Chocolate – FROZBROZ

September 3, 2015

Blackberry Creme Fraiche Dark Chocolate Chunk

Last week I hit a bit of a block in deciding on a new flavor. We always keep a list of ideas, and often times we move things around and re-arrange as personal desire and seasonal availability direct their influence on our choices. But I could just not make up my mind.

I knew I was craving something more indulgent. And when I stumbled across these Partner’s farms blackberries at the co-op last week, I just about screamed. Blackberries can be illusive around here and in the wild can be hit or miss. Often come late July but can be even later in cooler, wet summers. Needless to say, once I found these puppies, the creme fraiche and a couple of bars of organic dark chocolate found their way into my basket and we were off.

As many of our flavors have begun this summer, the first step is making a jam with the berries.

The berries are mashed slightly and combined with lemon juice to extract all the berry flavor. Then sugar is added and they are boiled until they’ve reached the perfect ratio of sugar to fruit – mostly meaning the water that could make them icy is gone.

The base of the ice cream is made with cream, and creme fraiche – which adds a slightly sour flavor to the cream – and gives it just a bit more flavor and depth. I personally love the combination of creme fraiche with fruit – and chocolate, which is why it became the main flavor component of the ice cream base.

This organic dark chocolate done got busted up into chunks. The goal with using ragged, chunks like this was to provide uneven bursts of chocolate in the cream – so sometimes you get a spoonful that has a hint of chocolate, and other times it overwhelms. Because there is nothing bad about that.

The chocolate chunks are tossed in during the last few minutes of the churn and the blackberry jam is swirled in to the cream as it’s packed in it’s container.

The scoop: a delicate creme fraiche ice cream swirled with dark ribbons of scratch made blackberry jam and chock full of chunks of dark chocolate.

Blackberry Creme Fraiche Dark Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

Blackberry jam ingredients:
1 pint fresh blackberries (about 1/2 pound)
1 Cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

Ice Cream ingredients:
1 Cup of creme fraiche (sour cream works in a pinch)
2 Cups of Heavy Cream
3/4 Cup of sugar
1 Cup of pre-made Blackberry Jam
1/2 Cup Dark chocolate, broken into chunks
1 teaspoon of salt

Instructions for the Jam: Place a plate in the freezer (this will come in handy in a bit). In a medium saucepan add the blackberries and lightly mash, and then add lemon juice. Let stand for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in sugar. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Cook and stir the mix until the bubbles subside and the jam appears slightly thickened, somewhere around 15 minutes. To test for doneness, spoon a small amount onto the chilled plate. If jam is gooey and wrinkles when you push your finger into it, it is done. This means it will not be icy in the cream (which you do not want). If not, cook and stir a little longer before testing again. Cover and chill completely until you are ready to make the ice cream.

Instructions for ice cream: Crack eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk fully. Add sugar and whisk until fully combined. Add heavy cream, creme fraiche, and salt. Whisk again until all ingredients are fully blended.

Over medium heat, whisk or stir base continuously. Keep stirring continuously until temperature reaches 165-170 degrees. Remove from heat. Cool ice cream base to room temperature (an ice bath will do this in about 15-20 minutes). Put base in a clean container, cover, and chill in refrigerator overnight.

Churn ice cream base in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Add chocolate chunks in last 5 minutes of churning. Place ice cream is in freezer proof storage container swirling in the blackberry jam in layers as you do so. Place container in freezer and freeze ice cream for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight if you can wait.

*Yields approximately 2.5 pints
If you’d rather not make it, you can be one of two lucky winners of this fabulous, scratch made craft ice cream in our weekly pint giveaway. Enter your name in the comments section here, or on our facebook page under the posted contest. Two winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 9/4/15 at 4pm. Winners must be able to pick up locally in Minneapolis. Prizes must be claimed by email within one week or we will redistribute. 🙂 Good luck!

April 2, 2015

Avocado Pistachio Chocolate Chip

Avocados and Pistachios are two of my all-time favorite things. The original intention for this flavor was going to focus solely on pistachios, but the more I pondered on how that would happen, the more all of these ingredients crept into the picture. I love that the green color give to the ice cream by the avocado plays some visual tricks. I loved that it looked like a pistachio ice cream. It could also be mint chocolate chip at a glance. Except it’s not.

