Tuna Ice Lollies for Cats

Animals have been suffering in the heatwave we've had recently - I've seen several reminders on Facebook not to walk dogs during the hottest part of the day. My cat spent several days moving from one spot in the living room to another, seeking out the coolest bit of floor, so when I saw this idea on the internet (on Facebook again actually) I decided to give it a go.

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Tuna ice lollies for cats - whatever will they think of next?! To make these, you simply mix the liquid from a tin of tuna in spring water (rather than brine which is too salty), with a little tap water, and freeze them in ice lolly makers.

To get the lollies out, stand the mould in a bowl of boiling water for a few seconds.

Unfortunately my cat didn't seem particularly interested but I have seen videos on the internet of cats licking these so apparently they do work at least with some animals!

Vegan Watermelon Sorbet and an Easy Watermelon Cocktail

I had a real ‘I carried a watermelon’ moment on holiday. My husband and I were staying in a small village in Gozo (an island off Malta) and had walked to the local grocery shop to buy food for the week, having been told the shop would deliver. Forget Tesco two-hour delivery slots: we purchased our groceries, told to pack it into an empty cardboard box and leave it in the corner, and they would bring it to us in about half an hour.

 

Almost an hour later there was no sign so I left my husband in our rooms and went over to the reception of our apartment complex - and found the delivery driver there asking directions. I hopped in his car and we drove over to our building, where he proceeded to unload the car. I asked if I could carry anything, which is how I ended up ringing the bell on our apartment door, and my husband opened it to find me standing there holding a giant round fruit and uttering the immortal line from Dirty Dancing: “I carried a watermelon!”.

 

Watermelon is delicious when the weather is hot; you can freeze it in cubes or munch on a whole slice. There are loads of recipes you can make with watermelon as well.

Watermelon cocktail

 

While I was in Gozo I made an impromptu watermelon cocktail given I had very few tools and ingredients; cut a few chunks of watermelon and discard the seeds and muddle in the bottom of a tumbler until the watermelon has broken down a bit (you could also put it in a blender if you wanted a smoother drink).

 

Add a splash of rose wine (or more than a splash, if you like) and top up with lemonade. If possible, enjoy beside the swimming pool as I did!

 

Watermelon Sorbet

 

We had a barbecue last weekend despite the weather, as it had been organised several weeks in advance and there wasn’t a suitable date we could postpone to. It was rainy and not particularly warm so most people were indoors – luckily we have a gas barbecue with a lid so we could still cook outside!

 

I made a couple of desserts in advance, including the chocolate ice cream from a KitchenAid recipe I made once before (but leaving out the chocolate chips this time), which is delicious. I needed a vegan dessert as well and decided to make a very simple watermelon sorbet. Simply dice some watermelon and remove the black seeds and put in a blender with some sugar syrup (which you can buy in a bottle or make yourself). Spoon into a plastic container and freeze overnight or longer. You will need to take the sorbet out of the freezer for an hour or so before you want to serve, as it will be rock solid; after an hour at room temperature you can scoop it into bowls and enjoy.

 

 

I was so busy at the barbecue I forgot to take a better photo!

This month’s Food ‘n’ Flix challenge is hosted by Chef Sarah Elizabeth who has chosen the film Dirty Dancing. I loved this film as a teenager and there’s something very timeless about it even though it’s 30 years old (I can’t believe that!). The idea of the challenge is to share a recipe inspired by the film and having had my own ‘I carried a watermelon’ moment, that was the inspiration I chose.

Nutty Pear Crumble with Haagen-Dazs Honey, Walnut and Cream

I love crumbles - they are very wintery puddings, aren't they? Often served with cream, custard or ice cream, apple crumble is one of my favourite desserts.

When I was sent a voucher to try out a new flavour of Haagen-Dazs ice cream - Honey, Walnut and Cream - I thought a crumble would be a lovely thing to make to serve with it. I decided to try something a bit different and use pear instead of apple, and mirror one of the flavours of the ice cream by adding some nuts.

