3 cups brown (wholewheat) bread, cut into small cubes
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
½ cup brown sugar
2 ½ cups whipping cream
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup Porter stout
Method
Set your broiler to high. Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil
In a large bowl combine the brown bread cubes, maple syrup and brown sugar. Toss to combine and coat the cubes in brown sugar
Transfer the coated cubes to the prepared baking sheet and spread in a even layer, avoiding clumps. Any stray sugar can be sprinkled over
Place under the broiler for between 5 to 10 minutes, tossing frequently, until toasted and crispy. Use a spatula to turn the bread pieces as the sugar makes them extremely hot to handle and you risk burning your fingers
Remove and leave on the baking sheet to cool fully
When cooled fully, blitz in a food processor to make crumbs. You don’t want them to be too fine so I usually do about 3-4 pulses
Set aside until needed later
Whip the cream until soft peak stage using either a hand mixer, or a stand mixer
In a separate bowl, or container, (I use a 1 Pint deli cup) combine the condensed milk and porter, stirring until mixed
Pour the porter mix into the whipped cream and gently fold to full combine
Add in most of the toasted brown breadcrumbs, reserving ½ cup for serving. Fold in the crumbs again using a gentle motion as you don’t want to deflate the cream
Pour the mixture into a freezer-proof container, cover the surface with plastic wrap and freeze leave until fully frozen, minimum 6 hours
To serve ice-cream remove from freezer and leave at room temperature for 5 mins before scooping to serve
1 3/4 cups whipping cream, whipped to semi-soft peaks
2/3 cup pistachio nuts, toasted and chopped
1 tbsp rosewater
2 ¼ cups fresh raspberries
Additional fresh raspberries, to decorate
Sicilian pistachios, chopped (optional)
Method
Grease a 9″ x 5″ x 2 1/2″ loaf pan. Line with baking paper, or cling wrap, allowing 2” overhang on both long ends. If you use baking parchment, you’ll get a smoother finish to the final result; using cling wrap will result in an interesting cracked/ wrinkled appearance
Place eggs, egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl. Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water over low heat
Whisk for 4 to 5 minutes or until thick and creamy. Remove from heat. Whisk the custard for a further 5 minutes or until cooled to room temperature
Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Gently fold in the whipped cream, toasted pistachios, rosewater and two-thirds of the raspberries
Pour mixture into prepared pan. Cover and freeze overnight or until firm
To serve, remove from the freezer and ley stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before turning out onto a plate. Top with remaining raspberries
Slice using a gently warmed knife into slices, plate and garnish with raspberries, and Sicilian pistachio slivers
No, I haven’t finally taken leave of my senses! This is indeed a recipe for pickle ice cream…with peanut butter. Peanut butter caramel at that. Whist it might sound like I’ve thrown everything at this but the kitchen sink, all for the sake of sensationalist recipes, as ever there is method in my wild thinking.
For starters July is both National Pickle Month AND national Ice Cream month. See? Already I have a reason! I’ll have to come clean though, admitting I’m not an fan of pickles myself. The texture that is. The zesty, vinegar flavour has however proved quite addictive to me over the years. Which is where this recipe is a win.
The ice cream here carries the zesty, almost herbaceous flavour of the pickle itself without any of the (for me) unappealing nubs of vegetable. It carries a certain freshness to it which makes consuming it on Summer days all the more appealing.
So where does the peanut butter come on? Well, as so is often the case with me I fell down a food rabbit hole whilst doing research on the ever so humble pickle and its varying uses. One of the ones that popped up and immediately piqued my interest was the “PB & P” sandwich- Peanut Butter & Pickle. The peanut butter and pickle sandwich isn’t some new viral trend but has in fact been a low-profile favorite in the U.S. since it appeared on deli counters during the Great Depression. A little mentioned stalwart of many a grandparent out there it would seem. On trying it, the way that the creamy peanut butter plays off the crunchy, briny pickle is really kind of amazing. Give it a go!
