(#87) TURMERIC: Ice Cream for the Enlightened

Friends from my many different life "chapters" have been supporting Scoopsies--from the first two friends I ever made to my current co-workers to the guy who bagged my groceries at Trader Joe's last week. One of the best parts of this project is how it has reconnected me with old friends. 

My friend Bethania, who I don't believe I've seen since High School (almost 10 years ago--nuts!), suggested I make a turmeric flavor. She sent me her recipe for a turmeric drink with  ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, and honey in warm milk, which has replaced my nightly cup of lemongrass tea.  I drink it with almond milk and every sip is so soothing!  

I just had to make it into a flavor!  

Turmeric ice cream--a scoop a day keeps the doctor away!

Scoopsies' Turmeric Ice Cream is made with: whole milk, heavy cream, honey, sugar, turmeric, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, ground black pepper, and egg yolks.

(#81) EUCALYPTUS & MACADAMIAS: Koala Crunch

Scoopsies is now making ice cream for koala bears! 

I never would have thought to make Eucalyptus ice cream, but when I came across a jar of it at Cambridge Naturals, I had to try it out!  Because eucalyptus has a strong, medicinal taste,  and because I was using it in dried form, I used just a bit of it. 

I wanted to keep the "down under" theme consistent, so I mixed in some chocolate covered macadamia nuts.  Open up, baby koala!

Photo courtsey of Botanical.com

Scoopsies' Koala Crunch is made with: eucalyptus, macadamia nuts, dark chocolate, whole milk, heavy cream, sugar, egg yolks, and honey.

(#73) MULLED WINE: Spiced Cabernet Sauvignon

With 27 flavors to make in only six weeks, I really need a drink. That's why the next few flavors are all boozy.  Wine, brandy, and a chocolate stout--all perfect companions to ice cream. 

I'd like to eventually make this flavor again, but with roasted plums--they would pair nicely with the wine and spices!

Scoopsies' Mulled Wine Ice Cream
(yields 1 quart)
1 1/2 cups Cabernet Sauvignon (reduced to about 1/6 cup)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
 3/4 cups whole milk 
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp whole cloves
1/2 tsp whole allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 star anise
12 cardamom pods
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbl brandy
4 egg yolks

(#64) HIBISCUS: Floral Inspiration

My latest source of ice cream inspiration is the herb, flower, and spice section at Cambridge Naturals in Porter Square. I'm usually there for an hour, looking at and opening each of the many jars that draw me in.  There I have found flowers and herbs that I never considered making ice cream with and even some that I have never heard of.  Sitting at your computer and researching ice cream flavors doesn't even compare to having the ingredients laid out in front of you. I still have a bag of juniper berries and dried sage, so more of these fun recipes are to come! In the meantime, here is our Hibiscus Ice Cream to hold you over!

     Above photo: Wikipedia

Scoopsies' Hibiscus Ice Cream

(yields 1 quart)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup dried hibiscus
1/2 cup cane sugar
4 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract

(#51) POMEGRANATE: Holy Fruits

Just in time for Rosh Hashana, we turned one of the "seven species of Israel" into a tasty ice cream.  Pomegranate (along with grapes, figs, dates, wheat, barley, and olives) are mentioned in the Old Testament as being special gifts from the land of Israel.  

This flavor was suggested to us when I asked my friends in Israel to recommend a flavor inspired by their country, and the flavor came out delightfully!   

Shana Tova to all who celebrates the Jewish New Year!  

Scoopsies' Pomegranate Ice Cream

(yields 1 quart)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 cup pomegranate seeds, pureed

juice of one lime

4 egg yolks

pinch of salt

(#50) 50 SHADES OF (EARL) GREY: Half-Way to 100!

It's a (Boston) tea party for our 50th flavor!  Because our Vanilla Rooibos (#7) came out as scrumptious as it did, we wanted to revisit tea-based ice creams.  Earl Grey was one of the first flavors we put on our master list.  It was suggested by a few of our followers before we even started 100 Scoopsies, so we felt it was time to step away from the black and white, and enter the grey area.  

Scoopsies' Earl Grey Ice Cream

(yields 1 quart)

5 bags of earl grey

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

5 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1 TBL honey

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

*This makes us half way to ONE HUNDRED SCOOPSIES!........

(#49) PEACH: Peachy Cream

Roasted Peach ice cream--the perfect flavor to transition us from Summer to Fall.   

Scoopsies' Roasted Peach Ice Cream

(yields about 1 quart)

4 Peaches - peeled, de-pitted and sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 cups cream
3/4 cup milk
3 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon guar powder

(#48) CHERRY KEY LIME: Sherbet!

We've made ice cream, vegan "ice creams," frozen yogurt, and sorbet, but we've been missing one thing.  As we're approach our 50th flavor, we figured it was about time we made some SHERBET!

Who here actually pronounces it sher-bet and who pronounces it sher-bert? I have to admit I catch myself adding in that mysterious R now and then. 

Sarah squeezes a ton of key limes as Chloe snapchats instead of offering to help. 

I love this flavor for three reasons.

1) It reminds me of a raspberry lime rickey - so good on a hot summer day!
2) It's like an adult version of a Flinstone's push-up. The cherry and grape sherbets were my favorite!
3) I just love cooking with cherries.

Scoopsies' Cherry Lime Sherbet

(yields about 1 quart)

3 cups fresh pitted cherries

3 teaspoons lime zest

3/4 cup fresh key lime juice

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 tsp guar powder

(#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

(#5) LEMON GINGER: A Taste of Spring

 Daylight savings is here and Spring is but a few weeks away.  The pastel dresses and cute cardigans are ready to come out.  As are the light and fruity flavors that we've been waiting to make!  This lemon ginger ice cream is refreshing like a sherbet--it melts so sweetly in your mouth! 

 Spicy, sweet, and sour in one flavor!  

Recommended: Absolutely garnish your scoop of lemon ginger with berries (we put blackberries on ours!)  

Lemon Ginger Ice Cream

(yields about 1 quart)

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 cup sliced fresh ginger
lemon zest, 4 lemons
5 large egg yolks
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

recipe adapted from FineCooking

(#4) COCONUT CURRY: Gifts from the Silk Road

Exotic flavors are always fun to make, especially when you're familiar with a flavor combination from a food dish and want to adapt it to ice cream.  Coconut curry was a suggestion from our Facebook page and we were eager to try it out for this very reason.  In this recipe, the coconut milk and coconut flakes really complement the curry. In a bite, you taste the curry as much as you do the coconut, and the result is a balanced ice cream that isn't as overwhelming as you might think.  

Coconut curry has a very sorbet-like consistency.  It fits for this flavor, but we suggest eating it fresh out of the ice cream maker because it does get flakey!

Coconut Curry Ice Cream

(yields about 1 quart)

 2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
4 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup unrefined cane sugar
1 piece of ginger
2 tsp curry powder
Pinch of salt
6 egg yolks
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
recipe adapted from Aida Mollenkamp