The ice cream is very creamy with a swirl of honey in the middle for an added hit of sweetness. The walnuts add a nice crunch and you get a different mixture of flavours in every spoonful. It's really good on its own, and works really well with desserts as it wouldn't overpower the flavour of the pudding you serve it with.

I remembered a Weightwatchers recipe for crumble I'd once made, that used rolled or porridge oats in the topping as well as flour and sugar as a way to use less of the latter two ingredients; I decided to add some oats and some chopped nuts into my crumble topping for a filling, warming winter crunch.

To serve 2, you need:
2 pears
1 tbsp. artificial sweetener (optional)
50g low fat spread
50g plain flour
25g caster sugar
25g chopped mixed nuts
25g rolled or porridge oats
Haagen-Dazs Honey, Walnut and Cream ice cream, to serve

 

Preheat oven to 180C (it's good to make this while you already have the oven on to make dinner - it's lovely after a roast!). Peel and slice the pears and place in a saucepan with 100ml water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer until the water has evaporated and the pe
ars have softened. Add sweetener if desired.

Spoon the pears into an ovenproof dish and set aside.

Rub the low-fat spread and flour together in a bowl to make a breadcrumb texture then stir in the sugar, nuts and oats. Scatter over the dish with the pears and bake in the oven for 30 minutes until browned and crisp.

 

Serve warm, with Haagen-Dazs Honey, Walnut and Cream.

Homemade Peach Sherbert Ice Cream

Posted  on Caroline Makes.Net

After a very successful first use of my Kitchenaid ice cream maker with this triple chocolate ice cream, I decided to have another go and make something completely different. I had a punnet of peaches that I thought would work well in ice cream, and found a recipe in my Kitchenaid recipe book for 'minted mango sherbert'. It's called sherbert because it's not quite sorbet but not quite ice cream I think. I replaced the mango with peach and left out the chopped mint and the result was really good.

You need:
230g caster sugar
700ml whole milk
60ml cane sugar syrup - I used corn syrup which I bought in the US (I brought some back with me as I kept finding recipes that called for it) and it is referred to by this name elsewhere in the recipe so I think it's the right thing to use. A UK equivalent is usually golden syrup but I'm not sure how it would change this recipe!
punnet of fresh peaches, peeled, stone removed and diced
2 tbsp. fresh lime or lemon juice

In a medium saucepan heat the milk, sugar and corn syrup until very hot but not boiling, then remove from the heat and set aside.

Put the peaches and lime or lemon juice in a food processor and blend until smooth. Carefully stir in to the milk mixture then cover and chill for at least 8 hours.

Following the instructions I'd kept the bowl of my ice cream maker in the freezer overnight. Attach it to the kitchenaid and pour in the milk mixture while the mixer is on the slowest speed. Leave it stirring for 10-12 mins. I found the chocolate ice cream I made was lovely at this soft scoop consistency but this peach ice cream was a little runny; it's better served from the freezer and will keep in an airtight container.

 

I decided to serve this in cocktail glasses with a sprig of mint when I had friends over for a barbecue.

 

 

I'm sharing this with Bloggers Scream for Ice Cream, hosted by Kavey Eats, as the theme this month is fresh fruit.

Homemade Triple Chocolate Ice Cream with Kitchenaid Ice Cream Maker

My husband loves ice cream at any time of year but especially in summer; if I buy a tub he has some for dessert every evening until it's gone. So I suspect he had an ulterior motive when he bought me an ice cream maker at Christmas - and was probably quite disappointed that I didn't get around to using it until July!

With a wedding to plan I was too busy and also trying to lose weight, and I don't really like to eat ice cream unless it's hot anyway. I'd promised him that I would use the ice cream maker after the wedding so got it out as soon as I came back from honeymoon - it was probably a
good thing I hadn't used it previously or
 I definitely wouldn't have lost any weight before the wedding!

