While there’s nothing wrong with simply eating ice cream in a bowl (or straight from the carton for that matter), these delicious dessert recipes from our resident chef take everyone’s favorite summer treat to a whole new level.
Photo by Gwénaël Le Vot
MINI BAKED ALASKA
MAKES 8
1 11-by-7-inch pan of brownies, homemade or store-bought
1 quart strawberry ice cream, slightly softened
6 egg whites (from large eggs)
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
Place eight 8-ounce broiler-safe custard cups on a baking sheet and set aside.
Using a 3-inch (or 2½-inch) cookie/biscuit cutter, cut out 8 brownie rounds. Place each
brownie round in a custard cup. Top with approximately ½ cup ice cream. Smooth the tops, cover, and freeze for at least one hour or overnight.
In a medium bowl, beat egg whites with a hand mixer on high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar and vanilla. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
Preheat oven to 500 F.
Remove cups from freezer. Spoon the meringue over the top of each cup, covering completely and mounding the meringue into a dome-like topping. Bake in oven for 2 minutes or just until meringue starts to brown. Watch carefully! Serve immediately or return to freezer until ready to serve. (If you return to freezer, be sure to allow 15 minutes to rest on counter before serving, to allow meringue to soften slightly.)
Chef’s tip: Save brownie pieces left over after cutting out the eight rounds. Freeze in a plastic bag and use as a garnish to plain ice cream throughout the summer (or however long they last).
Earl Grey Ice Cream
Photo by Gina Moore
MAKES ABOUT 1½ QUARTS
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup sugar
6 regular-sized Earl Grey tea bags
6 egg yolks
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
⅓ cup roughly chopped almonds
Chocolate nibs, for garnish
In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, add cream, milk and sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. When milk begins to simmer, remove from heat, add tea bags, cover, and let steep for 10–15 minutes. Remove tea bags and allow to cool.
In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, salt, almond and vanilla extracts. Whisk into milk mixture and return to saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Do not allow to boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Strain custard through a sieve into a medium bowl. Place the bowl over a larger bowl filled halfway with water and ice. Stir occasionally to cool. Cover with plastic film, pressing it directly on top of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Pour custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. Add chocolate chips and almonds for the last 10 minutes of the churning process. Transfer to a clean freezer-safe container and freeze until firm. To serve, scoop into ice cream servers and garnish with chocolate nibs.
Vanilla-Cherry Jubilee
Photo by Gina Moore
SERVES 4–6
Vanilla ice cream
1 pound fresh or frozen cherries, pitted
½ cup sugar
Lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
½ cup cognac, for flambé
Scoop ice cream into decorative dishes and put in freezer until ready to serve.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add cherries, sugar, lemon zest and juice. Cook, stirring steadily, until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add cognac. With a stick lighter or long match, carefully ignite the mixture. (Be sure to hold the pan away from you.) Using a spoon, baste cherries with the liqueur and juices until the flames die out. Spoon immediately over the vanilla ice cream.
Chef’s tip: In place of cognac, you may use brandy, rum or kirsch (a distilled spirit made from sour cherries).
Chocolate-Covered Mint Sandwiches
Photo by Iuliia Nedrygailova
MAKES 6
12 3-inch chocolate chip cookies, homemade or store-bought
6 scoops mint chocolate chip ice cream, or your flavor of choice
1 cup melting chocolate or chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Place 6 cookies, upside down, on a large cutting board or baking sheet lined with parchment. Scoop about ½ cup ice cream onto each cookie. Top with a second cookie, right side up. Press together lightly to distribute ice cream evenly. Wrap each sandwich in plastic and place in freezer 4 hours to overnight.
In a medium, microwavable bowl, melt the chocolate and oil at 15-second intervals until smooth enough to stir.
Place a piece of parchment on a sheet pan. Unwrap cookies, one at a time, and dip into the chocolate. Shake off excess and place cookies on parchment-lined sheet pan. Repeat until all cookies are dipped in chocolate. Return to freezer until chocolate is hardened, at least 30 minutes.
Chef’s tip: If you desire, melt 1 cup of white chocolate, and dip one side of each ice cream sandwich in the white chocolate.
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It’s going to be a long, hot summer, so why not dig into more of Chef Belinda’s frozen dessert recipes?
Pavlova Ice Cream Cake—This delicious ice cream cake is a fruit-lover’s dream.
Ice cream treats for the kids—Make it a family affair with these recipes that are almost as much fun to make as they are to eat.
Strawberry Tropical Sorbet Terrine—This layered dessert takes a few extra steps to make, but the results are worth it
Waffle Cone Ice Cream Tacos—Homemade waffle cone taco shells filled with your favorite ice cream and toppings. Now that’s what we call a fiesta!
Chunky Peach Ice Cream—Nothing could be finer than homemade ice cream with fresh South Carolina peaches.