Berry Ice Cream

We got a whole bag of frozen Radar Farms berries at Costco a few weeks back. To borrow a cliche, (sorry about this, copy-editting sister...) it was a very-berry boatload of berries to play with! ...anyhoo...

My brother's favorite ice cream flavor is strawberry, so we compromised and I made a quart of berry (though not strawberry) ice cream. It was a bit difficult to keep the water in the berries from making the ice cream icy-textured. Since I don't really like to use eggs in the ice cream, because I think it makes the ice cream taste like custard and not like cream, I opted to cook down the berries in order to boil off some of the water. It helped a great deal, and also the slightly-more concentrated pectin (the protein in fruit that is not unlike gelatin in meat/bones), helped thicken and stabilize the ice cream. Yay for bonus success! Of course, berry ice cream is really meant to go with chocolate, so I hunted down on Pinterest  a GF brownie-in-a-mug recipe to make into a berry-brownie sundae. Which was super yummy, so of course, I made it four more times. In a row.

Berry Ice Cream- makes 1 quart

4 cups mixed berries, frozen

2/3 cup agave nectar

1 pint whipping cream

1 tbs vanilla

1 1/2 tsp salt

1- Soften berries in the microwave, then melt and bring to a boil on medium heat. Allow to reduce until the color has darkened and the berries have thickened (about 10 minutes). Stir constantly. 

2- Remove from heat and pour into medium mixing bowl or large pyrex liquid measuring cup. Add agave, stir until combined.

3- Add cream, vanilla, and salt. Stir until combined. Let cool to room temperature for 1 1/2 hours. Chill further in the refrigerator for 1 1/2 hours. 

4- Mix according to your ice cream-maker's manufacturer's instructions. Pour into large, freezer-safe tupperware container, cover with plastic wrap to maintain freshness. Let harden for 3 hours.

5- Serve, ideally over a brownie-in-a-mug, with whipping cream and chocolate sprinkles. 

Chocolate-Dipped Divinity Candy

After making marshmallows, I had to make more candy. Not because I want candy, but because it's gluten-free...obviously... (OMG! candy!).

The difference between divinity and marshmallows is mostly temperature (which so basic it's is kinda awesome) and that divinity doesn't have gelatin (though some marshmallows don't...). And divinity is a particular favorite in my house and marshmallows are just a pantry staple. Anyway. I don't know how to invent candy recipes, so I found this Emril recipe on Foodily and the chocolate-tempering instructions from David Leibovitz. Both recipes worked for me very well- so well that I made divinity candy three times (this is batch #3) and dipped two of them (this is dipping #2). I would have kept making it, but the freezer ran out of space... Apparently, I need to figure out how to expand those drawers...

Chocolate-Dipped Divinity Candy- makes ~ 75 candies

1- Follow this recipe from Emril on Food Network; make the candies half-size for dipping.

Variation: sub out the 1 tsp vanilla extract for 1/2 tsp vanilla extract + 1 1/2 tsp almond extract- this makes it taste like the fluffiest marzipan ever.

2- When the candies are cool (minimum 4 hours later), chocolate dip them, following David Leibovitz's procedure on tempering chocolate. Be sure to work quickly, as the chocolate will firm up fast (as in "5 seconds after dipping and still around your fingers" - fast) if it has been tempered properly.  Let the candies cool after dipping on a large sheet of parchment on a baking tray or the counter.

Store at room temperature or in the freezer, after 1 week.

Marshmallows

Something kind of amazing about candy? It's all sugar. Which means it's sugar....and gluten free. 

{I discovered candy-making recently}.

The recipe for these marshmallows come from the amazing blog of David Lebovitz, and I did not even adapt it. The post explains the food chemistry that goes into marshmallow making, but I will note that it's really nifty that marshmallows are stabilized meringue...as in meringue pie minus the weepiness. It's like, a network of sugar and egg protein, that doesn't melt! Wheeee!

I think I'll celebrate that discovery with (a now frozen) fresh marshmallow.

Recipe- makes 4 dozen marshmallows

From David Lebovitz

Note: If you want pictures of how all this should work (which I always do) then check out David's post. 

"2 envelopes (17g) powdered gelatin or 17g sheet gelatin (8 to 10 sheets)

1/2 cup (125ml) + 1/3 cup (80ml) cold water

1 cup (200g) sugar
1/3 cup (100g) light corn syrup
4 large egg whites (1/2 cup, 110g), at room temperature
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste


Marshmallow Mix
One part corn starch (or potato starch), one part powdered sugar (about 1 cup, 140g, each)

1. In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the 1/2 cup (125ml) of cold water to dissolve and soften. If using leaf gelatin, soak the leaves in about 2 cups (500ml) cold water.
2. In a small saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, mix the sugar and corn syrup with 1/3 cup (80ml) of water. Place over medium-to-high heat...Note that you will use this saucepan twice, to make the syrup and melt the gelatin, eliminating the need to wash it between uses.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, pour in the egg whites and beat on low speed until frothy. Add the pinch of salt.
4. When the syrup reaches about 210ºF (99ºC), increase the speed of the mixer to high and beat the whites until they are thick and fluffy.
5. When the syrup reaches 245ºF (118ºC), slowly pour the hot syrup into the whites, pouring so that the syrup does not fall on the whisk since some of the syrup will splatter and stick to the sides of the bowl.
6. Scrape the gelatin and water into the pan that you used for the syrup, or put the gelatin sheets and 2 tablespoons of the water into the pan and swirl it to dissolve. (There should still be residual heat left in the pan from making the syrup in it to dissolve it).
Pour the liquified gelatin slowly into the whites as they are whipping. Add the vanilla extract or paste and continue to whip for 5 minutes, until the mixture is feels completely cool when you touch the outside of the bowl.
7. Dust a baking sheet evenly and completely with a generous layer of the marshmallow mixture. (I use a sifter to do this.) Make sure there are absolutely no bare spots.
8. Use a spatula to spread the marshmallows in a layer on the pan. Allow to dry for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, uncovered.
9. Put about 1 cup (140g) of the marshmallow mixture into a large bowl.Dust the top of the marshmallows with some of the marshmallow mixture. Use a pizza cutter or scissors (dusted as well with the marshmallow mixture) to cut the marshmallows into any size or shape pieces that you’d like and toss the marshmallows in the marshmallow mixture. Shake the marshmallows vigorously in a wire strainer to remove the excess powder. Alternatively, you can dust a baking sheet and put scoops of the marshmallow on it, and let them cool, as shown in the post."