Challenge No. 19 – Rum Raisin Ice Cream

Posted on May 7, 2015 by MyGastroAdventure

Have you ever made home-made ice cream without an ice cream maker? Better still, have you ever tried to find a recipe online for making ice cream without an ice cream maker? It is not easy – finding a recipe that is! My mum suggested this challenge and I thought it was a great idea. I set out trying to find a recipe and a few times thought I had got one only to get to the last instruction and the recipe would say to “put it in your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions”. It was very frustrating! And then I remembered, my many (and I mean many!) recipe books in the flat. I had a quick rummage and found Jamie Oliver has kindly provided a recipe which works with or without an ice cream machine. Yay 🙂

Although I had found a recipe for vanilla ice cream, I kept having a sneaky look online and do you know what I found? One of my new blogging friends has blogged about the same recipe. You can see read about Laura’s experience at Feast Wisely.

Jamie’s book (Jamie’s Comfort Food) not only gives you a lovely recipe for vanilla ice cream, it also gives 4 delicious flavour variations. One of my mum’s favourites is rum and raisin ice cream – she say’s its her ‘holiday ice cream’ but I think she would have it all the time if she could 😉 I know I would!

So for the rum raisin ice cream you will need the following ingredients:-

100g raisins
150ml dark spiced rum
2 vanilla pods
500ml whole milk
250ml double cream
7 large eggs
150g golden caster sugar

These quantities make 1 litre of ice cream and Jamie helpfully tells me that 1 scoop is 106 calories. I however like to believe that anything which is homemade is guilt free, so we don’t need to worry about the calorie content 🙂

Anyway, on with the recipe. I started off by putting the raisins in a bowl and covering them with the spiced rum. I covered the bowl with cling film and left it on the side for around a couple of hours.

Once I had about half hour left, I got on with making the vanilla ice cream. I halved the vanilla pods lengthways and scraped out the seeds. I’ve seen chef’s do this on TV and it looks really simple…it wasn’t! I got in a bit of a mess but I managed to scrape most of the seeds out and get them in the pan. I added the pods to the seeds and poured over the milk and cream.

I put the pan on a low heat to gently warm for 15 minutes and then took it off the heat.

Whilst the vanilla cream mixture was cooling slightly, I separated my eggs and put the yolks in a bowl.

Practical tip: Jamie advises to freeze the egg whites in a sandwich bag to make meringues for another day. I therefore dutifully put the whites in a plastic container and put in the fridge so I could later make room for it in the freezer – I then promptly forgot to do this and ended up throwing away the whites! Silly me!

I whisked the yolks and caster sugar with a balloon whisk until pale.

Before combining the vanilla milk with the egg/sugar mix, I sorted out the soaked raisins. I took out around half and put them to one side. I then used a hand blender to blitz the remaining raisins and rum together until it was a smooth purée.

I then took the vanilla cream mixture and poured it through a sieve into my egg/sugar mix. I added a bit at a time and whisked thoroughly between each addition. At the end, I made sure to push through as many vanilla seeds as possible – I mean come on, the more true vanilla flavour you can get the better!

I added the combined mixture back into my pan and put it over a very low heat. I stirred constantly, patiently waiting for the mixture to thicken. Jamie’s says this should take about 15 minutes but it took me longer. I had my pan on a very low heat and perhaps I could have turned it up slightly but I didn’t want to burn it. When it was finally thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, I was happy it was done.

I poured the mixture in to a clean bowl and left it to cool – this took about a couple of hours.

Time to add the rum/raisin to my vanilla ice cream. I poured in the purée and whole raisins into the cooled ice cream base and gave it a good stir. I then poured it all into my ice cream contained (a simple klick lock storage box).

I put the container into my freezer and set the time for 30 minutes. According to the recipe you need to whisk the ice cream every 30 minutes for about 3 to 4 hours to help break up the ice crystals. The aim is to do this until the ice cream is nicely set.

When I read Laura’s blog, she mentioned that she stopped stirring too soon and ended up with some ice crystals. I therefore tried to preserver and when I had reached 4 hours and it still was set, I just kept going with my 30 minutes schedule.

I got to 5 and a half hours and it still wasn’t set! It was also time for bed so I just left it for the night and hoped it would be okay in the morning.

So here it is…

It looked okay – except that the whole raisins had definitely all sunk to the bottom of the container! It’s a nice treat for when you get to the bottom 🙂

Now, I don’t know about you but if I am going to have ice cream, it clearly has to be served with either hot chocolate fudge cake, a cone or perhaps best of all, cookies! So I also made some chocolate chip cookies to sandwich together with the ice cream.

