dessert – KP The Real

Mango Lassi Ice Cream

April 17, 2024Leave a comment

Refreshing and sexy. Something about mango and cardamom just tastes sultry. Inspired by the Indian beverage, this ice cream is a mix or fresh mango, milk, and Siggi’s drinkable yogurt. The yogurt is not heated in this process, hoping to preserve it’s healthful bacteria. The fresh mango brings natural sweetness, and is a low calorie but highly nutritious fruit.

You will need an ice cream machine and 2 days to allow for ice cream base to cool for at least 8 hours. Makes 4-6 servings.

1 cup strained, fresh mango puree (1 large mango)
1 cup whole or 2 % milk
1/3 cup + 2 tsp cane sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
4 egg yolks
1 1/2 cup Siggi’s Plain Drinkable Yogurt

Put freezer bowl of ice cream maker in your freezer. Remove mango skin, and the flesh from the pit. Puree mango flesh in a blender and then pour through a fine strainer. You will need 1 cup of mango puree. In a sauce pan, combine puree, milk, sugar, salt, and cardamom. Wisk to combine and place over medium heat, whisking often. Heat until warm. Whisk together egg yolks then temper with warm mango and milk. Return tempered yolk mixture to the sauce pan and whisk, until tiny bubbles appear. Continue to whisk with temp on medium-low, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat allow to cool, then stir in yogurt. Place mixture in the refrigerator and chill over night. When thuroughly cooled, place in ice cream machine and churn until fozen. Enjoy right away or freeze in an airtight container.

Hot Chocolate Ice Cream

February 12, 2024Leave a comment

Chocolate ice cream with a little kick. That’s hot. Nothing says LOVE like a little spicy chocolate ice cream on Valentine’s Day.

You will need an ice cream maker and you’ll need to plan a day or two ahead. In advance, freeze ice cream maker container. Ice cream base needs to chill over night or 6-8 hours. For a more solid ice cream, you will want sufficient time to freeze ice cream after it is done in the machine.

3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips or chunks
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups 2% milk
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp ground cayenne
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup cane sugar
4 egg yolks

Start by melting the 3/4 cup of semi sweet chocolate, and set aside. In a small sauce pan, combine cream, milk, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and whisk to combine. Put sauce pan over medium low heat. Heat mixture, whisking often. While milk warms, separate eggs, leaving yolks in a medium bowl. When mixture begins to steam and bubbles start to form, pour about 1/2 cup of milk mixture into yolks while whisking. This is “tempering” the egg yolks. Add about 1/3 of the milk, whisking. Return milk and yolk mixture to the pot of remaining milk, and return to stove. Continue heating milk, whisking, over medium low heat until it reaches 170 degrees, or starts to bubble slightly. Add melted to chocolate and whisk to mix. Remove mixture from heat and allow to cool, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming on top of milk. Once milk has cooled, place in a container with a lid and place in refrigerator, to cool completely. Once milk has cooled completely, following ice cream machine directions, pour into ice cream maker. Eat as soft serve right away, or return to the freezer to become harder before serving.

Vegan Peppermint Chocolate Mousse

This is an easy, festive, dessert that even non vegans will love. The base is tofu but it’s so chocolatey and minty, you’d never guess.

You will need a blender or food processor to make this recipe. The recipe below makes 4 dainty servings. You could easily double it to make more, but I would make it in two batches to prevent over filling a food processor or not blending evenly.

2 candy canes
1 block of silken tofu
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice (this takes away some of the tofu flavor)
1/4 cup natural cane sugar
1/4 cup + 2 T quality cocoa powder
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
roughly 1/4 tsp kosher salt

Start by crushing the candy canes and setting aside. These will be used to garnish the final product. Next, drain the liquid from the block of tofu. Place the tofu, lemon juice, and sugar in a blender or food processor. Blend thoroughly, stoping to scrape down sides occasionally, until tofu is uniformly smooth. Next add cocoa-salt and blend more, scraping down sides to ensure even blending. This can be served right away, or placed in a container with a tight fitting lid and refrigerated until ready to use. Do not garnish with crushed candy canes until ready to serve.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Espresso Brownies

October 19, 2022September 29, 2023Leave a comment

An indulgent combination of brownie and cheesecake, meets the fall flavors of a pumpkin spice latte. The upside of baking at home is the ability to control what you are eating, even if it’s something indulgent. Store bought baked goods tend to be loaded with extra sugar, fillers, and preservatives. Take the lead, carve out a little time, and really enjoy your indulgence and the experience.

