These bars are fantastic. They’re as good as they look. I love them.
They are the perfect summer treat, with some limey tang, smooth sink-your-teeth-into-it cool creaminess, and just the right balance of sweetness. If you like tart stuff, this is the recipe for you! The original recipe says animal crackers > graham crackers for the crust, but I’ve only ever made it with graham cracker crumbs and I liked it that way. I would probably like animal crackers, too, but I just haven’t tried it. Graham crackers just felt right. Plus, you can buy a box of graham cracker crumbs nowadays, where you actually get more graham cracker per ounce than you do when buying them whole (at Target)!
I should really make these bars more often. I made them last year for July 4, and they were a hit. I’m a little sad I’ve waited almost another year to make them again. Why the wait? I don’t know. I was too busy having a baby and making chocolate things or something. But I definitely regret it now.
Yes, this title deserves an exclamation point! Here in the Bay Area today, it is a sweltering 93º… and it’s supposed to get even hotter tomorrow! Nothing says delicious, freshly churned, refreshing, homemade ICE CREAM!!!! better than this recipe! David has come through for me again!
First of all, strawberry season is HERE. Chances are, you’ve been lured in by the intoxicating fragrance of those bright red berries more than once at the market. And, when their ruby-red hues are this lovely, one pint simply will not do:
You know what I’m talking about. You know you’ve come home with a flat of 3 or 6 pints before. You rinse them off and devour the first juicy basket, and then sit there wondering, Howwwww am I gonna finish the rest of these strawberries before they go bad?
Am I right?
Sure, freezing them and using them for smoothies is a good backup plan, but that kind of defeats the joy of fresh-from-the-market strawberries. No, when Rachel brought three baskets of ripe and juicy strawberries to our home last week, I knew they were destined for bigger things. I was actually secretly hoping we wouldn’t finish the strawberries, tempting as they were, because I was already plotting to transform them into something glorious and new: strawberry sour cream ice cream.
Every time I serve this, my friends exclaim, “WOW! It tastes like real strawberries!!” Even Rachel said it, and she’s the one who brought the strawberries over. I’m not sure why they’re so surprised, because I’ve already told them it’s strawberry ice cream. Maybe it’s because they are used to the store-bought version with artificial flavors and too much sugar. Or maybe it’s because, with this perfect balance of sour cream and sugar, strawberries somehow taste more strawberry-like, with their summer-ripe sweetness bursting from the spoon onto your palate.
Whatever it is, this recipe is a serious winner. Not only does it taste like summer in your mouth, but it is also one of the easiest ice cream recipes ever: no eggs, no cooking! Just blend and churn! If that doesn’t make you throw that ice cream canister straight into the freezer, I don’t know what will.
If you don’t have an ice cream maker, this pre-summer season might just be the time to pick one up
At the end of each churning, I normally try to scrape most of my ice cream off the paddle and into my ice cream tubs for freezing… but not with this one. Instead, I find myself leaving copious amounts hanging off the paddle for the pleasure of immediate licking! It’s one of those ice creams that tastes great frozen, but possibly even better fresh off the churn, so have your (chilled) bowls and spoons ready!
I LOVE 85C’s sea salt iced coffee. There’s something about the creamy frothiness and the tiniest hint of salt that really makes my taste buds happy. It’s especially refreshing on a hot summer day. I had my first taste in Irvine, and it was always one of the must-haves whenever we went down for a visit. I was so excited when another milk tea shop opened up closer to home, offering Snowfall Iced Coffee, which is a very similar drink. At nearly $5 a cup, though, this wasn’t something I was willing to pay for regularly. I carefully watched them make it and of course went home and tried to recreate it. I think I came pretty close! If you enjoy your iced coffee creamy and sweet with a hint of something different, give this recipe a try and tell me what you think!
I still remember the first time. I was a college student. We were at Crepevine in Berkeley, and I probably should have gotten something off the savory menu. It was, after all, dinner time. But I couldn’t resist, and instead I selected The Jamaican: Bananas in Caramel Rum Sauce.
I was intrigued. Caramel? Rum? Bananas? What on earth would that taste like? Soon, I found out.
It was spectacular. I had never really had cooked bananas before this, but cooking them in a buttery caramel sauce was definitely the way to go. I wasn’t sure if that addictive flavor was the caramelized banana, the buttery browned caramel, or maybe… the rum? It didn’t matter. When you melded them together and then topped it on smooth, vanilla bean ice cream and a touch of whipped cream, it was magic. My taste buds swooned over the new notes of delicious, and I felt like Remy in Ratatouille as he explained the beauty of food to his brother in the alleyway, fireworks and all. Mmmm.
So of course, the next step was to make it. It wasn’t very hard, actually. There was obviously butter, sugar, rum, and bananas in it. I’d figure out the rest.
…Turns out, that’s all it took. Four ingredients = an explosion of happy in my mouth.
Fruit tarts seem to be the one dessert that everyone can agree on– even self-proclaimed “not a dessert person”-people, so it’s always a safe bet. The beautiful fruit patterns also make a bright splash on the dining table, so I like to think it adds to the festivity and decor of the celebration as well.
There are a gazillion recipes for fruit tart out there, which basically consist of a crust, filling, fruit, and glaze. My main gripe with most fruit tart recipes has always been the bother of chilling, then rolling out a crust. I have finally found a crust that skips those finicky steps and gets right to business. Below is my version of this much-loved dessert!
One of the highlights of attending UC Berkeley was the easy access to inexpensive good eats. One such place was Raleighs, on Telegraph. The first time I ate there, a friend ordered a huge hunk of mud pie. While it looked tantalizing (ice cream and Oreos– what’s not to like?), my first thought was, I could make that for a fraction of the cost! So… I did. The next day, I pieced together four simple ingredients and wowed my friends. It was just as easy as I had hoped, and it was one of the first recipes I created and shared (on Xanga, if you’re old enough to know what that is!). A crowd-pleaser with just four ingredients and a practically no-fail guarantee– what more could you ask for?
This photo will have to do for now 🙂
(I keep forgetting to snap one of the ice cream!)
My good friend David (I wish) has a lovely ice cream book
Ben and I recently went to an event at Smitten Ice Cream, the trendy liquid nitrogen ice cream spot that just opened up in Los Altos, and got to sample several scoops of ice cream, including generous portions of their Earl Grey with Milk Chocolate. Long story short, Ben likes my (er, David’s) Earl Grey with Dark Chocolate Truffles better than theirs. Done.
My favorite kind of truffle is simply a chilled ganache dipped in chocolate, so naturally I would enjoy a version of this as a chunky mix-in for ice cream! David Lebovitz has this great recipe that includes some alcohol and corn syrup, which helps keep them soft and pliable for scooping in ice cream. I like to drop these into his Earl Grey Tea ice cream, and imagine they would be good paired with other ice cream flavors such as coffee, vanilla bean, or anything else that goes well with chocolate!
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