Cookies and Cream

They are his favourite.

Cookies and Cream ice cream

Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk

- Pinch of salt
- 
¾ cup sugar
- 
2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 
4 egg yolks

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 22 Oreo cookies, chopped


Set up an ice bath by placing ice water into a large bowl. Pour the heavy whipping cream into a smaller large bowl, then place the bowl in the ice bath of the larger bowl.


Heat the milk, salt and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Do not let the mixture boil. 


In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolks. Pour some of the heated milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking the entire time. This is to prevent the eggs from scrambling when added straight to the hot saucepan. Pour the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to thicken (about 10-15 minutes).


Pour the custard into the cream and stir until cooled. Add the vanilla extract. Cover and chill in the refrigerator.


Remove the custard from the refrigerator and freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions. 
Meanwhile, coarsely chop the Oreo cookies. Once the ice cream is half-firm, stir in the cookie pieces. Place in a freezer safe, airtight container and place in freezer for several hours before serving.

Enjoy!

Buttermilk Vanilla Ice Cream

One of the best delights in life comes from sharing a tub of ice cream with a partner in front of the tv. 

So here is a post on how to make a simple Buttermilk Vanilla Ice Cream for those with a sweet-tooth.


Buttermilk Vanilla Ice Cream

- 2 cups heavy cream

- 1 1/4 cup sugar

- 12 large egg yolks *You can use less eggs to have ice cream which is less creamy.

- 2 cups buttermilk
- 
2 teaspoons vanilla or half a vanilla bean, scraped and simmered with the cream

- Pinch of salt


In a large, heavy saucepan, combine the heavy cream and one cup of sugar and bring to a simmer over medium heat.


In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar.


Remove the cream mixture from the heat and drizzle a small amount into the yolks, slowly, and whisking constantly to keep the eggs from curdling. Do this a few more times to warm up the yolks before pouring the yolk mixture back into the cream, whisking constantly.


Cook over low heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. 


Whisk in the buttermilk, vanilla, and salt. Cool completely and freeze according manufacturer’s directions.





Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

22nd September marked the day of one of my fellow good friend's birthday, Isaak John. To celebrate with our 'family', I made red velvet cupcakes. 

On the day of the celebration, my other 'family members' bought a birthday cake for him. Ironically, it was a red velvet cake. Seeing the clash between the two, I had to save it for the next day, where we celebrated again in church.
I hope you like the cupcakes, Isaak. They're your birthday present. :)

This is my KNS family and I love them to bits.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients

- 2½ cups all purpose flour

- 1½ cups sugar

- 1 tsp. baking soda

- 1 tbsp. cocoa powder

- 1 tsp. salt

- 2 large eggs

- 1½ cups vegetable oil

- 1 cup buttermilk (combine 1 cup nonfat milk w/ 1 tbsp lemon juice is you don't have buttermilk)

- 1 tsp. vanilla extract

- 1 tsp. white vinegar

- red food coloring

Preheat the oven to 350° F (180°C). 

Line cupcake pans with paper liners. 

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt; whisk to combine. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar. Beat on medium speed until well blended. 

Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed and beat until smooth.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners (I use an ice cream scoop). 

Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. 

Let cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese

5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla extract (I use vanilla pods)

3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. 

Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract (vanilla pods). 

Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired. 

Store cupcakes in the refrigerator, remove an hour before they will be served so the frosting can soften back up.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter filled Chocolate Macarons

A perfect macaron is one with a firm shell and a gooey center. It is one where the instant you take a bite, you wouldn't be able to resist taking another. Your taste buds are suddenly awakened by the sweet bang of the macaron.

Patience is the ultimate key to a perfect macaron.

Chocolate Macarons

Ingredients

- 110g almond flour

- 200g minus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

- 100g egg whites (from about 3 eggs), aged at room temperature for 24 hours

- 50g granulated sugar

Line two baking dishes with baking paper.

Mix the almond flour, confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl to combine.

In a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy. With the mixer still running, slowly add the sugar. Beat the mixture until it is shiny and stiff peaks form.

Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the almond mixture into the egg white mixture - you want to work quickly but try not to deflate the egg whites too much. Fold until no streaks remain; the batter will be thick and should fall from the rubber spatula in thick ribbons.

Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a plain round tip. Pipe 1-1 1/2 inch rounds onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch of space between them.

Set aside at room temperature for an hour. You want a soft shell to form.

Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Bake for 12 minutes - the tops should look dry and matte.

Transfer the baking sheet with macarons to a cool tabletop and let the macarons cool completely.

Once cool, pair the cookies by size.

Peanut Butter Buttercream
Ingredients

- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

- 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

- pinch table salt

- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1 tablespoon heavy cream

In a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and peanut butter at medium-high speed until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and salt to the bowl and beat at low speed just until the sugar is moistened. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat the mixture until fully combined. Finally, mix in the vanilla and heavy cream and beat to incorporate.

Pipe a small dollop of peanut butter buttercream onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair. Sandwich the two cookies together, gently pushing the peanut butter buttercream to the edges.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Sorbet

Studying in a private school, extra-curricular activities are an absolute must, even if it meant sacrificing a day of books.

As a part of our extra-curricular activities, we were required to come up with a new product, be it technology, food, clothes, practically anything under the sun. So my group, Sher Enterprise, and I decided to choose food and come up with a fat-free nutritious ice cream substitute, called Fruitsicles.

So what is it that is so special about Fruisicles? Isn't it just another dumb ice cream product that makes you so addicted to it, you'd have to run 15 minutes on the treadmill just to burn off that one sinful scoop? If that was your perception on it, then I beg to differ.

Fruitsicles is no ordinary ice cream. It is a fat-free, mouth-watering substitute to ice cream (as stated above), and the best thing about it? You won't feel guilty even after 10 bites.

Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar (you can use sucrose)
- 2 cups water
- 8 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/2 cup corn syrup (or honey for a more natural feel)


Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and allow the mixture to simmer, without stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes.
Set aside to cool completely. I placed it in the freezer for 15 minutes to speed up the process.

Puree the strawberries and lime juice in a blender.

Press the strawberry puree through a strainer to remove the seeds.

When the sugar syrup has cooled completely add it to the strawberry puree.
Add the honey and stir well.


Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Sorbet is particularly soft after churning but firms up after freezing.

Enjoy!

Granola Bars

My father and brother both have this bad habit of going to work on a half-empty stomach every morning, and hoping that the tiny meal they had that morning would last them throughout the entire day.

As the only person who cooks in this family, I feel that it is my duty to take that habit away.

But how, I ask myself, am I going to do that if the only time I ever see them is before they leave for work? I had to think of grab-and-go meal, something they could easily take out whenever they felt a hunger coming on.

My solution? Easy-peasy Granola Bars.

These nutritious, calorie-free bars are child's play.

So here's my recipe.

Ingredients :

- 200g oats

- 100g wheat-germ

- 50g hazelnut

- 75g sunflower seeds

- 175g almonds

- 125g brown sugar

- 250g honey

- 1/3 cup butter

- 125g dried fruits

- 2 tbsp cinnamon powder

- 1 tbsp vanilla essence

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).

To crush the hazelnuts and almonds, pulse them in a food processor for about 30 seconds.

Then, mix the oats, wheat-germ, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts and almonds in a baking dish. Toast them in the oven for about 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes so they don't burn.

Meanwhile, line a baking dish for your granola with baking paper.

Put the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.

By now, your grains and nuts should be toasted, so mix everything together in a large bowl. The grains, the liquid 'glue', and the dried fruit.

Make sure you mix everything REALLY well because you want everything to stick together with the 'glue'. Now dump everything into your baking dish lined with baking paper.

Spread out the mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Place another baking paper sheet on top of your mixture and press very hard all over. You want everything to be very compact so that your bars won't fall apart when you cut them.

Let the granola bars cool. I placed them right in front of a fan to speed up the process.

Slowly place the cooled granola onto a large cutting board and cut them into desired shapes.

Enjoy!