Dreaming of Ice Cream - It's easy NOT being green! Mint Ice Cream

So much to blog, so little time!  I'm sorry I've been delinquent, and will try to catch up with posts I've had planned for a while, as well as yummy new experiments.

Onward!  This is a yummy new experiment

I'm back to full low carb/ketogenic eating (getting there, anyway) and so I've returned to my fully sugar-free ice cream recipe.  I am keeping the milk option, from my more recent recipes, because I love the lighter texture (more like gelato).  See note at the VERY bottom for a comment on the milk/cream situation.

I'm still working my way through my Jeni's ice cream recipe book, taking inspiration and trying to convert these to sugar free.  I can't say enough good things about this book though!

Last year, I planted chocolate mint in my garden (you can see it here with the strawberry (dark 3-leaf), rhubarb (massive leaves), gooseberries (left, top) and red currants (far right) earlier this year).  The mint has pointed oblong leaves that grow in pairs. 

Beware: mint grows like a weed (it sends out runners) and can easily take over the garden. I'm ok with that!

It's doing well, and I thought-- hey! My husband loves mint ice cream, and I haven't made any yet this year.  And gee, look at all that mint... I'll make it with fresh mint, instead of extract!

So I found Jeni's recipe for "Backyard Mint" ice cream and gave it the de-sugarification treatment.

I waited to tell you about it until I could try it after a full 24 hours in the freezer, and I do declare, it is a success!

You can give this a whirl with other herbaceous, um, herbs.  I think Tarragon would be great (I had that once in a restaurant, along with a warm chocolate cake), or maybe Basil?
So think of this as a technique, and you can play with it.

As always-- to make sugar-free ice cream scoopable, you'll need some combination of the following "specialty" ingredients-- you can find all of these online, and most at your local stores (cake decorating supply stores would be your best bet for glycerine and isomalt). 

• Glycerine - imparts a bit of sweetness, but helps with scoopability
• Xylitol - this sweetener is gaining popularity. Helps with the freezing temperature. Can cause stomach upset, so I'm trying not to use too much nowadays
• Vodka - helps with freezing temperature (the faster something freezes, the smaller the ice crystals, and the smoother the texture).
• Guar/Xanthan gum - don't be scared of the weird names, these are natural fibers that work to thicken liquids (and don't need boiling, like cornstarch does). I mix them in a 1:1 ratio and keep them in a shaker
• Isomalt syrup: I use this instead of corn syrup, which adds to texture and not freezing too firmly.  You can read more about it in my Pecan Pie Tartlet recipe on FluffyChix's blog.

So, go gather yourself a BIG HUGE bunch of fresh mint (peppermint, not spearmint... unless you like spearmint. Which is fine. You can do that. But it's not my thing... #ew).

Ingredients:
2c. whole or 2% milk (I wind up using 2% often and it's totally great)
1/8 tsp fine sea salt (or regular table salt. DON'T use kosher salt or chunky grains of sea salt)
1.5c heavy whipping cream
2T glycerine
2T vodka
2T isomalt syrup
2T xylitol
guar or xanthan gum(s) for thickening
additional liquid sugar free sweetener to taste (I used 12 drops of sweetzfree sucralose liquid). You could also use powdered sweetener, packets, what-have-you
1-2 bunches of fresh peppermint (I harvested about 10-16 sprigs from my garden, and just used the leaves, but you can use the stems too, since it all is strained out). We like things minty.

Technique:
In a medium heat-proof bowl, mix the glycerine, vodka, and salt.  Prepare a HUGE bowl with ice and some water (you'll cool the medium bowl in the big bowl later).

Wash your mint well, and then rip the leaves into smallish pieces (you're exposing the mint-yummy-cells to the mixture that will be poured over it) and put it in the bowl with the glycerine mix.
In a 4-quart (um... 4 liter) saucepan (because this bubbles up... bigger pot is better), mix the milk, cream, salt, xylitol, isomalt syrup, and heat over medium-high until it hits a rolling boil.

Boil the mixture for 4 minutes.  Remove from heat for a moment, and mix in a few shakes of your guar/xanthan gum thickener (one/both/either whatever you usually use).  You don't want it too thick, or your machine will have trouble freezing it.  No more than 1/8th tsp. I shake mine from a "icing sugar" type of shaker, so it's not even that much.
WHISK VIGOROUSLY while you are adding the shakes of the thickener, or you will get clumps!

Return to the heat and boil for 1 minute (less if you sense it will boil over).

Pour a small bit of mixture at a time, over the ripped mint/glycerine mixture in the bowl.  Stir everything together.

Place the bowl into the big bowl of water/ice (don't let any water get in!), and give that a stir every few minutes until it is cool.
You can then place it in a covered container in the fridge, up until a full day.  It will just get mintier.

I used mine as soon as it was cold because I'm terribly impatient.  Strain through a sieve, pressing to get all the liquid, and don't forget to clean off the outside of the sieve too.

Freeze in your ice cream/yogurt maker according to directions-- should take 25 minutes, give or take a few.

Quickly transfer to your container for the freezer, smooooooth it out, and get that in the freezer QUICKLY.
Let it firm up for a few hours, 2-4 at least.

And VOILA! Best mint ice cream ever!  

A few flecks of mint leaf got through, but you wouldn't call this green by any stretch of the imagination.

You taste the "sweet cream" aspect, and the fresh mintiness, and the herbal quality comes through too.

And no, it's not green. ;)

Nutrition information:
Let's say 8 servings:

Using 2% milk--
225 calories
77% from fat
18g fat
66mg cholesterol
81mg sodium
128mg potassium
9g carb
4g fiber (depending how you count xylitol and glycerine)
3g protein
10% calcium
16% vitamin A
9% B2

If you use whole milk, there's 232 calories, and 78% from fat (getting better for the Keto folks).  You can play with the milk/cream ratio if you like-- just keep in mind that more fat means that your tongue gets coated and you don't taste the flavors as much.

