(#52) WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY LAVENDER: Luxury In A Scoop

White chocolate, raspberry, and lavender--a match made in ice cream heaven.  And that's exactly what this flavor looks and tastes like: heaven.  This trinity of flavors is so divine, I almost wanted to keep this pint in my freezer just to always have it in there (kind of like a fancy cake--it's so perfect, you don't want to touch it!) 

Scoopsies' White Chocolate Raspberry Lavender

(yields 1 quart)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp dried lavender 

3 egg yolks

8 oz. white chocolate

pinch of salt

1/2 cup raspberry puree

(#47) VANILLA BEAN WITH CARAMEL & PBUTTER SWIRLS & CHOCOLATE PRETZELS: "Take 5"

A co-worker recommended this flavor, based on the "Take 5" candy bar.  

Note: we would have a nicely staged photo had my parents decided not to eat the entire pint that I mistakenly left in their freezer.  

Scoopsies' Take Five Ice Cream

(yields 1.5 pints)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 vanilla beans

4 eggs

salt

1/2 cup peanut butter, melted then cooled

1/2 cup chocolate covered pretzels, cut in half

Caramel

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/8 tsp salt

(#46) ESPRESSO CHIP: Coffee & Chocolate

Our coffee-based flavors are some of my favorite! Coffee Oreo, Turkish Coffee, Dirty Watah Java--we've had quite some luck with them!  An "espresso" flavor has been on our master list since we started "100 Scoopsies," so we figured it was about time we whipped something up!   

A dripping scoop of espresso chip

Scoopsies' Espresso Chip Ice Cream

(yields about 1.5 pints) 
2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

3/4 cups sugar

2 TBL espresso powder

1 vanilla bean

pinch of salt

4 egg yolks

bittersweet chocolate bits (we used about 3/4 cup)

(#45) DULCHE DE LECHE:Featuring Five-Spice

We put an asian twist on the oh-so-popular salted caramel ice cream. We kicked it up a notch by switching out the salt for 5-spice and the plain old caramel for creamy dulce de leche. The caramel pairs so well with the warm spices making this flavor reminiscent of your favorite autumnal pie.  We're keeping this recipe a little sweet secret for now, but we hope you enjoy the photo for the time being!

(#44) COCONUT: Palm Treats

The key ingredient in our version of coconut ice cream? Palm sugar.  It gives this flavor its attractive light brown color and perfectly finishes off the coconut flavor.  This is the forth flavor in our asian "collection." 

Scoopsies' Coconut Ice Cream

(yields about 1.5 pints) 
14 oz. can of coconut cream

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup palm sugar

2 cups shredded coconut

4 egg yolks

pinch of salt

(#42) GINGER: Sugar & Spice and Everything Nice!

It's not easy to get a well-balanced Ginger ice cream!  But we found the right recipe after experimenting and making this flavor several times.  This would be best paired with a light and sweet asian pastry!

Scoopsies' Ginger Ice Cream

  1 1/2 cups cream

1 cup milk

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

pinch of salt

3/4 cup fresh ginger

5 egg yolks

zest 1 lemon

1/8 cup fresh lemon

1/2 TBL honey

(#41) DRAGON FRUIT: Cooking With Cacti

Dragon fruit is the first in our series of asian-inspired flavors.  We took a trip to Chinatown to pick up some fresh fruit and spices and came up with five of our best flavors yet! 

You might not guess dragon fruit would make a good ice cream flavor, but we were pleasantly surprised with the subtly sweet outcome.  

We used pink and red dragon fruits (or "pitahayas") in our recipe.

Each fruit was only $1 each -- a STEAL (compared to $6/each at Whole Foods!) Thanks, Chinatown!

Scoopsies' Dragon Fruit Ice Cream

yields about 1.5 quarts

3 cups dragon fruit 
2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup whole milk
3 large egg yolks
2 large whole eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp guar powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

(#36) SAFFRON: Luxury Threads

Saffron is the world's most expensive spice. This is because each "thread" or stigma must be hand picked off its flowering plant, the crocus sativus. Taking more than 225,000 stigmas to produce one pound of saffron threads. Sounds luxurious right? The taste is really hard to describe! Some people think it is bitter and spicy but I find it to be slightly sweet and woodsy. Best way to find out is to add a small amount in a dish or better yet, your next ice cream flavor! Maybe have a scoop after eating a big bowl of paella? Anyone?

above photo : pleasehelpmerhonda.com

Scoopsies' Saffron Ice Cream

(yields about 1 quart)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon guar powder

1/2 teaspoon (packed very loose) saffron threads

The scoop on saffron.

(#29 & #30) BLUEBERRY BASIL & BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE: Double Scoop

I walked into Whole Foods and couldn't help but take the store up on their ONE DAY SALE of blueberries at $1.99 a pint! I piled the pints into my shopping basket and rushed home. Obviously I had to make more than one flavor featuring these berries. I love the color they add!

Also I would like to note that the idea for the Blueberry Basil came from a recipe I enjoyed at Eastern Standard a couple of years ago. I can't actually remember all of the elements but I remember the blueberry-basil compote that was poured all over. It was incredibly delicious and it secured my belief that ice cream can be savory as well as sweet. I've wanted to create an ice cream version ever since that visit and here it is!

Scoopsies' Blueberry Basil Ice Cream

yields about 1.5 quarts

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cups whole milk

3 large egg yolks 

2 large whole eggs

1/2 teaspoon guar powder

3 cups fresh blueberries

1/4 cup water

1 cup sugar, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup finely minced basil leaves (mince right before you add to syrup)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Side note: If you have a blender or food processor use it for the basil to help eliminate little basil bits getting stuck in your teeth!

Scoopsies' Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

yields about 1.5 quarts

3 cups fresh blueberries

1/4 cup water

1 cup sugar, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 whole vanilla bean

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cups whole milk

6 oz organic cream cheese

1/2 teaspoon guar powder