The avocado is the first step of the ice cream and is the base of the flavor. Avocados lend a great subtle flavor to ice cream, and ironically, actually remind me of pistachio flavorwhen in ice cream. Maybe it’s just that green color. The avocados are pureed with cream and then mixed into our standard ice cream base. Also, if you don’t have a good stick blender, do yourself a favor and get one. You’ll use it a ton. It’s one of my favorite kitchen tools.

The pistachios are roasted and salted. I highly recommend buying the pistachio meats if you can – shelling enough pistachios for a batch of ice cream is not a task I would wish on most people. It helps to roast the pistachio meats quickly at a high temp to keep them from softening too much.

Finally the chocolate chips – are added in after the churn.

The combination of flavors is really unique – but works fantastically well. A rich
avocado ice cream, filled with roasted pistachios and chocolate chips.

Avocado Pistachio Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

(makes approx 1-1/2 quarts)

Ingredients:

1 Large avocado or 2 small
1/2C Pistachio nutmeants, roasted
1/2Tbsp of Butter
1/2C Chocolate Chips
2 Cups Heavy Cream
1 Cup Whole Milk (use any fat percentage you prefer – higher lends to a creamier base)
3/4C Sugar
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons salt

Instructions:

1. Prepare the pistachios: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and Toss pistachios melted butter and spread on sheet pan. Generously sprinkle 1teaspoon of salt over the pistachios and place in oven for 5-8 minutes. Remove, set aside and let cool completely. Once cool, place pistachios in freezer bag or container and place in freezer until ready to go in ice cream.

2. Prepare the avocado ice cream: Puree avocado with the one cup of whole milk you will be using for the ice cream base and set aside.

Crack eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk fully. Add sugar and whisk until sugar and eggs are combined. Add cream, avocado puree, vanilla and salt and whisk again until all are fully incorporated.

Place ice cream base in a pot over medium heat, stirring continuously. Continue to heat mixture until temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove from heat. Cool the ice cream base to room temperature (an ice bath will do this in about 15-20 minutes) and then place in a container, cover, and chill in refrigerator overnight.

3. Churn ice cream base in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Add pistachios and chocolate chips in last 5 minutes of the churning process. Freeze in a tightly covered container for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight if you can wait. Then, enjoy!

*Yields approximately 2.5 pints

If you’d rather not make it, you can be one of two lucky winners of this fabulous, scratch made craft ice cream in our weekly pint giveaway. Enter your name in the comments section here, or on our facebook page under the posted contest. Two winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 4/3/15 at 4pm. Winners must be able to pick up locally in Minneapolis. Prizes must be claimed by email within one week or we will redistribute. 🙂 Good luck!

February 19, 2015

Chocolate Fudge with Hazelnut Creme

This week’s flavor is more about exercising and experimenting with techniques, and also a way to make more chocolate ice cream. As we continually strive to create new combinations, we’re always looking for new ways to incorporate ingredients, change up old techniques and perfect others. I used this week’s flavor as a means to do several of these things. The first was to create a better chocolate syrup/sauce/fudge that would stay somewhat fluid and gooey while frozen (it can be a real challenge). The second was to experiment with making a flavor infused, cream based syrup/sauce that would achieve the same properties. Both made this week to go into a classic chocolate ice cream.

First, the chocolate syrup. The ultimate goal is to achieve a thick chocolate syrup that does not freeze hard. It can be tricky and frustrating. The key is having a sugar concentrate, mixed with the right amount of fat. We begin by boiling sugar and a bit of water, similar to how you would start a simple syrup. Cocoa powder is added once the water has boiled off, as well as some cream. The chocolate sauce is finished with salt. It’s perfect for a topping or as an add-in. Or to eat with a spoon 🙂

The Hazelnut cream syrup originated from the idea of trying to make a syrup or caramel like sauce that we could flavor with any ingredient we wanted to – from fruits, to herbs, to nuts. Cream is easy to infuse with all sorts of flavors, so it provides a nice palate. The first step is infusing the cream.

The hazelnuts are toasted and ground into a meal while still hot, and then cooled and strained. What is left is hazelnut flavored heavy cream. That is reserved for making the hazelnut cream syrup.

The rest of this process is very similar to the chocolate sauce. Sugar and water brought to a boil, and then combined with cream just before caramelization happens. What is left is a caramel-like hazelnut infused cream. Also a great topping or add-in.

For this week’s flavor combination, the ice cream is a straightforward chocolate ice cream with both syrups swirled in. It’s a fantastic deep chocolate ice cream teetering with swirls of more chocolate and finishing with hazelnut goodness.

