Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

I'm addicted of making ice cream.

Really.

I spent three quarter of a quart of whipped cream for making ice cream only. I don't have the ice cream maker, but I'm patient enough to do it with the freeze and beat method. It all worth with the outcome. You can never fail making ice cream.

Ok, that's a lie. My first ice cream was not a big success. In fact, it wasn't success at all.

And these one particular flavor, has been invading my mind ever since I tried the New Zealand Natural's cookies and cream. The ice cream simply vanilla flavor and Oreo cookies, but I never quite understand with the stupidly expensive price. It was Rp 30.000 per scoop! And I never came back... with the taste still linger in back of my tongue.

I don't use too much heavy cream in my recipe, but looks like it's not affecting the richness of the taste. Maybe it's the cream of the Oreo?


Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

Recipe

Vanilla Ice Cream

• 300ml milk
• 200ml heavy cream (I use non dairy)
• 2 egg yolks
• 20gr cornstarch
• 75gr sugar
• 1 pod vanilla bean

Cookies

• 130 gr (1 pack) of Oreo cookies (coarsely chopped)
  

Instructions

1. Bring the milk, half the sugar, vanilla bean and the pod to a simmer on low heat until bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Remove from heat.
2. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and remaining sugar with an electric mixer until the yolks begin to turn pale yellow and thickened. Add the cornstarch that diluted with small amount of water.
3. Using a whisk, mix one-third of the hot milk into the egg yolks then gently whisk this back into the remaining milk in the saucepan. Scrape until bottom of the bowl so the remaining sugar that hasn't dissolved...
   
4. Heat gently over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Do not allow mixture to boil. It is ready when the custard coats the back of the wooden spoon and you can run a track through it with your finger that won't disappear. Remove from heat and remove the vanilla pod.
5. Let it cool in a fridge for 1 hour or use ice bath while stirring occasionally so it won't curdling.
6. Beat the cold heavy cream until soft peak formed. Gently whisk in the milk mixture into the whipped cream.
   
7. Process in the ice cream maker or if don't have one, do the freeze-and-beat method.
8. Add crushed Oreo on the last beat or when the ice cream mixture is thick enough to hold the chunks and wont sink in the bottom of the container.
   

And no more cookies and cream ice cream for Rp 30.000 per scoop.

Taiwanese Chesecake

Do you know Japanese Cheesecake?

Well, Taiwanese is the other one. Some say it has similarity with the Japanese one, because of the cottony texture, but minus the lemon. These two cakes are definitely different with regular cheesecake like New York Cheesecake and friends, because these cheesecakes is actually like... cake.

I suppose this kind of cake is not so common in the western area, because I try searching in some popular food blog but most of them, I found only another NY cheesecake, strawberry cheesecake, etc. Maybe because of the lightness, or maybe the less density of these cake they prefer to make the classic cheesecake. Well, whatever the reason is, everybody who loves baking should try making this, and can decide afterward.

What make this cheesecake not as dense as classic cheesecake is because the little use of a cream cheese. The fluffiness comes from the whipped egg whites that folds into the cream cheese batter.


Taiwanese Cheesecake
(Source: Buku 50 Resep Cheese Cake, Sedap)

Ingredients

• 125 gr cream cheese
• 90 gr evaporated milk
  
• 65 gr unsalted butter
• 35 gr all purpose flour
  
• 30 gr cornstarch
  
• 120 gr egg yolk
  
• 150 gr egg white
• 1/2 sd salt
  
• 1/2 sdt cream of tartar
• 90 gr castor sugar
  
• 1 sdm parmigiano cheese for topping

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Line a 22x22x4 cm pan with a parchment paper.
   
2. Warm cream cheese and milk over simmering water, stir occasionally until melted. Add butter. Stir again until well blended. Don't let the water boil. Set aside.
3. Sift in flour and cornstarch, and stir until well blended. Add egg yolk that's already lightly beaten. Mix well together. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, using clean beater, beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until they can hold soft peak. Add sugar gradually and continue beating until hard peak formed.
5. Fold in a some of the egg whites into cream cheese gently. And then pour all of the cream cheese batter into the egg whites and fold in until well blended. Pour into prepared cake pan. Sprinkle the parmigiano cheese on top. Place the pan on a bigger pan.
   
6. Place the baking sheet with the cheesecake into the oven, and pour 2-3 tbsp water. You can add more if you want to make the cake moister. Bake the cake in a 160 degrees C for 45 minutes or until it's done.
   
7. Turn off the oven. Let the cake inside the oven for about 1 hour, and let it cool before removing from the pan.
8. Run a knife around the outer edge of the cake pan (if needed), and invert onto a plate to remove the cake. Peel off the parchment paper and invert onto a serving plate so the top of the cake is on top again.

The lightness, the fluffiness... hey, how many times have I mention the word "fluffy"? Well, it's that good *nom nom nom*

My Green Obsession

I tried to remember when was the last time I tried ice cream with green tea flavor. Is it Baskin Robbins (which is yuck by the way)? The J. Co green tea ice blended? Or Haagen Dazs? Or the one in Goota Restaurant? I don't know. I completely forget about it. All I know, ever since that day, every time I pass ice cream parlor, the 1st question is always, "Is there green tea ice cream?" Many of them says no, of course. In a small city like Malang, I can't hope that much. No harm done, because chocolate is never goes out of style.