Be sure to come back after the end of Challenge 52 when I will be sharing my foolproof recipe for these delicious cookies.

This was absolutely delicious! Dave tried a TINY bit and said “whoaa, you can taste the rum in that!”. Well that’s what we want – rum, raisin and vanilla galore. I’ve now got to be controlled and make sure I don’t eat the whole lot before my mum next comes to visit!

Coming up next week, Challenge No. 20 – maple syrup glazed ham! Hope to see you then.

One Lovely Blog Award and Real Neat Blog Award

Posted on May 5, 2015 by MyGastroAdventure

So I’ve been nominated for a couple of blogger awards just recently! I can’t explain how happy this made me 🙂 It is a show of the wonderful nature of the blogging community. I was so apprehensive about starting a blog and I have been overwhelmed by the support and encouragement that everyone in the blogging world gives to each other. These awards are further examples of the great community I’ve joined and been into welcomed with open arms.

So the first nomination came from Evgenia who has a lovely blog called Living On Annette (make sure you go check it out!). Evegina nominated me for the One Lovely Blog Award 🙂 A massive thank you for thinking of and nominating my blog!

As with all blogger community awards, there are certain rules that apply to the One Lovely Blog Award:-

You have to thank the person who nominated you for the award
You add the logo to your post
Share 7 things about yourself
Nominate other bloggers

I was so excited to receive this nomination and I then I thought…what on earth could I tell you about myself! So I’ve had a little think about things (hence the delay!) and I’ve opted for the following:-

1. I am incredibly close with my wonderful family. There is a saying that “you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family”; well I’d choose my family as my friends every time! Love you all.

My wonderful dad, mum and brother!

2. My first ever ‘proper’ roller coaster was The Hulk in Islands of Adventure (Florida). Inspired by my white knuckle coaster junky mum and uncle and a desire not to be outdone by my brother, I finally plucked up the courage to ride. I started screaming the minute the harness came down and didn’t stop until it lifted up again at the end but I’ve not looked back since 🙂

3. I’ve been given the honour of being a bridesmaid and wedding cake maker for one of my closet friend’s wedding next year. I cannot wait to spend the day celebrating her big day!

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The bride to be celebrating with me and another bridesmaid, Laura 🙂

4. I was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos (EDS) Type III in 2013. This is a syndrome which affects the connective tissue in my body. The problem is cause by a collagen problem meaning my joints are loose and bend further than they are supposed to. To help control the affects of this, I have spent the last year trying to improve my health and I’ve even joined a triathlon swim club.

5. My brother nicknamed me ‘Gunter’ after the fat German exchange student in the Simpsons and its stuck! My 21st birthday watch even has the name engraved on the side.

6. For my first birthday with my boyfriend Dave (back in 2008) he bought me Despicable Me on DVD and frozen chicken pies 🙂 Yep, frozen pies as a birthday present is a little unorthodox but I thought it was great.

And finally…

7. My nan used to tell me she was a witch and I believed her. She even planted a broom in the garage whenever she would visit so I thought she arrived by flight.

Me and my nan at Christmas this year.

The second nomination has come from Plan B Chronicles. Again, be sure to check out the site and a great big thank you for the nomination. Plan B Chronicles nominated me for the Real Neat Blog Award.

Again, this award comes with certain rules:-

Put the Award Logo in your post.
Answer 7 questions asked by the person who nominated you (my nominee snuck in an extra question just for a bonus 🙂 ).
Thank the people who nominated you, linking to their blogs.
Nominate any number of bloggers you like, linking to their blogs.
Let them know you nominated them (by commenting on their blog)

The questions I’ve been asked:-

1. What are you hobbies?

My biggest hobby will probably come as a great surprise to you all! Only kidding, its cooking and baking! 🙂 Other than that, I love to read, swim, watch films with Dave and spend time with my friends and family.

2. What is your favorite vacation spot?

Florida! More specifically Walt Disney World and Universal Studios 🙂 Each visit has been the best holiday and it is definitely my happy place.

3. Who has been the most influential person in your life and why?

There isn’t just one, it has to be both my mum and my dad. They have influenced me in different ways but most importantly they have shown me the importance of having a good work ethic, never letting anything stop you from achieving your goals, always pushing yourself, enjoying everything life has to offer and the understanding that happiness and laughter are vital to having a long and happy relationship. Thank you for everything you have taught me and for all that you have done and continue to do for me. Love you!