Chocolate Sauce (that won’t freeze hard):

Ingredients:

1C sugar
1/2C water
1/2C Cocoa powder
1C Heavy Cream
1/2tsp salt

Instructions:

Combine the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat, watching carefully. DO NOT STIR here or it will become grainy. Once boiling, the sugar/water mixture will begin to let off steam. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes until the steam begins to disappear, then remove from heat and carefully whisk in 1/2C of cocoa powder until fully incorporated. Then, add gradually add cream and stir until fully incorporated into chocolate sauce. Add salt at finish. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Hazelnut Creme Syrup:

Ingredients:

1C sugar
1/2C water
1/2C Hazelnuts
1C Heavy Cream

Instructions:

Infuse the cream (Prepare 1-2 hours ahead of time):

Heat the cream in saucepan over medium-low heat to bring to approximately 115 degrees or so. While cream is heating, toast hazelnuts hazelnuts for 3-4 minutes until skins become loose and come off easily. Remove from heat and grind in a blender until they are a course meal. Immediately add warm hazelnut meal to warmed cream and remove from heat. Bring mixture to cool in refrigerator for an hour or so, then strain all hazelnut meal out of cream with fine mesh strainer. Set hazelnut cream aside/refrigerate until ready to make syrup.

For the Syrup:

Combine the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat, watching carefully. DO NOT STIR or it will become grainy. Once boiling, the sugar/water mixture will begin to let off steam. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes until the steam begins to disappear, then gradually add the hazelnut cream and stir until fully incorporated. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Chocolate Fudge Hazelnut Creme Ice Cream:

Ingredients:

2 Cups of Heavy Cream
1 Cup of Milk (choose your percentage based on how fatty/creamy you’d like your ice cream to be – the higher percentage the creamier the ice cream)
2 large eggs
3/4 Cup sugar
1 Cup of Chocolate Syrup (Recipe above)
1 Cup of Hazelnut Creme Syrup (Recipe above)

Instructions:

1. Crack eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk fully. Add sugar and whisk more until cream, sugar and eggs are combined. Add cream, milk, and whisk again until all are fully incorporated.

2. Place ice cream base in a pot and heat over medium heat, whisking or stirring continuously. Once mixture reaches approximately 115 degrees, gradually whisk in cocoa. Continue to heat mixture until temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature (an ice bath will do this in about 15-20 minutes) and then place in a container, cover and chill in refrigerator overnight.

3. Churn ice cream base in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Place chocolate ice cream into container and swirl alternately with chocolate and hazelnut syrups. Freeze in a tightly covered container for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight if you can wait. Then, enjoy!

*Yields approximately 2.5 pints

If you’d rather not make it, you can be one of two lucky winners of this fabulous, scratch made craft ice cream in our weekly pint giveaway. Enter your name in the comments section here, or on our facebook page under the posted contest. Two winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 2/20/15 at 4pm. Winners must be able to pick up locally in Minneapolis. Prizes must be claimed by email within one week or we will redistribute. 🙂 Good luck!

February 9, 2015

Spicy Cinnamon Chocolate Caramel Pecan

Love is in the air, and with Valentines Day just a few days away, we wanted to hit y’all with something decadent, and spice it up a little too, for your hot lovin. This one should be pretty easy to wrap your heads around. It has all those things that make you see hearts and stars when you eat it. Let’s get started with this week’s flavor – Spicy Cinnamon Chocolate Caramel Pecan.

For the ice cream base, we’re using three components: Valrhona cocoa powder, Penzy’s cinnamon(China), and Penzy’s cayenne pepper. Like your love, flavor intensity is high here. The three components are whisked into our sweet cream base made with organic cane sugar. The base is pasteurized, cooled, and is ready for the churn.

Next, the caramel. Salty caramel. For your loving taste buds. First, sugar is brought to a boil until it’s caramelized and becomes a beautiful amber color, at which point we add our cream. The caramel is then finished with sea salt. It’s simple, and friggin’ delicious. The caramel gets layered into the ice cream before packaging.

We finish off this lovers’ delight with some toasted salty pecans. Seriously though, simplicity can sometimes be bliss. The pecans take a little ride into the oven, toast at a low temperature, and are finished with salt when they come out. They get tossed into the ice cream whole at the end of the churn.

Lovers unite! Decadent spicy chocolate cinnamon ice cream layered with salted caramel and pecans. Happy Valentines Day!

