Chocolate Ice Cream

You can make gourmet ice cream recipes at home. Making homemade ice cream can be a labor of love but in the end it’s all worth it. This recipe for chocolate ice cream makes the perfect summer treat and fits any romantic occasion. To make your own chocolate ice cream at home all you need is cream, sugar, salt, chocolate squares, cocoa, and vanilla. When making chocolate ice cream one of the key things to remember is to whisk the mixture carefully to achieve a smooth and evenly textured ice cream, and to freeze the smooth mixture quickly. The formation of ice crystals is the most common problem most people encounter when making ice cream at home. Ice crystals create a grainy ice cream.

Mixing the ice cream with a whisk 20 minutes after it is placed in the freezer is one of the tricks to achieve a smooth and even consistency. To eliminate ice crystals, do this three or four times during the freezing process. Chill all utensils and ingredients before using. Be accurate in your measurements. Too much sugar will cause the ice cream to harden and too little will prevent the mixture from freezing. Once it freezes the mixture will increase in size so do not fill the container. You want room to whisk the mixture around while it is in the process of freezing and your more than a half way in finishing this simple gourmet dessert.

Ideally, to achieve a fluffy fullness that makes it smooth and creamy and easier to scoop out ice cream should have 20 to 50 percent air pumped into it. Timing is also crucial to make a successful ice cream--the faster the freeze the smoother the ice cream will be. Never allow the ice cream to melt and then freeze again. It will turn into a mess. When freezing the ice cream put the freezer on the coldest setting. Ideally, the ice cream should be stored between negative 5 and 0 degrees F.

Ingredients

1 quart thin cream

1 cup sugar

Few grains salt

1½ squares unsweetened chocolate

¼ cup prepared cocoa

1 tablespoon vanilla

1. Melt the chocolate in saucepan with a little warm water. Add cream, sugar, salt, cocoa and vanilla extract to this. Freeze.

2. After 20 minutes churn ice cream to get a smooth consistency. Do this twice of three times.

3. Serve cold in an ice cream bowl.

Banana Ice Cream

To make your own gourmet ice cream recipe at home it only takes about ten minutes. You can make a delicious homemade ice cream with just a few simple ingredients that can be found in most pantries and kitchens, namely whipped cream, bananas, lemon juice, sugar, and salt. Treat yourself, family and guests to a unique and lovely uniquely French treat dessert with your own version of banana ice cream. This recipe does not require for you to use an ice cream maker. It may not be as smooth and fine as commercial varieties, but it is still completely flavorful and luscious. To make sure it freezes as smoothly as possible pass the ingredients through a fine sieve.

Stirring the mixture after it has frozen for an hour and doing it a couple of times during the process of freezing is one trick to make the ice cream smoother and creamier. This way the sugar crystals that form which can make the ice cream grainy will dissolve. When making ice cream it is also important to whip the cream before adding it to the mixture. It should be as light and as fluffy as possible. To whip the cream until it foams and becomes puffy use a hand mixer or electric blender. This will help create a light and creamy banana ice cream.

Use freshly squeezed lemon juice for best results. It is best to use a citrus juicer to get the most juice out of a lemon. Using electric juicers are also ideal and can extract the juice efficiently. To release its flavor and loosen the juices roll the lemon using your palm over the top of the counter a few times before squeezing. While it is at room temperature it is best to juice the lemons rather than when it is chilled or has just came out of the refrigerator. To increase its temperature and extract more juice from it you can warm it up for 10 to 15 seconds in the microwave.

Ingredients

1 cup fresh whipped cream

4 peeled and mashed bananas

1 1/3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup white sugar

A few grains salt

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

2. Pass the above mixture through a sieve. Then freeze it in a freezer-proof, covered container.

Fresh Strawberries and Lemon Sorbet

Summer represents all the refreshing abundance of the fruit markets, including strawberries and lemons. They make fantastic simple dessert recipes, smoothies, and cold drinks. But at the Hotels Lucien Barriere Deauville, strawberries and lemons are made into a sweet “salad.” With the addition of a sweet macaroon and a lemon sorbet, the dish transforms into a great dessert that celebrates summer and summer fruits. The good thing about is that it can also be served during cocktails or as an appetizer.

The various components of lemon are utilized in this recipe. The zest, with its strong lemon-scented oils, is marinated in sugar. It is used as a garnish later, having been candied somehow during its marination in the sugar. The lemon juice is also mixed in with pectin to produce a lemony syrup. The strawberries are arranged on the plate together with the zest, sorbet, and lemon sauce. You’ll surely find that the combination of sweet and sour is one of the healthy recipes out there that is mellowed by the addition of sugar and macaroon pieces.

This dessert can be prepared in advance, one component after the other. The macaroons can be store-bought or homemade, depending on your preference. You can even replace it with other think cookies, like cat’s tongue, wafer, or sables. Just make sure to serve the whole plated dessert as cold and towards the end of the meal. The only thing that you will be doing aside from assembly is to cut the strawberries into pieces and scoop the sorbet on the plate.

Calling this dish a “salad” is somewhat appropriate (with the zest serving as the “greens” and the lemon syrup as the vinaigrette) only sweet and not savory as how salads are. Pair the strawberry lemon salad with a nice glass of dessert wine like Maury’s vins doux naturels. This is made from Grenache grape varieties. Extremely fruity for a wine, it complements well the sweetness of the strawberry, the bitterness of the lemon skins, and the sweet-sourness of the lemon sauce.

Ingredients

6 lemons

½ lb. strawberries

3 1/2 oz. sugar

1/3 lb. pectin

4 scoops lemon sorbet

8 macaroon pieces

1. Prepare the lemon peel. Using a zester or paring knife, remove the peel from the lemon in large pieces. Slice the pieces further into fine strips. In a pan, mix water and sugar then marinade the strips in this concoction. Set aside.

2. Prepare the lemon sauce. Squeeze the lemon to extract the juice. In a saucepan, mix a ratio of half lemon juice, 1 kilo of sugar and pectin as a binder. Boil the mixture while stirring constantly.

3. Prepare the strawberries. Cut the leaves off the strawberries the cut into quarters. Arrange three small heaps of them on a serving dish leaving a space at the center. Top each heap with some strips of lemon peel. Set a macaroon to lean on a side of each heap. Pour the heaps with some lemon syrup.

4. Assemble the dish. Spread some syrup at the center of the heaps then drop some scoop of lemon sorbet on it. Place a sprig of mint at the center to finish off.