4. Where did you grow up?

A city called Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, UK. I lived in a village which had the city on one side and the countryside on another. There wasn’t always a lot to do but it was home. My parents and brother still live there and I have a handful of close friends who I try to visit on a semi regular basis.

5. If you could change one thing about your appearance, what would it be?

With my love of all things food, it would be nice to loose a little weight. I’ve always struggled a bit with my weight and ever since I was diagnosed with EDS, my health and fitness has become very important. About a year ago, I started to eat healthier and exercise more regularly. I’m 20lbs lighter than when I started and in such a better place but I still have a few more to go before I reach my goal weight. Life is however short and I don’t believe in denying myself the things I love. The last year has been about taking control and it has become clear that everything in moderation leads to a more beautiful and happy life.

6. Do you have any pets?

I don’t have any personally but my mum and dad got a dog when I was 15. A beautiful golden cocker spaniel called Casey and I absolutely love him to bits. He’s getting old now but he’s still as full of energy and love as he was the day my parents brought him home. His wagging tail and floppy years are enough to soften even the hardest of days!

Casey on his annual holiday to Cornwall.

7. What do you usually do on Sundays?

In my house, Sundays are officially a chill day. Dave will usually spend the day playing his xbox or watching films. Whilst he’s doing this, I’ll spend the day in my favourite room of the house… the kitchen! The great thing about our flat is that the kitchen and living room are together so at least we aren’t in separate rooms 🙂

8. What is your favorite food to cook? Recipe?

There isn’t really one type of food that I enjoy cooking more than others. There is one which I enjoy eating the most and that is definitely a roast dinner! My favourite dinner of the year is definitely Christmas dinner which is the ultimate roast. I’ve not hosted Christmas yet and the closest I get is the occasional sunday roast. Coming shortly in Challenge 52, I’ll be sharing the recipe for a cola, maple-glazed roast ham. Be sure to come back to check out the recipe.

I now nominate:-

Laura (http://feastwisely.com/)
LucyaBakes (https://lucyabakes.wordpress.com/)
Eve (https://samlovescake.wordpress.com/sam-loves-cake/)
The Greedy Foodie (https://thegreedyfoodie.wordpress.com/)
Harriet (http://whattohavefordinnertonight.com/)
Kyra (https://whenlifegivesyoulimesblog.wordpress.com/)

Your 7 questions are:-

What are you most looking forward to in the next 12 months?
What is your favourite book and why?
How did you get involved in blogging?
If you could only eat one dish for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
If you had a dinner party and you could invite any 5 guests, dead or alive, who would you invite?
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
What is your best piece of advice for a new blogger?

I look forward to learning more about you all 🙂

xxx

Challenge No. 17 – Profiteroles

Posted on April 23, 2015 by MyGastroAdventure

This challenge was suggested by my friend Danny and it is a fond favourite of mine. I’ve made profiteroles before so I thought I’d experiment with a new flavour to make it more of a challenge. I decided to try passion fruit cream profiteroles with a homemade hot chocolate fudge sauce.

Danny and his girlfriend Kate joined me and Dave for dinner a couple of weeks ago where we enjoyed Kate’s suggestion of moussaka for Challenge No. 14. I used this opportunity to also make the profiteroles for our pudding and so Kate and Danny got a full evening of My Gastro Adventure eating 🙂

I’ve used a couple of different recipes for this challenge; one for the profiteroles and one for the hot chocolate fudge sauce.

I tweaked the cream filling to build in the passion fruit and so to make my version of the recipes you will need the following ingredients:-

For the choux pastry
- 200ml/7fl oz cold water
- 4 tsp caster sugar
- 85g/3oz unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 115g/4oz plain flour
- pinch salt
- 3 medium free-range eggs, beaten
For the cream filling
- 600ml/1 pint double cream
- 3 passion fruits
For the chocolate sauce
- 340g/12oz granulated sugar
- 85g/3oz brown sugar
- 100g/3½oz cocoa powder
- 30g/1oz plain flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 x 400g/14oz can evaporated milk
- 250ml/9fl oz water
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract

I started by making the choux pastry and pre-heated my oven to 200 degrees celsius with a roasting tray placed in the bottom. I put the water, sugar and butter into my saucepan and heated it over a low heat until the butter was melting.

