dark and rich chocolate ice cream, why not up the bitterness with a little citrusy-smelling Cointreau orange liqueur? Splendid!

Orange liqueur with its 40% alcoholic content and dark chocolate ice cream complement each other very well. Its almost like having one of those chocolate bottles that has hard liquor hidden inside, except in ice cream form?

If you are following this super dark and rich chocolate ice cream recipe, you can dose up to 50ml of Cointreau before you can say you have added too much.

And here is how a completely eaten Dark Orange Liqueur Chocolate looks like. This one had overdosed on alcohol, so it couldn't wait to start melting the moment it got out of the freezer. Which only means one thing: I had to eat it. Fast.

What to do this weekend: Make (Super!) Dark Chocolate Ice Cream!

I found this bar of really dark chocolate (85% cacao!) in the fridge. I don't remember who gave it to me or how it got there. Maybe it's not even mine. But I've seen it hanging around for quite a while now. All I know is that it is going to be made in a really yummy dark chocolate ice cream. (Mmmm mmm...)

So first thing's first: I take about 80g of the chocolate and break it into smaller bits in a bowl.

Then I toss them into a pot with 140ml of cream and heat it gently over a low fire.

Within minutes of heating, it melts considerably fast and becomes this gooey mess.

A few more minutes of heating transforms it into a silky, glossy chocolate paste-like texture. It is ready! Set aside.

Next up: Pour 70ml of milk, 25g of sugar and 2 egg yolks into another pot and stir swiftly to evenly mix everything up. Turn fire on and heat gently while stirring constantly until custard thickens to coat back of spoon.

Pour this cooked custard while it is still warm into the dark chocolate and cream mixture and stir evenly. Once mixed evenly, put in freezer to set. Take it out after an hour to hand whisk and leave it in the freezer to firm up.

After about 2 hours, the dark chocolate ice cream is set and ready to eat! But wait! It is frozen to a state whereby it is impossible to scoop because it is so dark and so rich in chocolate it has become a solid block.

I leave it in the chiller for about 5 minutes before I could stick a scoop in and make a ball out of it. Doesn't look that pretty but taste like damn fine dark chocolate ice cream to me.

I think some people might find this too rich and too sticky in texture. I think if you used an ice cream maker to churn this the blade might just break or the engine might use shut down. Or explode.

How to make chocolate ice cream (and invent your own flavours)

For the next couple of weeks or so, I am going to set out a simple goal: Make all kinds of crazy chocolate ice cream using whatever remaining pieces of eating chocolate I can find in my fridge.

This is perhaps the only way I can get rid of all the old chocolate. This includes all the unfinished, left-out-in-the-cold, forgotten-Christmas-presents that have been sitting around for quite a while and I doubt anyone would want to eat it any more.

Based on past experience, chocolate meant for eating is always not the most ideal ingredient to make into ice cream. Strange things happen to its texture when you heat them and turn out funny quite a lot of times - like being too soft or too mousse-like.

But nonetheless, we'll give it a shot: Once we are through, we shall evaluate how they taste.

Stick around for more updates in the days to come.