Coffee ice cream with caramel

Over Christmas week I had to prepare desserts for a lunch and a dinner with different people so I decided to re-use certain elements of the desserts. Both desserts used ice cream and caramel. You can find the recipe for the salted caramel sauce here.

Whenever I prepare ice cream I always try to choice interesting tastes. This coffee ice cream with streaks of caramel sauce hit the right taste buds.

You cannot really see it in this picture but the ice cream has caramel in it as well.

Recipe Origin: Buck ´n Run Ranch

Ingredients

• 540 ml heavy cream
• 140 ml whole milk
• 2 shots espresso
• 165 g granulated sugar
• 5 egg yolks, at room temperature, beaten with a fork
• 4 tbsp caramel sauce
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp vanilla

Method:

1. Warm the milk, sugar, 240ml heavy cream and salt in a saucepan.
2. Heat the mixture but don't bring to boil. Once the mixture is hot and steaming remove from heat.
3. Stir in the espresso and vanilla. 
4. Use 1 cup of the mixture and add into the beaten egg yolks a bit at a time, whisking constantly.
5. Pour back the egg mixture into the sauce pan.
6. Add the remaining heavy cream to the sauce pan.
7. Continue heating on low heat until the mixture thickens slightly.
8. Remove from heat and strain into a bowl.
9. Place the bowl in an ice water bowl and stir until cooled.
10. Chill in the refrigirator until cold.
11. Prepare the ice cream according to the ice cream machine instructions.
12. Place the ice cream storage container in the freezer and take out when ice cream is ready.
13. Drizzle some caramel sauce at the bottom of the container. Add a layer of ice cream followed by more caramel.
14. Continue layering the ice cream and caramel sauce.
15. Use a butter knife to make swirls of the caramel.
16. Add a final drizzle of caramel on top.
17. Freeze until firm.

Salted Caramel

I've always wanted to try and make caramel but never had a dessert that needed caramel in the past. I had heard that it's difficult to get right especially if you don't have a thermometer. I didn't have the right thermometer but still tried the recipe and it came out perfectly.

This caramel tastes like you're eating the caramel of a Mars bar. You can drizzle it over cake, brownies, ice cream, cup cakes or anything sweet really.

I got this recipe from Two Peas and their Pod and basically stuck to their recipe apart from using normal sea salt and no thermometer use.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 170 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon sea salt flakes

Notes:

• The melted sugar can be very hot. Be extremely careful not to burn yourself.
• If the caramel burns it won't taste good, so you have to pay close attention not to burn it.
• If sugar starts sticking to the whisk you can use a wooden spoon. 

Method:

1. Heat the sugar over medium-high heat in a heave saucepan. When the sugar start to melt start whisking the sugar. Continue until all the sugar melts. You can swirl the pan to move the sugar around.
2. Continue cooking the sugar until it turns into a deep amber colour. Many recipes suggest to use a thermometer. Temperature should reach 176 ^oC.
3. At this point add the butter in small batches, whisking continuously until the butter is melted.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour in the heave cream.
5. Whisk until the caramel is smooth.
6. Whisk in the sea salt flakes.
7. Let cool for around 10 minutes n the pan.
8. Pour the caramel into a jar and cool to room temperature.
9. Place the caramel in the refrigerator for storage. The caramel can be stored for up to a month. 
10. When you want to use the caramel take out of the refrigerator before use so that it is more easy to drizzle on your desserts.
    
    
    
    

    

    The salted caramel drizzled over a brownie

Recipe Origin: Two Peas and their Pod

Pastizzi tal-Pizelli - Pea Cakes

Pastizzi come in 2 tastes - pea and cheese cakes. Last time I gave the recipe of the cheese cakes, but these pea cakes are just as important.

My recipe is a quicker and modified version from the original but it tastes just as quick.