The ice cream maker is easily attached onto the Kitchenaid but making the ice cream does take some forward planning. You have to put the bowl from the ice cream maker in the freezer for at least 15 hours and for the recipe I used, make something in a saucepan, make something else in a bowl, combine the two and return to the saucepan then put in the fridge for at least 8 hours. After that you put it in the ice cream maker - you don't actually put it in the freezer, as beating the mixture in the pre-frozen bowl with the Kitchenaid makes a soft scoop ice cream, and you then store it in the freezer where it will become more solid. But each stage and the chilling time in between means this is pretty much a three-day job - unless you always keep the ice cream maker bowl in the freezer in which case it's then two days.

After all that I was hoping the ice cream would be worth it, and it was - my husband, who is something of a connoisseur of chocolate ice cream, said it was absolutely amazing. It also makes a good quantity - almost 2 litres - so if you do go to all this effort it will last a while.

This is the recipe for the triple chocolate ice cream which I adapted to use an equal mixture of single cream and milk as you can't buy 'half and half' in the UK, and instead of a chopped 50g bar of milk chocolate at the end I used a handful of Hershey's mini kisses (which you can't buy in the UK either but I had bought some when I was in America). You might be able to adapt the recipe for your own ice cream maker or even to freeze the mixture and churn it by hand but this recipe is specifically written for a Kitchenaid.

You need:
450ml whipping cream
30g plain chocolate, chopped (the recipe specified 'extra dark')
30g milk chocolate, chopped (the recipe specified 'dark')
225ml single cream
225ml full fat milk (instead of the single cream and milk the recipe specified 450ml half and half)
230g sugar
40g cocoa powder
8 egg yolks
4 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
handful of Hershey's mini kisses or 50g milk chocolate, chopped

 

In a small saucepan heat 120ml of the whipping cream, the plain chocolate and the 30g milk chocolate until the chocolate has melted, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In another pan, heat the half-and-half or equivalent over a medium heat until not quite simmering, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Using the metal whisk on the Kitchenaid, whisk the egg yolks and gradually add the sugar and the cocoa powder. Gradually pour in the chocolate mixture and the half-and-half mixture, until well combined.

Return this mixture to a saucepan and heat over a medium heat, stirring frequently until the mixture is just simmering. Do not allow it to boil.

Transfer to a large mixing bowl and stir in the remaining whipping cream, vanilla and salt. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 8 hours.

When you're ready to make the ice cream, take the bowl out of the freezer and attach to the Kitchenaid according to the instructions. Turn it on to the slowest speed and carefully pour the ice
cream mixture into the bowl.

 

 Leave it running at the slowest speed for 15 minutes, adding the chocolate chips for the last two minutes; this will give you soft scoop ice cream that you can eat straight away. The rest of the ice cream can be frozen in an airtight container and served at a harder consistency later.

Review: Haagen Daz Mango and Raspberry Ice Cream

I love fruit-flavoured ice cream, but not flavours like strawberry - I like more unusual, zingy flavours like apple. When I lived in Germany in the late 90s there was an amazing ice cream parlour in my town that did apple ice cream. Quite often flavours like that come in a sorbet but they are much nicer as a creamy ice cream, so I was looking forward to trying Haagen Dazs' mango and raspberry ice cream when they sent me some vouchers.

The delicious mango ice cream has a swirl of raspberry running through it which gives a sharp contrast. The flavour is only available in Tesco at the moment (£4 for 500ml) and is a lovely summery treat.

I decided to try serving it two ways, firstly Eton Mess style with broken up pieces of meringue; this would be really nice topped with some fresh mango chunks and raspberries.

Then I decided to be a bit more decadent and make an ice cream milk shake. Place a few scoops of ice cream in a blender and top up with milk - how much depends on how thick you like your milkshake. Add some chunks of mango and blend; serve in a tall glass with a straw.

A great accompaniment to a summer barbecue!

Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream Truffles

 

Chocolate truffles are something of a must in my house for Valentine's day, but I've made them a few times before and wanted to do something different this time. By a stroke of luck, I was sent some Haagen-Dazs vouchers to review their Strawberry Cheesecake flavour ice cream and I found some recipes on the US version of their website for 'gelato piccolinos' - piccolino just meaning little tiny thing. These are basically chocolate truffles filled with ice cream!

