Brownie Sundaes with Cherry-Port Sauce

Bob and my dad both LOVE cherries, so for Father's Day several years ago, I made these Roasted Cherry Brownie Sundaes with a Cherry-Port Sauce.  We all thought they were great, especially the Cherry-Port Sauce. I didn't save the recipe because I knew the source, but as I went back to the blog to retrieve it (years later at this point) the ingredient list is missing. I hunted around and found a similar recipe that I've included below.  The amounts sound familiar so I'm going with it. I'm glad I remembered this recipe because it needs to be made again soon!

Roasted Cherry Brownies

Ingredients:
1/2 pound fresh cherries, stems and pits removed, cut in half or quartered
1/4 cup port wine

Your favorite brownie mix (such as Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Brownies)
Ingredients to prepare brownie mix according to package directions (oil, eggs, water, etc.)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425F.

1. Place cherries in a small baking dish with the port. Roast for 30 minutes, until the cherries are very soft and the port has slightly reduced (you'll have 2 - 3 tablespoons of liquid). Set the cherries aside to cool.

2. Meanwhile, prepare brownies according to package directions, reducing oven heat according to your brownie recipe.

3. As the last step in making the brownie batter, stir in the cherries and accumulated juices and then transfer to the baking pan. Bake until a knife inserted in the center of the brownies comes out with moist crumbs attached.

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride (now called The Brewer and the Baker)


Brownie Sundaes with Cherry-Port Sauce

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh cherries, stems and pits removed, and coarsely chopped
1 cup port wine
3/4 cup sugar

Brownies - from a homemade recipe or boxed mix (such as the Roasted Cherry Brownies above)
Vanilla ice cream - homemade or store bought

Directions:

1. Add the cherries to a small saucepan with the port and sugar, cooking over medium-high until it begins to boil.

2. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 35-40 minutes, until very thick and syrupy.

3. Serve brownies topped with a scoop of ice cream and a spoonful of warm cherry-port sauce.

Leftover sauce will keep in the fridge for several days, serve rewarmed.

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride (now called The Brewer and the Baker) and The Gilded Fork

Ice Cream Cake - Dairy Queen Copycat

One of my and my sister's favorite cakes growing up was the Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake. We often requested it for our birthdays. I thought it would be fun to try this homemade version. You can make this with homemade ice cream if you like, but I chose to go the easy route and use store bought. We really loved this homemade version of the DQ ice cream cake - in fact, we think it's even better than the store bought version!

 

Ice Cream Cake (Dairy Queen Copycat)

Ingredients:
For the crust:
2 1/2 cups crushed Oreo cookies
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
1/2 cup sugar

1/4 - 1/2 gallon chocolate ice cream, slightly softened (or homemade ice cream)
1/4 - 1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, slightly softened (or homemade ice cream)
8 ounces Cool Whip

For the Hot Fudge Sauce:
2 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
12 ounce can evaporated milk
1 stick butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Combine 2 cups crushed Oreos with melted butter and sugar. Press into a 13x9 pan or two 9-inch round springform pans. Freeze for 15 minutes.

2. Spread a layer of each ice cream on top and freeze for 3 hours.

3. Combine first 4 ingredients of hot fudge sauce in a a saucepan and bring to a boil for 8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Cool to room temperature.

4. Spoon sauce on ice cream and freeze until firm.

5. Spread Cool Whip on top and sprinkle with Oreo crumbs or colored sprinkles. Freeze for 3 hours.

Source: Adapted from relative taste

Cinnamon Ice Cream

I hope everyone is enjoying fall! It seems to be zipping by for me. I was able to celebrate my birthday this past weekend by visiting a local winery for an Octoberfest celebration. The weather here was perfect!

The smell of cinnamon always reminds me of fall - whether it's being added to an apple pie or mixed into a pumpkin treat. Ice cream seems like the perfect accompaniment to a warm apple dessert, and what better version than Cinnamon Ice Cream?!

This ice cream is a bit more work than your typical ice cream recipe, but it's worth the work. Infusing the cream with cinnamon sticks provides the perfect cinnamon flavor, and cooking the custard ensures that it's safe for you and your family to eat!

Cinnamon Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
8 - 10 3-inch cinnamon sticks, broken up
2 cups heavy cream, divided
5 egg yolks

Directions:

1. Warm the milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon sticks, and 1 cup of the heavy cream in a medium saucepan. Once warm, cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

2. Rewarm the cinnamon-infused milk mixture. Remove the cinnamon sticks with a slotted spoon and discard them. Pour the remaining 1 cup heavy cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.

