chocolate ice-cream

We can't buy good ice-cream in Uganda, and even if we wanted to buy the stuff that's not so great, it would be melted by the time we brought it home in the hot car. That's why this latest discovery is super exciting - homemade ice-cream!! Made without an ice-cream maker! In fact, made without cream! I am now obsessed with the thought of the millions of flavours of ice-cream I could experiment with, and I'm kicking myself for not having tried it earlier. And seriously, even if you live in a country where Ben & Jerry's is available within walking distance, you should try this - it's that good!

A few days ago I made vanilla ice-cream with fresh vanilla beans (big success, seriously...I'll post that recipe another time), and yesterday I made chocolate. Mmmm, is all I can say. Mmmm.

Here's the recipe!

Chocolate Ice-Cream

*adapted from David Lebovitz

2 C. milk (I used whole milk)

1/2 C. sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 C. unsweetened cocoa powder

4 oz. (115 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (I figured out that this is about 7 Tbsp.'s of chocolate chips)*

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

*This was really really chocolaty, which I love, but if you prefer a more subtle chocolate taste you might want to try 5 or 6 Tbsp.'s of chocolate instead of 7. Maybe less cocoa powder too. As for me I will stick to the full on chocolaty awesomeness.

In medium saucepan, warm half the milk with the sugar, salt and cocoa powder. Bring to a full boil and whisk for 30 seconds.

Reduce heat to low and stir in the chocolate until just melted. Remove from heat.

Stir in vanilla and the other half of the milk.

Pour into a shallow glass baking dish (if you're not using an ice-cream maker). Let cool for a while on the counter.

Place dish in the freezer, keeping it flat. After 30 minutes, stir and scrape any frozen pieces away from the edge of the pan. Repeat every 30 minutes until the whole thing is frozen and looks like...ice-cream! This part took a few hours for me but it probably depends how cold your freezer is.

Transfer ice-cream to a sealed container and store in the freezer! Then sneak to the freezer throughout the day to sneak small bites. And large bites.

chocolate mocha pudding

Sorry, no photos for this one. Imagination required!

Uganda is hot pretty much all year round, which is something I've loved about being here! In October we celebrated Thanksgiving in 25 degrees...in December we celebrated Christmas in 25 degrees...in April we celebrated Easter in 25 degrees...and it's still 25 degrees. Or something close to it. But in Vancouver it's only now starting to get warm again after months of clouds and rain. And with summer comes the need for summertime treats, specifically cold chocolate mocha pudding, which reminds me of a fudgesicle, only better. Mmm.

I don't have the luxury of a nearby market that sells fresh berries, but I did manage to scrounge up a few strawberries from our garden - and what the little suckers lack in size they make up for in taste! If you happen to have whipped cream as well, even better.

Chocolate Mocha Pudding

*adapted from 'More-With-Less Cookbook'

1/3 C. sugar

2 Tbsp. cocoa

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1-2 tsp. instant coffee granules

2 C. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

In a medium saucepan, stir together all ingredients except vanilla.

Cook over low heat until thickened, stirring constantly.

When desired consistency is reached, remove from heat and add vanilla. (It might seem a bit runny, but it will continue to thicken as it cools in the fridge.)

Refrigerate until cold. Serve with fresh berries and whipped cream in individual parfait glasses.

appy night: chocolate truffles & twix cookies

Last night Paul and I had a few friends over for an appy night, which was a great excuse to make some treats! The appy's included bacon-wrapped pineapple, mini chicken skewers, cheese puffs, hummus, salsa, guacamole, etc. The desserts were the following:

Chocolate Truffles

*adapted from here

1 1/2 C. semisweet chocolate chips

7 oz. (1/2 tin) sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 C. cocoa powder

1/2 C. coarse sugar

In a small pot, melt chocolate and sweetened condensed milk. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.

Transfer to a bowl and chill for a couple hours until firm.

Shape into small balls (I used a 1-Tbsp. measuring spoon), and roll in cocoa or sugar. I stored them in the fridge so that they wouldn't melt and they were delicious!

Twix Cookies

*adapted from here

1/2 C. butter

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 C. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 C. flour

1/4 C. dulce de leche

1 Tbsp. butter

1/2 Tbsp. cream

6 oz. semisweet chocolate

Cream 1/2 cup butter, salt, sugar, and vanilla.

Mix in flour.

Shape into 1-inch balls (do not flatten) and bake on greased cookie sheet at 350 (approximately 8 minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottom).

Allow cookies to cool.

Melt 1 Tbsp. butter, cream, and chocolate.

Fill two separate icing bags with dulce de leche and chocolate. Drizzle each over the cookies (I started with dulce de leche and then did the chocolate).

I also stored these in the freezer so the chocolate wouldn't melt.

SO GOOD!