1 hour making, 1 hour baking. Oven 350 degrees. 9 x 12 baking dish

Recipe

2 sticks unsalted butter
12 oz dark chocolate pieces or chips
1/2 cup espresso powder

6 eggs
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups natural cane sugar
1 T vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup pumpkin puree

2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup pumpkin puree
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup + 1 T natural cane sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
1 T corn starch

Preheat oven to 350.

Start with the last 10 ingredients to make the pumpkin cheesecake top layer. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the pumpkin puree and cream cheese until smoothish and well combined. Add egg through cloves and beat well. Gently mix in corn starch. Set mixture aside. Place butter and 12 oz of chocolate in the bowl of a double boiler (a heat proof bowl that will rest securely on top of a sauce pan filled with simmering water. Goal: gently melt chocolate.) or melt in microwave. Stir in espresso powder. Set aside. Measure out dry ingredients, flour-cinnamon, and set aside. Combine eggs through pumpkin puree in a large mixing bowl and mix well, until light and creamy. Scrape sides and bottom, mix to combine completely. Add a small amount of the melted chocolate to the eggs and sugar mixture. Mix. Continue to add melted chocolate and mix, until all of the chocolate and butter is mixed in. Next, fold in the flour mixture. Lightly mix with a rubber spatula until combined. Spray or butter your 9 x 13 baking dish, and dust with flour. Pour brownie batter, evenly, into pan. Top with cheesecake mixture that you made first. Drag the tip of a knife through the cheesecake mixture to smooth and slightly mix into brownie layer. Place in the middle of the preheated oven. Bake for 55-60 min., depending on your oven. Cheesecake layer should be set. Allow to cool before cutting

Basil and Dark Chocolate Ice Cream

This is a light, frosty ice cream base that pairs nicely with the fresh basil of summer. I used what I had on hand, 1/2 and 1/2, and 2% milk, and liked the outcome. By infusing the milk base with basil you achieve a subtle, even surprising basil flavor, without chunks of the herb ending up on your palate or in your teeth.

Fairly easy. Active time: 1 1/2 hours. Wait time: 4-6 hours Requires an ice cream maker.

2 cups loosely packed whole, fresh basil leaves
1 cup 2% milk
2 cups 1/2 and 1/2
3/4 cup + 1 tsp cane sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
3/4 cup chopped dark chocolate

Combine basil through salt in a small sauce pan. Slowly bring to a light simmer. Reduce heat to low and allow to steep for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. This will infuse the milk with the flavor of basil. While the milk steeps, crack eggs, separating yolks from whites. Save the whites for another use (breakfast). Put the yolks into a medium bowl, add vanilla, and whisk to combine. After 30 minutes has passed, strain the milk mixture, discard the basil leaves and return milk to the saucepan and place pan over low/medium heat. Now you will need to *temper the egg yolks.

Tempering the egg yolks slowly, and carefully brings up their temperature so they do not curdle or scramble when combined with the warm milk mixture.

You have the pan of milk, slightly warm, and a bowl of yolks. Place a kitchen towel under the bowl of yolks to secure it in place on the counter. Carefully pour about 1/3 cup of the milk into the bowl of yolks, while whisking the yolks. That is tempering. Now slowly pour the yolk mixture into the pan with the milk mixture, whisking the pan of milk. Use a rubber spatula to get all the egg mixture into the pan. Heat the pan on low, whisking for a few minutes. Pour the mixture into a bowl, add 1/4 of the chopped chocolate and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. Make sure you also freeze the container of your ice cream maker overnight. After the ice cream base is cold, pour into ice cream maker along with the remaining chopped chocolate and follow machines instructions. After it’s thickened into ice cream place in a freezer safe container and freeze.