3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

4. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (should reach 170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour the custard through the strainer and into the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

5. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, preferably overnight, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Yield: About 1 quart

Source: Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker, adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

French Vanilla Ice Cream

Although July in St. Louis tends to get unbearably hot, especially this year, it's also the month when one of my favorite fruits reaches its peak - peaches! A local farm sells the best peaches around, and each year I look forward to a fresh peach pie. And what is best served alongside a fresh peach pie? Vanilla ice cream of course! My dad has been asking why I haven't made him any ice cream this summer, so this was the perfect opportunity.

I turned to my trusty Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book for this one, and it turned out fantastic. Ultra-creamy with a nice, pronounced vanilla flavor. This recipe uses raw eggs, so avoid if you fall in a high-risk group for food-borne illness, but if you're not and it doesn't bother you, the eggs add a nice richness to the ice cream. I would think that the equivalent amount of a pasteurized egg substitute might work as well, but I'm not certain.

French Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups heavy or whipping cream

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluff, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream, milk, and vanilla and whisk to blend.

2. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions.

Makes 1 quart

(Serve with fresh peach pie!)

Source: Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book

Ben & Jerry's Hot Fudge Sauce

Bob and I had his sister and her boyfriend over for dinner a few weeks ago. I debated about what to make for dessert. Flipping through my Ben & Jerry's Dessert Cookbook, I wanted to make just about everything! I finally decided on Hot Fudge Sundaes - French vanilla ice cream, homemade hot fudge, whipped cream, sprinkles, and of course maraschino cherries.

This hot fudge was pretty simple to make, it just takes a while. The great thing is that it keeps stored in fridge (where it hardens to a consistency of traditional fudge), so you can enjoy the leftovers at your own pace. I actually thought it was even better a few days later . . . eaten by itself . . . directly from the container . . . cold . . . with a spoon. Yeah, it's that good :)

Hot Fudge Sauce

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1/2 stick butter

6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup milk*

1/4 cup heavy or whipping cream*

*I just used 1/2 cup of whole milk because it's what I had on hand.

Directions:

1. Melt the chocolate and butter, stirring frequently, in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Add the cocoa and whisk until dissolved.

2. Using a slotted spoon, gradually stir in the sugar. (The mixture should be the consistency of wet sand.) Cook, stirring occasionally, over simmering water for 20 minutes. Check the water level in the double boiler occasionally and replenish if necessary.

3. Gradually stir in the milk and cream and keep stirring until completely blended. Continue cooking, stirring and checking the water occasionally, for 1 hour. The fudge is ready when it is completely smooth and all the sugar is dissolved. Store leftovers in fridge; it lasts a "long time" according to the book.

Source: Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice cream & Dessert Book

Mint Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

Meet one of my favorite Christmas gifts - the Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt - Ice cream, & Sorbet Maker! In addition to other great kitchen tools, my generous in-laws gave me this gift, as well as the Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book. This ice cream maker is top rated by Cook's Illustrated (as well as used by Coconut & Lime). I have wanted an ice cream maker for a long time - particularly for sorbets and frozen yogurts. I also love sno-cones/slushies and was so excited to learn that this machine can make those too!

For my very first frozen treat, I decided to do Mint Chocolate Chunk ice cream. Mint Chocolate Chip/Chunk is one of my favorites - the cool mint is so refreshing. I used the Ben & Jerry's Mint Oreo recipe but subbed chopped semi-sweet chocolate for the Oreos. My only issue was that the chocolate took a long time to melt after frozen - as in it gets stuck in your teeth. I used Ghiradelli chocolate, so maybe a different chocolate would be better?

As far as the taste of the ice cream - fantastic! I'm amazed that I can make this at home. Great texture, creamy and delicious. I'm excited to try many more flavors, especially ones that are hard or impossible to find in stores.

The basic idea of Mint Chocolate Chunk can be applied to different ice cream bases - you don't have to use the egg-containing base that I did. I almost had to hide the ingredient list to get Bob to eat it; raw eggs creep him out :)

Mint Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups heavy or whipping cream

1 cup milk*

2 teaspoon mint/peppermint extract

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into pieces smaller than a chocolate chip

optional: tiny bit of food coloring gel - a little goes a long way!

*I used skim milk, and it turned out great. The Ben & Jerry's book talks about fat percentages of cream, half-and-half, and different types of milk and how you can play around with it in the recipes.

Directions:

1. Whisk eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes (I did this in my KA mixer with the whisk attachment).

2. Add the sugar slowly while whisking, then whisk for about a minute more until completely blended.

3. Add the cream and milk while whisking to blend.

4. Add mint extract and blend again. Add food coloring at this point if desired.

5. Add mixture to your ice cream maker and prepare according to manufacturer's instructions. For mine, it calls to add the chocolate chunks in the last 5 minutes of mixing.

6. Serve immediately if desired or transfer to an airtight container and freeze. I preferred the texture of the ice cream after it was frozen overnight.

Source: Adapted from the Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book and booklet that came with the Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker