Fighting the Heat.

Is it just me or has it been getting increasingly warm and humid on this side of the world? These days, I swear I can’t even walk twenty steps without feeling like I’m gonna pass out from a heatstroke- and I haven’t even step foot outside my house!

So last weekend I’ve decided to take things into my hands and chill off the more eco-friendly way- with the help of some gelato sandwiches.

So while Coco basked in the strong sun, I was more than happy to retreat to the pavilion, leafed lazily through food magazines and sink my teeth into my glorious icy treat. And what a treat it was, a generous scoop of rich, smooth chocolate ice cream sandwiched between soft chocolate cookies, in the relentless heat.

This sure had me dreaming of whipping up a spread of frozen desserts. And judging by how the heat doesn’t seem like it’s gonna ease up around here, I highly doubt this is the last you’ll see of icy treats around here.

Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches [taken from Bruce Weinstein's The Ultimate Frozen Dessert Book]

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups plain flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
180g unsalted butter
60g Crisco
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Chocolate gelato
90g unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 175C. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together and set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and Crisco together until creamy. Add the sugar and beat till light and smooth. Mix the egg and vanilla in. Stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated.
3. Divide the dough into two portions. Roll each portion out between two sheets of baking paper. Chill the dough in the freezer for about ten minutes until firm. Cut 4 inch circles out of the cookie dough and transfer them to prepared baking trays. Bake the cookies for about 13 to 15 minutes or until firm to touch. Let the cookies cool on the tray for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. To make chocolate gelato Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together till light and creamy. Add the cooled melted chocolate and whisk well.
5. In a saucepan and over medium heat, heat the cream and milk till small bubbles appear around the edges. Whisk the milk mixture gradually into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and put it back on the heat.
6. Over medium heat, cook the custard till it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, stirring constantly. Strain the custard into a bowl and stir the vanilla and salt in. Cool completely before refrigerating the custard for at least 4 hours.
7. Just before you’re ready to churn the custard, chill the custard in the freezer for 10 minutes. Churn the ice cream in your ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Posted by thecoffeesnob on May 6, 2009

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