Recipe Origin: Celt Net

Ingredients:

• 300g canned peas. You can substitute with dried peas but then you should soak the peas for at least 5 hours.
• 100g finely chopped onions
• pepper
• salt
• curry powder
• 1 egg
• 750g puff pastry
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Method:

1. Heat a little oil in a pan.
2. Add the onions and fry until golden (about 8 minutes)

3. Add the peas, mix thoroughly then season with salt, black pepper and curry powder, to taste. 



4. Take off the heat and set aside. 
5. Pre-heat the oven at 180°C.
6. Roll out the pastry thinly. 
7. Cut out circles about 9cm in diameter from the pastry then brush the edges with egg wash. 
8. Put some of the pea mixture in each (offset from the centre)



9. Fold the pastry circle in half and seal the edges together. 







10. Transfer to a lightly-greased baking tray then brush the tops with egg wash. 
11. Transfer to an oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and cooked through. 
12. Serve warm.

Pastizzi ta' l-Irkotta - Cheese cakes

Pastizzi are traditional Maltese cheese cakes. You can buy them in every town or village at Pastizzerias across the island. There the oldest fast food on this island.

The result didn't look perfect but the taste was quite nice.

Ingredients:

• 300g ricotta
• 3 eggs
• Finely chopped parsley
• 50g grated cheese
• Pepper
• 600g puff pastry

Method:

1. Make an egg wash from 1 egg.
2. Mix the remaining eggs, ricotta, cheese and peppers.



3. Pre-heat the open at 180 degrees Celsius.
4. Divide the pastry in equal hand size balls.



5. Roll the pastry thinly into circles of 9cm in diameter.
6. Egg wash the edges.
7. Put some of the ricotta mixture on the pastry on the edge.



8. Fold the pastry circle in half and seal the edges.
9. Egg wash the top.
10. Place in the oven for half an hour or until the party is ready.
11. Serve while still warm.

If you're not a fan of ricotta you can try out the pea pastizzi.

Recipe origin: Malta Bulb

Tomato Sauce

This tomato paste is very simple with just 2 main ingredients. I use this sauce with ravioli.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 10-15 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon tomato concentrate (kunserva)
• 1 can tomato passata (300-400ml)
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Sugar
• Chicken seasoning cube
• Parmesan cheese ( optional)

Method:

1. Slice the garlic into big chunks.
2. Warm the oil in a pan and reduce heat.
3. Add the garlic and simmer for a few minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
4. Ad the tomato concentrate and passata, together with the sugar, the chicken cube crumbs and some water.
5. Cook on slow heart until it's thick for around 30 minutes.
6. Steve on top of pasta with parmesan shavings.

Fresh Ravioli - traditional Maltese

One of my favourite dishes is ravioli with a garlicky tomato sauce. At Christmas I got a pasta maker so I took the opportunity to prepare fresh ravioli.

Makes 2-3 dinner portions

Ingredients:

For the pastry

• 300g flour
• 3 eggs
• Pinch of salt

For the filling:

• 300g ricotta (cottage cheese)
• Bunch of chopped parsley
• Pepper
• 1 egg

Method:

1. Mix all the pastry ingredients and start making the dough.
2. Work the pastry until is not sticky. Add a little bit more flour if the pastry remains sticky.
3. Shape the pastry in a ball shape and wrap it in cling film.
4. Leave the pastry to rest for an hour.
5. Beat the egg for the filling and mix with the ricotta and parsley.
6. Add pepper to taste.
7. Use a pasta machine to thin out the pastry. If you don't have a pasta machine you can use a ruling pin but make sure the pastry is quite thin.
8. Divide the pastry sheets into 2 equal sheets.
9. Place one sheet on you working area which was covered with a bit of floor.
10. Start adding a spoonful of mixture  at around 4cm apart.
11. Once the pastry sheet is covered with the ricotta mixture pace the remaining pasta sheet on top.



12. Gently press with your finger in between the mixture.
13. Use a pastry cutting tool to cut the ravioli into squares of around 4cm each.



14. Use your fingers to press any ravioli sides which are not completely closed.
15. Let the ravioli rest for a few minutes before cooking.
16. To cook boil 2 litres of water and place the ravioli in the boiling weather.
17. Boil for around 5-7 minutes or until the ravioli start floating.

The tomato sauce that this perfectly for this recipe will follow tomorrow.

Merry Christmas everybody

I hope you all had a great Christmas spent with family or friends. Mine was spent together with my family in Malta. We had enough food to serve us for another couple of days - I will enjoy lunch tomorrow!

I'm writing this entry from my new tablet - a gadget I wished to own for a few years but never got around to get one myself.