I didn't use oil as in their recipe as I just wanted a crisp coating for my truffles. I also switched up the flavours so I could use the strawberry cheesecake ice cream, which I thought would be better coated in white chocolate, and I also made some with their Belgian Chocolate ice cream, which I coated in milk chocolate and rolled in cocoa powder. The strawberry and white chocolate ones are decorated with little edible butterflies but these would also be great with pieces of freeze dried strawberries!

The ice cream needs to be soft enough to scoop but still pretty solid. I took some scoops from each tub and moulded them into balls, placing them on a piece of greaseproof paper on a small plate (I only wanted to make a few). I returned them to the freezer for an hour to firm up again - the strawberry cheesecake ice cream seemed softer than the chocolate and had started to melt almost straight away.

After an hour, I melted 50g of white chocolate and 50g milk chocolate in small bowls, took the ice cream balls out of the freezer and quickly dipped them in the chocolate, decorating them as I have described. Then they went back into the freezer to firm up again!

 

I'm sharing these with Treat Petite, the challenge created by Stuart at Cakeyboi and Kat the Baking Explorer, which is hosted this month by United Cakedom. The theme this month is Like It, Love It, Gotta Have it - which is how my fiancé feels about Haagen-Dazs!

 

 

 I'm also sending this to the Food Year Linkup, hosted by Charlotte's Lively Kitchen, as these would be lovely for Valentine's Day.

 

Decorated Salted Caramel Arctic Roll

Arctic Rolls were very exciting when I was a child - a rare combination of ice cream and cake that we had as an occasional treat. I haven't eaten it for years - possibly since I was a child - and I've never tried to make one before. But after seeing some beautiful and elaborate arctic rolls on the Great British Bake Off this year I decided I wanted to have a go at baking a cake with the decoration on the outside.

I was also sent some vouchers for Haagen Dazs ice cream recently and made this amazing dessert; I had one voucher left to use and an arctic roll seemed the perfect idea.

Making the Swiss roll part was very easy; I then looked up online how to do the decoration on the outside which I changed slightly and then used a much better alternative than the traditional jam between the sponge and the ice cream - dulce de leche caramel! So I guess I can call this

Decorated Salted Caramel Arctic Roll - an original recipe by Caroline Makes

For the cake:
3 eggs
100g caster sugar
100g self-raising flour

For the decoration on the outside:
1 egg white
20g cocoa powder
20g plain flour
30g caster sugar
30g softened butter or marg

For the filling:
half a tin of Carnation caramel or dulce de leche
500ml tub Haagen Dazs salted caramel ice cream

First prepare the decoration to go on the outside of the cake. Mix all the ingredients together to make a thick paste and spoon into a piping bag (you don't need a nozzle). Line a Swiss roll tin or baking tray with baking paper. Snip the end of the piping bag off so you can pipe a thin line and pipe swirls or whatever patterns you like all over the baking paper.

Put in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile cream the eggs and sugar together for the cake and fold in the flour. When you are ready to take the decorated baking parchment out of the freezer, pour over the cake mixture and bake in the oven for about 15 mins.

Allow to cool; meanwhile take the ice cream out of the freezer. I took mine out a bit early and it melted more than I expected which made it a bit messy when I came to assemble the arctic roll so you are better off leaving the ice cream solid frozen.

One reason I used Haagen Dazs is that the ice cream comes in a carboard tub - you need the ice cream to be a tube shape and there are various recipes online showing how you melt the ice cream, fill a metal tube with the ice cream and refreeze it, but that all looked very complicated. With a cardboard ice cream tub that is a cylinder shape, you can just cut it off and the ice cream is ready to use!



Normally you would spread jam inside the arctic roll but I used Carnation Caramel from a tin which went perfectly with the salted caramel flavour ice cream.  I wrapped the cake spread with the caramel around the ice cream - you can see the pretty decoration on the outside - and sliced it up to serve. A lovely festive dessert!

This recipe uses eggs so I'm sharing it with Simply Eggcellent hosted by Dom at Belleau Kitchen.