Sesame & Rosewater Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ronnybrook Dairy donated some fresh cream and half & half to 4local, an organic and local food group I run at Columbia. I immediately had to make ice cream, to celebrate the (almost) arrival of Spring and just because homemade ice cream is always delicious. I know egg yolks make super rich and delicious ice cream, BUT I already have a freezer full of egg whites, and using cornstarch can be just as delicious, while being cheaper, easier, and a little more chicken-friendly.

I had some tahini in the fridge, and felt inspire to make this simple sesame ice cream:

Sesame Ice Cream
2 cups whole milk or half & half
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch + 2 Tbsp milk
3 Tbsp tahini
1/4 cup or so toasted sesame seeds

Whisk the cornstarch and the 2 Tbsp of milk together. Bring the 2 C milk to a simmer, add the sugar & the cornstarch mixture plus a dash of salt. Whisk, but do not boil, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain into a bowl (preferably with a lid) and mix in the cream and sesame seeds. Fridge overnight, or cool in a water bath. Pour into your ice cream maker for 20-30 minutes.

Rosewater Cookies
3 oz butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup almond meal (I used slivered almonds and a food processor)
3/4 cup flour
1 Tbsp rose water
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Cream the butter with the sugar. Add the egg and other wet ingredients. Mix in the dry. Fridge for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. To bake: heat the oven to 350 and roll about 1 Tbsp of dough into a ball. To make crispy cookies (perfect for ice cream sandwiches) flatten the balls to about 1/2 cm. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to brown.

Let cool. Fill with a big scoop of sesame ice cream, roll the sides in sesame seeds, and melt into bliss.

A Bread Adventure

For Christmas I received the Tartine Bread Book, the bread bible from a small bakery in San Fran that I had always heard about. The book is a phenomenal introduction to bread for anyone interested in culturing their own leaven. I could never rewrite their complex instructions here, but I documented (most of) my process and wanted to share some pictures.

I spent about 10 days culturing my starter (due to the colder temps in NYC, I often had to crank the heat in my apartment to get the air warm enough). Armed with a scale, newly purchased bread flour, a coarse whole wheat flour, and my new pastry scraper, I used my started to create a leaven the night before, left the bread for a cool, 8 hour bulk fermentation on Day 1 (with a few "turns" in the bowl),  did an hour bench rest, and then shaped the loaf for an overnight final rise in the fridge. On Day 2, I baked the loaf, after scoring the top, for 25 minutes at 450 in my Le Creseut, and another 25 minutes without the lid on.

I've experimented with bread baking a few times, and I would say this is the only loaf I can truly call success. It had a beautiful airy crumb, a crunchy crust, and a delicate flavor. In the next few days, I will be baking another loaf-- but this time adding more whole wheat flour because I'm just a whole wheat kinda girl.

Fresh From the Oven!

 

After the final rise, done overnight in a towel-lined bowl. This dough was then inverted into my hot baking pan,
and scored before going straight into the steaming hot oven.

My bubbling starter, ready for a daily feeding.

Bench rest: the dough has been smoothed into a round shape, and is
getting ready for a quick kneading before the final rise.

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

I haven't posted in a while, but that doesn't mean I haven't been baking tons. But, with the semester over I finally have the time to take some pictures and post recipes! I had a bag of cranberries lying around and was looking for a good use for them. This cranberry cake came together so quickly and was absolutely amazing. The recipe as is makes a beautiful cake, but if you're like me, and really just want the cranberry part, I would recommend halving the cake batter so you have a thinner, more cranberry intense cake (just cut the baking time by 10 or so minutes). You also could replace up to 1 cup of flour with whole wheat, and I would highly recommend throwing some pecans on top with the cranberries.

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

Preheat the oven to 350.

For the dough, sift together:

2 1/3 cups ap flour

1 1/2 cups vegan sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

Then, cut in:

1/2 cups veg shortening (I used spectrum)

Whisk together, and slowly add:

1 cup soy milk*

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla

For the topping:

1/2 cup sugar

1-2 cups cranberries

optional 1/2 cup pecans

Grease an 8 or 9" springform. Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar on the bottom of the pan. Fill the bottom with cranberries and pecans if using, you want a dense layer. Then drop the dough on top (it will be quite thick) and spread as best as you can.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until edges are brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

*I was totally out of soy milk when I baked this. So, I blended 1/4 cup silken tofu with 3/4 cup water, and the cake tasted great.