Spicy Cinnamon Chocolate Caramel Pecan:

Ingredients:

Ice Cream:
2 Cups of Heavy Cream
1 Cup of Milk (choose your percentage based on how fatty/creamy you’d like your ice cream to be – the higher percentage the creamier the ice cream)
2 large eggs
3/4 Cup sugar
1/3 cup Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Caramel:
1 Cup sugar
1 Tablespoon water
1 Cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Pecans:
3/4 Cup Pecans, halved
1 teaspoon Butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions:

1. Prepare the base: Crack eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk fully. Add sugar and whisk more until cream, sugar and eggs are combined. Add cream, milk, cocoa powder, cinnamon, cayenne and salt, and whisk again until all are fully incorporated. The cocoa powder may not fully incorporate until the base is cooked.

2. Place ice cream base in a pot and heat over medium heat, whisking or stirring continuously. Heat until temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature (an ice bath will do this in about 15-20 minutes) and then place in a container, cover and chill in refrigerator overnight.

3. Prepare the caramel: In a heavy bottomed pan, with sides at least 4 inches high, add sugar and water and bring to boil. Do NOT STIR at this point or the caramel will become grainy. As soon as the sugar starts to turn an amber color, remove from heat immediately. Add heavy cream and whisk vigorously until incorporated. Stir in sea salt and cool.

4. Prepare the pecans: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place pecans on a sheet pan and bake for 5 minutes. Toss with melted butter and salt. Bake for another 10 minutes. Cool pecans.

5. Churn ice cream base in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Add pecans in last 5 muntes of the churn. Empty ice cream into an air tight container and pour some of the caramel over the top. Lightly stir the caramel into the ice cream. You can eat immediately as soft serve, but we would recommend freezing in a tightly covered container for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight if you can wait. The flavors will continue to develop and change over the next few days. Enjoy!

*Yields approximately 2.5 pints

If you’d rather not make it, you can be one of two lucky winners of this fabulous, scratch made craft ice cream in our weekly pint giveaway. Enter your name in the comments section here, or on our facebook page under the posted contest. Two winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 2/13/15 at 4pm. Winners must be able to pick up locally in Minneapolis. Prizes must be claimed by email within one week or we will redistribute. 🙂 Good luck!

December 15, 2014

Hot Chocolate with Candy Canes

In preparation for decorating our Christmas tree, my wife suggested to our five year old son that they make hot chocolate and put candy canes in it; a tradition that she remembers having as a child. So simple, yet it is always those simple traditions in food that become favorites. After all, they usually only come around once a year, which make them extra special, as well as something to look forward to. So this week, we’re taking that simple approach in re-creating a tradition of the past, and in our family, the future. Let’s get started with this week’s flavor – Hot Chocolate with Candy Canes

There are a number of great cocoas on the market, but we prefer to use Valrhona cocoa powder. It’s a cocoa that produces an intense chocolate flavor. Along with a nice helping of sugar and a shot of our high quality Madagascar vanilla extract, this hot chocolate is a rich exclamation to the “Swiss Miss” variety of hot chocolate I remember having as a kid. The cocoa powder and vanilla extract are added to our sweet cream base, cooked, cooled, and the hot chocolate ice cream base is ready for the churn. But first, candy canes…

Candy canes are fun and festive with their red and white colors, but not necessary in our ice cream; we don’t need any of those artificial colors. We decided to go with a more natural process. The process starts by boiling sugar, glucose and cream of tarter. Once the sugar reaches 280 degrees, we add our peppermint oil and pour onto a silicone baking mat. After the mixture cools a bit, we fold it up and pull, and again, fold and pull until the sugar starts to stiffen up. During the last pull, I gave the sugar a little twist. At a glance, this is a kind of a poor excuse for a candy cane, but honestly, who cares? We’re going to break them up and cover them all up with delicious rich chocolate ice cream. Screw the looks; it’s all about the flavor. We crush the canes and we toss them into the ice cream at the end of the churn.

It’s a rich hot chocolate ice cream studded with peppermint candy canes. It’s a simple tradition packed with flavor.

You can be one of two lucky winners of this fabulous, scratch made craft ice cream in our weekly pint giveaway. Enter your name in the comments section here, or on our facebook page under the posted contest. Two winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 12/19/14 at 4pm. Winners must be able to pick up locally. Prizes must be claimed by email within one week or we will redistribute. 🙂 Good luck!