If I can't buy one, then I have to make one. But there still one problem tho. The main ingredient; green tea powder, also not available in Malang. It started to get not funny. And finally, with my last vacation in Jakarta, where I can find (almost) everything I want for baking and cooking, I finally find that ridiculously expensive green powder.

Unlike any other ice cream I usually made, this time I decided to make custard-base. Just to try how it will turn out to be. At first the egg yolks is quite frightening me, because... heloow, it's egg yolk! But then again, it's not like I'm going to eat it raw and square. I got the original recipe from here, but I have to change the green tea measurement. Were I use the original recipe, that little bottle of green powder of mine will be empty right away.

Green Tea Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 2 egg yolks
• 6 tbsp sugar (use less if you want to make it a bit bitter)
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2,5 tsp green tea powder
• 250 ml milk
• 200 ml heavy cream

Instructions

1. Dilute the green tea powder with 3-4 tbsp of hot water. Don't put too much water, or the green tea flavor will be less strong.
2. Beat in egg yolks and sugar until it's pale, then add the cornstarch that has diluted in water.
3. Heat milk a over medium heat just until bubbles appear around the edge (not a boil!). Remove from heat.
4. Stir a third of the heated milk into the egg mixture, then pour it back together into the milk. This is tempering the egg mixture. Add the green tea liquid. Stir it back in medium heat until it's thick.
5. Let it cool in fridge or put the bowl on top of ice blocks to cool it in much quicker way. After it's completely cool, mix in the heavy cream. Stir thoroughly.
6. Pour the green batter directly into the ice cream maker.

I don't have that expensive ice cream maker machine, so I have to do more effort to make every ice cream I want.You know, the freeze and beat technique.

After the third beat, I pour the batter into a square pan. A little try to make the ice cream looks like ice cream cake.

I will never do this again. Scooping ice cream is much, much better than cutting it. Still taste yummy tho. It's just a matter of shape. So yummy I think I wanna make another batch. Oh! And a green tea cheese cake. That's definitely go into my agenda.

Steamed Chocolate Cupcake

I gotta be honest, at first, I never interested for making cupcake. For me, cupcake and all the decoration is just a waste of time. I mean, c'mon, the cake only require eating for like a two to four bites maximum and you decorate it for maybe 15 minutes (and maybe more!) per cake? So much for the effort, eh? I always prefer cake. Big cake. Butter cake, chiffon cake, cheese cake, any kind, as long as not that cute cake.

But now, shamelessly, I retract my words :P

All because my vacation to Jakarta, and there goes my cousin, whom always making cute cookies and cupcake, insisted me to try, at least one time, for making a cupcake and decorate it. And so I lose. She did able to make me finally want to know about cupcake, and curious about what is everyone fussing about this. In my defense, she convince me for a week. So, I'm not at all weak.

She gave me one recipe that I finally fall in love with. And finally, a cake recipe that can be made without baking, but with steaming. It can be formed as a regular cake of course, but we pour the batter into a small cup, or else it won't be called cupcake, but just... cake.

Little did I know, it actually a brownies recipe. But instead of coming out fudgy and thick like the usual brownie, this one is quite light and moist. Well, whatever it is, I luvr it.

I got the recipe from the well-known cooking club in Indonesia, NCC. I make only half batch, and this it self produce about 30 cupcakes and I also not adding the chocolate sprinkle. I don't really like the taste of it.

Steamed Chocolate Cupcake (Source: Natural Cooking Club)

Ingredient A

• 6 eggs
• 225 gr caster sugar
• 10 gr emulsifier
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract/essence

Ingredient B

• 35 gr cocoa powder
• 150 gr plain flour (shifted together)

Ingredient C

• 150 gr butter/margarine
• 100 gr dark cooking chocolate, chopped or shredded
• 1/2 chocolate paste

Ingredient D

• 50 gr cooking chocolate, roughly chopped.
  

Instructions:

1. Line your cupcake pans with paper cup.
2. Melt butter and turn off the heat before it's completely melt, then dunk in the chopped chocolate and the chocolate paste. Whisk it until it's completely melt in the butter. Set aside.
3. Beat sugar, egg and salt in high speed until thick, and then beat in the emulsifier, continue beating until pale, creamy and very thick (try to make a trace with your beater. If it's disappear in quite a while, then you're done)
4. Shift ingredient B. Using the lowest speed, pour in the dry ingredient into the egg batter. Turn off the mixer.
5. Pour in the melted butter and chocolate. Fold in until it's thoroughly mixed. Be sure not to leave the butter-mix in the bottom of the bowl.
6. Stir in roughly chopped chocolate until just mix.
   
7. Preheat a steamer.
8. While waiting the steamer until it's completely boil, pour the batter into the cupcake pans.
9. Wrap the lid of your steamer with a towel or thick napkin.
10. Steamed the batter for 20-25 minutes in a medium heat.

I garnish my cupcake simply with a whipped cream and shredded dark cooking chocolate. I know it's too mundane for a cupcake. I don't care. I eat right away after I took a picture of it anyway. You might want to refrigerate it for a while to harden the chunky chocolate. It will taste more delicious.