Salted caramel swirl ice cream is one of my favorites- both taste and visuals are satiated tracing the sweet rivulets through sweet creamy mounds. So why not include that here. I use peanut butter as a base for the caramel swirl in order to tie all my reference points together – paying homage to bygone favorites with a nod to my own personal ones. And hey, it’s Summer! Who doesn’t like ice cream?
Check out this #recipe for Pickle Ice Cream w/ Peanut Butter Caramel Swirl
Heat granulated sugar and glucose in a heavy-duty saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly (use a heat-resistant spoon or spatula). Melt the sugar into a thick brown, amber-colored liquid as you continue to stir. Be careful not to burn it!
Once sugar is completely melted, immediately stir in the peanut butter until melted and fully combined. The caramel will bubble rapidly when the peanut butter is added.
Return to heat when it’s combined and cook for 1 minute without stirring
Remove from the heat and carefully stir in the heavy cream in a slow, steady stream. There will be a steamy reaction so please be careful! After all the heavy cream has been added, stop stirring and allow to boil for 1 minute. Keeping watching in case it bubble sup too much. If it does, reduce the heat.
Remove from heat and stir in the salt. Set aside to cool to room temperature before using in the ice cream. The sauce will thicken as it cools
Pickle Ice Cream
Combine the pickles and brine in the carafe of a blender, then blend until pureed, about 1 minute
Strain the puree and discard any pulp. Save 1/3 cup pickle liquid and discard the rest
Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy
Add the condensed milk, honey and pickle liquid to the cream cheese and continue to mix until smooth
In a separate large bowl whip the heavy cream until firm peaks form. Fold in 1 cup of the whipped cream into the condensed milk/ pickle mixture until combined
Fold this lightened mixture into the whipped cream until well blended, being careful not to overwhip in case you deflate the mixture
Pour 1/3 of the mixture into a plastic container, or loaf pan, cover and freeze, for 1 hour. Keep the cream/ pickle mix in the fridge, covered
Remove from the freezer and drizzle over 1/2 caramel sauce in swirling pattern. Pour over another 1/3 of the cream/pickle mixture and return the ice cream to the freezer for another hour
Repeat Step 8 as above with the remaining caramel sauce and cream/pickle mixture. Before returning to the freezer run a chop stick or knife through the ice cream the swirl the mixtures together.
Cover and return to the freezer for minimum hours, or overnight.
To serve, remove the ice cream from the freezer 5-10 minutes before serving so that it is scoopable
In a bowl combine the pineberries and maple sugar, mixing well. Set aside to macerate on the countertop for at least 30 minutes before serving
Vanilla Cream
Using a handheld mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the cream, sugar and vanilla extract on medium-high until stiff peaks, about 3-4 minutes.
Chill in the refrigerator until needed
Biscuits
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, mixing well
Using a large hole cheese grater, grate in the butter, then cut using a pastry cutter, or knife, until mixture resembles a coarse meal. You will still be able to see the butter in pieces pea-size or slightly smaller
Make a well in the centre of the dry mix
Mix together the lemon juice, vanilla, milk and the egg
Pour into the well and mix until just combined to a dough ball
Lightly flour a countertop, transfer the dough from the bowl and roll (using a floured rolling pin) to 1 inch thickness
Cut out biscuits with 3inch biscuit cutter and place on parchment lined baking sheet
Lightly brush the tops of the biscuits with the egg wash
Sprinkle turbinado sugar on top of the biscuits
Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a rack before serving
To Serve
Slice each biscuit crossways in half
Spoon some of the vanilla cream on the bottom half
Top with a generous amount of the maple macerated pineberries
Top with the other half of the biscuit
Repeat with additional dollops of vanilla cream and macerated pineberries
Happy World Chocolate Day! Yes the food calendar which so often celebrates obscure treats and foods has of course a day designated to everyone’s favorite sweet treat. In whatever form- be it dark, milk, white, ruby or golden, nearly everyone I know has a soft spot for the timeless treat that is chocolate. In fact so much so in my case I ended up competing on a reality baking show about it. But I won’t bore you with those details.
