Posts tagged milk

Chocolate Orange Ice Cream

Comments Off on Chocolate Orange Ice Cream read Sweet Treats
Chocolate Orange Ice Cream

B

ank holiday weekend is upon us again and the sun is taking part! Another slap in the face bank holiday given we’re still sitting solo in lockdown. Had this been the weekend I’d originally planned, I’d be celebrating the return home of my sister from her escapades in Australia and devouring the beauty that is my family home and garden in Wiltshire with a giant G&T courtesy of Mrs Wardlaw.

Alas! Ice cream was required. It seemed like the only fix here. A sweet, chocolatey refreshing plaster on my painful cancelled plans and the perfect antidote for the weekend.

I

usually always make a crazy or adventurous ice cream (see my current repertoire) but a few years ago (sadly its taken me years!) my fiancee asked if we could just have plain chocolate? Plain chocolate? Was he turning in my Dad! Like my Dad, he is a simple man with his ice cream flavours. Unlike my sister and I however who would opt for walnut, pistachio, toasted coconut or anything other.

That said, as you can see, I have attempted this request. Albeit, I couldn’t keep on the straight and narrow and ‘accidentally’ added some orange zest. Truth be told, chocolate orange holds a very nostalgic place in my childhood heart having eaten chocolate orange angel delight for weekly desserts as a child with my best friend topped with cornflakes and 100s & 1000s. I’m not even sure you can buy that flavour anymore which makes me sad…however, this beats it hands down!

NOTE: If you don’t have an ice cream maker, freeze it in a tupper ware and try to whisk the ice cream every hour or so if you can. Its not the end of the world it just won’t be as smooth and may have some crystals of ice in.

Recipe (adapted from Jamie Oliver)

  • 300ml whole milk
  • 300ml single cream
  • 100g dark chocolate (at least 70%)
  • 85g caster sugar
  • 1 orange
  • 3 egg yolks
  1. Pour the milk into a saucepan. Break the chocolate into pieces and add to the milk. Place over a medium-low heat and gently warm through until the chocolate has melted well, stirring often. Do not let it boil. Once melted, remove the chocolate milk from the hob and leave to cool slightly. Taste for fun.
  2. Whisk the egg yolks and the sugar in a large bowl until creamy. Add the zest of the whole orange.
  3. Place to bowl on a tea towel to keep it from moving as you add the warm milk. Stirring continuously with a whisk in one hand, stir the eggs whilst slowly pouring in the warm chocolate milk with the other hand. Stir well, whisking quickly until well combined. Return the whole mixture to the saucepan.
  4. Place over a low heat (do NOT let it simmer or boil) and stir with a wooden spoon consistently until it begins to thicken a bit and coats the back of the spoon.
  5. Remove from the heat and leave to cool until cold. (You should really sieve the custard here to remove any lumps but then you miss out on the orange pith. I was conscious of this so made sure I whisked really well but if you fear any lumps, sieve your custard and add some more orange zest afterwards).
  6. Once cold, stir in the cream.
  7. Churn in an ice cream machine according to your manual instructions. Failing that, put the mixture in a low tupper ware and freeze. Whisk to break up the ice crystals every hour or so. It will freeze eventually but may not be as smooth as with an ice cream maker.
  8. Serve however you please….spoon and bowl in our house as we didn’t have cones.

Almond Milk

Comments Off on Almond Milk read Drinks, Extras
Almond Milk

 

image

I’m not a religious soya milk/nut milk drinker but I prefer it on my granola or porridge etc. However, with its aura as a ‘healthy’ ingredient I was horrified to realise that your generic ‘Alpro Soya’ is sweetened and full of, not only sugar, but other additives too. Even the unsweetened version has a lengthy list of ingredients. Whats natural about that? Normal milk does get a beating from health freaks but at least there is no ingredients list on the label. Its like a lot of vegan and vegetarian food in that they get a reputation for being ‘healthier’. Sure tofu may have less fat than a sirloin steak, but its made with unnatural ingredients that won’t provide you with any health benefits unlike a steak.

So long story short, I thought I’d have a go at making my own nut milk which it turns out is painfully easy. This is a fantastic alternative to milk for your vegan buddies and takes two simple natural ingredients.

  • 200g whole almonds
  • 650ml cold water

1. Soak the almonds in the water overnight.

2. The next morning drain and add to a food processor. Coarsely chop with a pinch of salt and then add another 650ml of cold water, splash by splash until creamy.

3. Once all the water is added, blend until combined

4. Pour into a bowl lined with some muslin cloth and strain the ‘milk’ from the solid almond pulp. Bring the sides of the cloth up and squeeze out as much liquid as you can.

image

image5. Add half a cinnamon stick if you like and then leave to infuse and chill in the fridge.

6. Store in a sterilised jar and keep in the fridge for about 3 days.

Note: I dried out the pulp almonds a little and used them in a cake as a ground almond/flour alternative. It was fairly successful but it added a huge amount of moisture. So I suggest really wringing out the pulp in the  muslin or drying them a little before use.

image