Whilst the wet ingredients were warming through, I prepared the flour and salt. I measured out the amount I needed and placed it onto a square of baking paper. Doing this makes it easier to add the flour smoothly and quickly in one go.

Once the butter was melting, I turned the heat up and bought the mixture quickly to a boil. Once boiling, I tipped in the flour/salt, removed the pan from the heat and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until it came away from the sides to form a heavy dough.

Practical tip: make sure you bring the wet ingredients to a boil. The first time I tried to make profiteroles, the recipe didn’t mention this and I just added the flour once the butter was melted. I ended up with a very wet mixture which just would not work, no matter how much I beat it. I looked back at a recipe I had previously used for eclairs (which are also made with choux pastry) and this clearly stated that the wet ingredients should be brought to a boil before the flour is added. I have followed this bit of advice every time since and it always works 🙂

Once my dough formed, I put it in a bowl and left it to cool for 15 minutes. I waited until it was cool enough to touch and then beat in my eggs a little at a time, until I achieved the so called ‘dropping consistency’. It needs to be runny enough so that it doesn’t clog up the piping bag but not so runny that it will just slip straight out the end. Ideally, the dough should fall from a spoon when lightly shaken. Mine was a little runny this time and I’m clearly still perfecting my assessment of the optimum ‘dropping’ point 🙂

I lined two baking trays with baking parchment, using a bit of the choux mixture to stick the parchment to the tray. I filled my piping bag and piped small balls (a bit randomly) onto my tray. I then rubbed the top of each ball with a wet finger.

I put the trays in the oven and added the water to the roasting tray before shutting the door. I set the timer for 20 minutes and watched the little golden balls rise like the air filled wonders they are. When the timer went off, I re-set it for another 7 minutes and when golden-brown, I took them out the oven.

I use a skewer to prick the base of each profiterole making a hole for the steam to be released. I put them back on the baking trays with the holes facing upwards and popped the tray back into the now turned off oven for 5 minutes to dry out.

I then got my flavouring ready. I pushed the passion fruit filling through a sieve to leave just the juice. I was amazed at how much juice you actually get out of this fruit. They don’t seem that juicy when you eat them but there was absolutely loads!

I decided I didn’t want to fill the profiteroles too early as I thought the cream would make the pastry go soft. So at this point I put the profiterole cases and the remaining ingredients to one side whilst our guests arrived and we enjoyed our Greek inspired dinner.

When we were all well fed and watered, I set out to finish this yummy dessert. I whipped the cream with a balloon whisk until stiff – Kate helped with this as my arm started to ache and she was supper quick! I then added the passion fruit juice and stirred it through until well combined.

I then put all the chocolate sauce ingredients (except the vanilla extract) into a big pan and popped this over a medium heat to bring slowly to the boil.

Once it reached boiling point, I set the timer for 5 minutes and whilst the chocolate sauce finished cooking, I piped the passion fruit cream filling into the profiteroles. I let the sauce cool slightly and then added the vanilla extract.

Then we reached my favourite bit – time to tuck in!

We all agreed that the passion fruit cream profiteroles were delicious and the chocolate sauce was delicious however together they kind of battled each other for centre stage. What would this adventure be without a little experimenting and I’m glad I tried the different flavour in the cream but it just didn’t quick work with the chocolate sauce.

The passion fruit cream profiteroles would have been lovely on their own but for me, profiteroles just aren’t quite complete without a lovely hot chocolate sauce!! Next time I’ll stick to simple vanilla cream profiteroles which this lovely rich sauce 🙂

The chocolate sauce recipe made a HUGE batch for just the four of us and I ended up with loads left over. Before leaving, Danny suggested I turn the leftover sauce into brownies. So the next day, I put some of the sauce into a small pot to put to one side and then added some flour (about 65g) and 3 eggs to the rest. I mixed it up and poured it into a lined tin. I popped it into the oven for about 15 minutes at 180 degrees celsius. This definitely was not long enough as it was still wobbly! I left it in the oven for a while longer (I lost track of how much longer) and when it was firm and a skewer came out clean, I took it out the oven. After 5 minutes cooling in the tin, I turned it out onto a cooking rack. I’ll be honest, this didn’t really work as a brownie but what I had created was possibly one of the best chocolate fudge cakes I’ve eaten! Warmed in the microwave and served with the reserved chocolate sauce – absolute HEAVEN! 🙂

Coming up next week, Challenge No. 18 – Philly cheese steak.

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