It only seemed fitting given the day that it is that I highlight one of the keystones of my baking journey thus far- my Smokin’ Pig Licker Brownies. Bear with me and see past the name- by know you know I do like to create a talking point! Originally conceived from an idea combining two stalwart (yet polar opposite) favorites in the food world – chocolate (sweet) and bacon (savory) I will forever be indebted to these tasty morsels for earning me the “award winning” in my press kit bio title.
Wanting to pair chocolate and bacon led me to research whether this combination was a historic one, steeped in the recipes of olde, or a more recent affair. It proved to be a little of both. I mean think of the “mole sauces” of Mexican cuisine- pairing sweet and savory was indeed nothing new. But how about actual bacon? It was through this that I stumbled upon “Pig Lickers” and what they involved. A treat hailing from Southern US state fairs, Pig Lickers as such are “treats made by coating cooked bacon in chocolate, and then garnishing with chunks of sea salt”. Are we feeling it yet? The name alone had me hooked let alone that fact that it combined my two holy grail ingredients.
But I wanted to push it a little further. State fairs to me always bring that cliched image of candy floss, hot dogs, and chilli dogs. Wait! Chilli dogs?…chilli? Chilli and chocolate! There you have it! My end result- these brownies would be a classic combination of chilli and chocolate, with a thumbing of the culinary nose addition of bacon- in not one but two forms! The smoky, heat of the decadent brownies would be studded with crispy, sweet bacon pieces and then topped off with the aforementioned Pig Licker- a sliver of crispy bacon enrobed in chocolate, sprinkled with shards of sea-salt. Bet you’re on board NOW?
Before I depart to smother my bacon (!) a couple of words of advice. Don’t be tempted to use thick cut, or peameal, bacon here. The fat-to-meat ration is off and doesn’t work. Instead of crispy morsels of Umami goodness playing with luxurious chocolate, you get chunks of meat which just doesn’t sit right- taste or texture wise. Also don’t stress about tempering the chocolate. I mean you can if you want to go for the whole professional “snap” (*triggered*) finish if that’s your jam but at the end of the day these are rustic, wholesome, come-as-you are treats. Which I hope you enjoy!
Makes 12
Ingredients
1 cup bacon, finely chopped
2 teaspoons maple syrup
¾ cup unsalted butter, cubed
6oz semi-sweet chocolate, broken into pieces
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
¾ cup plain flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon mild chilli powder
2oz dark chocolate chunks
To decorate
3 full pieces of bacon 3 rashers, each cut into 4
4oz semi-sweet chocolate, melted
Sea salt flakes
Method
Set your oven to 350°F and line a deep 12″x9″ baking tray with baking parchment leaving an overhang each side
Fry the bacon in a pan until just starting to crisp. Add the maple syrup and fry until a shade browner and crisper. Remove from the heat and leave to cool on a plate
Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (or bain-marie), stirring occasionally. Once melted, remove from the heat, and allow to cool
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until the mixture is thickened and fluffy, then, in a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, smoked paprika and chilli powder.
Fold the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Sieve in the dry ingredients, and fold together until uniform in color
Fold in the chocolate chunks and bacon pieces. You may need to break up the bacon pieces as they may have stuck together while cooling
Pour your mixture into the lined tray and gently spread to level the surface. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes, then leave to cool completely in the tin before cutting into squares
To decorate, place the larger bacon pieces in the frying pan and cook until crisp. Remove and leave to cool. Melt the remaining in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (or bain-marie), or in a microwave on short bursts, until fully melted
Coat the bacon pieces one at a time in the melted chocolate. Place a bacon piece on top of each brownie and sprinkle with sea salt
Crumbs In My Beard 