May is here with warmer weather and plenty of opportunities for backyard dining. Dazzle your cookout guests with these restaurant-style but easy-to-make frozen desserts.
Photo by Iuliia Nedrygailova
CHOCOLATE-FILLED PROFITEROLES (CREAM PUFFS)
MAKES APPROXIMATELY 18–24
Shells
½ cup unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
Filling
¾ cup chocolate chips
2 cups heavy whipping cream
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish
Melted chocolate, optional
Shells
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a medium saucepan, boil 1 cup water and butter over medium heat. Quickly add flour and salt. Stir rapidly to form a soft dough. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 3 additional minutes. Remove from heat and let mixture cool for 10 minutes. Stir in 1 egg at a time until smooth after each addition. Cover mixture and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400 F. When dough is chilled completely, remove from refrigerator and, using a small-medium scoop, scoop onto baking sheets. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 F and bake for an additional 15–20 minutes until golden brown on all sides. Let cool completely on a rack.
Filling
Place chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at 30-seconds intervals, stirring in between, until chocolate is melted. Set aside and let it come to room temperature.
In a medium bowl, beat cream, sugar and vanilla until peaks form. Gently fold in chocolate. Transfer to a piping bag with a round piping tip attached. Carefully pierce each shell by pushing the round tip into the side and fill with the chocolate cream. Place in an airtight container and freeze overnight. Serve frozen, sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar or drizzled with melted chocolate.
Mixed Berry Granita
Photo by Gwénaël Le Vot
SERVES 4
3 half-pints assorted fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries)
½ cup simple syrup
3 tablespoons pomegranate juice
In the bowl of a food processor, blend berries, syrup and juice until smooth. Pour into a 9-by-13-inch casserole or baking dish and put in the freezer. Every 30 minutes, for about 2 hours, scrape sides and bottom back and forth with a fork to keep mixture from turning into an ice block. It is ready when the mixture is light and flaky. Serve in individual serving bowls.
Chef’s tips
What to do with leftover granita? Granita is best eaten immediately, so have a second helping. If you do have leftover granita, freeze it in ice cube trays. The cubes are refreshing eaten on a hot day, or serve them, along with plain ice cubes, in fruit beverages or sparkling water.
Pavlova Ice Cream Cake
Photo by Gina Moore
SERVES 8
½ gallon vanilla ice cream
1 cup crushed meringue nests (store-bought or homemade)
¼ cup fresh chopped mango
¼ cup fresh pomegranate arils (seeds)
1 cup frozen raspberries
Fresh raspberries, for garnish
Pomegranate arils, for garnish
Line a freezer-proof, 9-inch or 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, overlapping the sides (for easy removal). Set aside. Slightly soften ice cream, enough to stir, and place in a medium bowl. Stir in meringue nests, mango, pomegranate arils and frozen raspberries. Spoon into loaf pan. Cover with plastic film and then foil. Freeze well. Slice and serve garnished with fresh berries and pomegranate arils.
Meringue Nests
¼ cup water
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon meringue powder
Preheat oven to 200 F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine water, 1 tablespoon of sugar, vanilla and meringue powder. Using a hand mixer, beat at high speed for 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar and continue to beat until peaks form and meringue is stiff and dry, approximately 5 minutes more. Place in a piping bag with a star tip attached. Pipe circles, about 2 inches in diameter, onto parchment-lined sheet pan, leaving about 2 inches between circles. Bake for 1 hour. Turn off oven and leave meringue in oven overnight to completely dry.
Strawberry Tropical Sorbet Terrine
Photo by Karen Hermann
SERVES 8
1 pint lemon sorbet (or flavor of choice)
6 ounces fresh quartered strawberries (or chopped seasonal fruit)
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 pint vanilla frozen yogurt
1 pint mango sorbet (or flavor of choice)
Quartered or sliced fresh strawberries, for garnish
Fresh mint, for garnish
Line a freezer-proof, 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, overlapping the sides (for easy removal). Set aside. Soften lemon sorbet and, using a rubber spatula, spread on the bottom of loaf pan to form an even layer. Place in freezer until firm, about 1 hour.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring strawberries, sugar, vanilla and lemon extract to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer five minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool. Meanwhile, allow frozen yogurt to soften, 15–20 minutes, to a spreading consistency. Place in a medium bowl and gently fold strawberry mixture into yogurt and blend until yogurt turns pink. Smooth strawberry mixture evenly over firm lemon layer and return to freezer for another hour or until strawberry layer is firm.
Bring mango sorbet to room temperature, 15–20 minutes. Place in a medium bowl and stir until spreading consistency. Spread evenly over strawberry layer, cover with plastic film and return to freezer overnight to completely freeze.
When ready to serve, peel away the plastic film and invert onto a serving tray. Also remove the second film from the bottom. Slice with a knife that has been soaked in a cup of hot water and dried. Serve immediately, garnished with strawberries and mint.
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