Choco Raspberry Ice Cream Sandwich - FFWD

We´re having a celebration at FFWD, since this is our 100^th recipe from the book Around My French Table. Or should I say some people´s hundred mark. I joined late, and missed a few, even this one.

Well, in my defense I have a good argument. We´re supposed to make Peach Melba. You know, with peaches. Which, as I extensively complained about in other posts, can´t find anywhere. I could use mangos, but the last ones I bought tasted a bit like insecticide (is there someone else who understands what I say or is it my taste buds alone?). Not nice at all. I could do a pear melba, but the words absolutely boring come immediately to my mind.

So where do this ice cream sandwiches come from, you´re asking. From the bonne idée. Where it suggests making a vanilla raspberry cassis ice cream and serving it with anything chocolate. Again, I took some liberties and made a cream raspberry cassis ice cream. Such a long name for a simple thing.

It is simple really. And it´s called crema ice cream. I love that. Because in Spanish it means cream. Plain and simple. But it somehow entered the blogging world as a sort of mysterious dairy product. It´s cream people. Good cream. I don´t know what kind you use where you live, but here we have our share of very good dairy. So go find the best cream you can find and make crema ice cream. Or add vanilla and make vanilla ice cream.

And here´s another thought. Our most common, find-it-everywhere, good-with-everthing, buy-it-by-the-gallon ice cream flavor is crema. Though here it´s called American Cream. See? We put the american trying to make it more sophisticated and you named it crema to do the same.

In the end, I think the food world is in need of new flavors. So let´s rename.

The same happens with pomelos which in Spanish are grapefruits. There are different kinds but they´re all pomelos. Red pomelo, white pomelo. I wonder what the difference between pomelos and grapefruit is supposed to be. But that´s a debate for another time.

Here we have a birthday and I´m bringing the ice cream.

The brownie cookies are awesome and exactly what the name implies. A cookie that tastes like a brownie. Very chewy and soft, so the ice cream will hopefully stay in place and not end up everywhere but your mouth when you take a bite. A big one. And then another.

I found the cookie recipe in a wonderful blog, Culinography. My only change was leaving the chocolate chips out, your choice.

Cheers to all the Doristas; you´re an awesome group to be a part of.

RASPBERRY CREMA ICE CREAM

from Pure Dessert, by Alice Medrich

For the crema ice cream

2 ¼ cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1/3 cup sugar

Slightly rounded 1/8 teaspoon salt

4 large egg yolks

For the raspberry puree

¾ cups raspberries (I used raspberries in syrup, not frozen)

4 Tbs sugar

2 Tbs crème de cassis (cassis liqueur)

In a medium saucepan, combine cream, milk, sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

On a medium bowl combine egg yolks. Add the hot cream mixture to the yolks gradually, while continuously stirring or whisking. Return the mixture again to the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to let it boil.

Transfer to a clean bowl, (you may strain this mixture if you like, I didn´t), cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 4 hours, preferably 12 hours.

When you`re ready to churn, put raspberries, sugar and cassis in a blender. Pulse until everything is well combined and strain puree (I didn´t) into cold cream mixture.

Transfer everything to an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturers´ directions.

Freeze for a few hours before serving.