Saturday, August 29, 2009

Marble Cake

Green Tea Ice Cream

In my previous post I mentioned that I was on ice cream making spree.  I have discovered the excellent quality of home made ice cream and how different it is from the general store-bought variety.    One of the trials was to make David Lebovitz's Green Tea Ice Cream.  I had purchased some good quality matcha from the famous Ippodo in Kyoto last year and decided to make use of it.  Good quality matcha contributes to the lovely green colour of this ice cream.  Using an inferior quality green tea power results in an ice cream which will not look as attractive.  
For those green tea afficados, here's the recipe.  You won't regret it.

Green Tea Ice Cream (Makes about 1L)
  • 1 Cup (250ml) Whole Milk
  • 3/4 Cup (150g) Sugar
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 2 Cups (500ml) Heavy Cream
  • 4 teaspoons Matcha (green tea powder)
  • 6 Large Egg Yolks
Method
  • Warm milk, sugar and salt in a saucepan.
  • Pour cream into a large bowl & whisk together with macha powder. set a strainer on top.
  • In another bowl, whisk together egg yolks and slowly pour in the warmed milk mixture while whisking constantly, and put the mixture back to the saucepan.
  • Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat, scraping the bottom as you stir, until mixture thickens and coat the back of a spatula, or about 85degC.
  • Pour custard through the strainer into the cream, then whisk vigorously until custard is frothy to dissolve the macha powder. Stir until cool over an ice bath.
  • Chill the mixture thoroughly then churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions then freeze until firm.
Its really very yummy. You have to try it! 

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Ice Cream

Lately I have been on an ice cream making spree. My Cusinart ice cream maker is finally getting its much needed exercise. I have made Green Tea, Chocolate, Vanilla and Black Sesame ice cream so far. My education in ice cream and its consituents is finally moving along.

In my opinion, there are basically two ways of making ice cream. There is the Simple Way and the Not-So-Simple way. The Simple Way is by blitzing everything in a blender, and setting the whole mixture. The Not-So-Simple Way involves egg yolks and making a custard. Taste wise, the Not-So-Simple way produces a product which is far superior than the Simple Way. Its creamier, smoother and richer (and of course more calories). But if you eat in moderation, I highly recommend the Not-So-Simple way to make ice cream because one should not waste their (and their friends and family's) calories on the not-the-best food.

I'll take some photos of the ice creams I have made and post them up with recipes. If you have a ice cream making sitting dustily in the storage or at the far back of the cupboard. It may be time to take them out, wipe off the dust lovingly and set it to work. If you follow those recipes that I post up and make your own ice cream, you'll enjoy an ice cream tastewise far better than those you'll buy in the supermarkets. And these freshly made bundles of ice cream will be free of preservatives and full of love. Watch out for the coming post!