Dreaming of Ice Cream: The Only Chocolate Ice Cream recipe you willever need

This post has been sitting for a while, and now's the perfect time to get it out there for you.  You can trick this out for the holidays with some crushed mint candies, or about 1/4 to 1/2tsp of pure mint extract for an A-MAZING mint chocolate ice cream.

I'm working my way through the Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home book, trying to lower the calories and remove as much sugar and carbohydrates as possible.

So far, the Roasted Rhubarb frozen yogurt was great, and now, I'm working on the Darkest Chocolate Ever ice cream.

As I go along, I'm also experimenting with different types of sugar-free sweeteners and different types of thickeners.

The results so far have been good.  Jeni's recipes don't use eggs for thickening, emulsifying, or texture. Instead, she's discovered a mix of cream cheese, corn syrup, and cornstarch gives good body and scoop-ability to the mix.

I'd like to move away from cornstarch and corn syrup.  In this recipe, I'm working with a mix of guar gum and xanthan gum (I mix them together myself in a roughly 1:1 ratio) for thickening the dairy base.  You could also try the same type of product (a mix of low-carb, fiber-based) that is commercially available, like "thick it up" by Dixie Diner (check out www.netrition.com as a reliable online retailer).

I'm also working with xylitol as a sweetener.  It has about 1/2 the calories of sugar, and has some great properties, like actually decreasing the incidence of tooth decay.  In ice cream, I find it helps keep the mix from freezing too hard (though your freezer settings have a LOT to do with that of course) in much the same way that sugar does. 
To lower the calorie count further, I use a syrup made from isomalt (in a 3:1 proportion with water, cook until melted and combined.  Voila! Great substitute for corn syrup. Leftovers will recrystallize in the fridge, however. You can always melt it again).  Isomalt  has about 1/4th the calories of sugar, and has different interesting properties.

Finally, if I need extra sweetness, I can turn to Splenda (powder or liquid concentrate, available in a lot of places), but I've not yet had to use much, if any, of it.

Ok, so that with that preamble out of the way, let's get to the best chocolate ice cream I've ever made, ever!

Ingredients:

For the chocolate syrup:
1/2c Very excellent unsweetened cocoa powder (I used the "black label" house brand from my local grocery store, but I've used Ghirardelli in the past for other things and that is excellent too. Use the best you can get your hands on).

Here is my regular cocoa (on the left) and my premium cocoa (on the right):

1.5 oz very excellent very dark chocolate (I used an 85% cocoa solids bar that I like to eat, but you can use lighter chocolate, in the 55% to 70% range will work, but won't be as daaaaark)

1/2 c brewed coffee, or 1.5 T instant coffee mixed into 1/2c hot water (I used this. Decaf even!)

1/2c Xylitol (I use this in about 1:1 with sugar... maybe a bit less, but about that ratio)
pinch of salt (1/8th tsp)--  most chocolate-containing recipes call for salt, because it brings out the flavor in the chocolate more.  I'm not making salted chocolate, so just a pinch, ok?

For the Ice Cream Base:
2T. Isomalt syrup (see notes above)

2c. Whole milk

1c. Heavy cream

1.5 oz (3T.) Fat free cream cheese

1/2c Xylitol (remember, there's sweetness coming from the chocolate syrup)

Isomalt syrup

1/4 tsp thickening gum mix (see note above), and a very fine sieve or a powdered sugar shaker (or use the 1T plus 1tsp cornstarch called for in the original recipe)

Directions:

First, melt the xylitol and coffee together over medium heat. When all the crystals are gone, mix in the isomalt, and the cocoa. Mix well, until everything is incorporated and glossy. Remove from heat, drop in the chocolate (broken up), and set aside to let melt. Give it a stir once or twice, off heat.

This is the cocoa sitting on top of the other ingredients for the syrup, waiting to be incorporated. Be patient.

Once everything is incorporated, it becomes smooth and glossy

Adding the chocolate to the syrup, off heat. Let it melt in, and stir now and then.

Next, in a separate bowl (medium to large, since this is where everything will come together), mix the cream cheese and the chocolate syrup, added a little at a time, until very smooth.

Prepare a very large bowl with ice and some water.

Then, mix the milk, cream, xylitol, and isomalt syrup together in a 4 qt pot (because it will get foamy), bring to a rolling boil over medium high heat, and boil, stirring, for 4 minutes. 

Starting to boil. See all the room in the pot?

Super boiling now. Note how much less room there is!

Take off the heat, and using a sieve or shaker, sprinkle in the thickening gum powder, while whisking. 

Return to the heat for another minute. 

It will not thicken as much as cornstarch would, but will thicken even more upon cooling.
(If you are using the cornstarch-- mix the cornstarch with a bit of the cold milk to make a slurry, then add the slurry to the milk/cream mixture off heat, then bring back to the heat).

Remove from heat. 

In a medium bowl, whisk a small amount of the hot liquid into the cream cheese/chocolate mixture until smooth. Keep adding and whisking, a little at a time, until all incorporated.

Mix the cream mixture into the chocolate/cream cheese mixture, a bit at a time

Now--either pour the whole thing into a ziptop bag, and put that bag in a big bowl filled with mostly ice and some water OR, put the medium bowl you have everything in already into the bowl, not letting any water get in. Sort of like a cold "bain marie" :)

Here's my medium bowl sitting inside the big bowl of ice and water

 

You need the mixture completely cold if you are going to make the ice cream right away.  Keep changing out the ice/water as it melts, and give the mixture a stir too, to get the hot and cold sections mixed up.

TIP: If you don't need to make the ice cream right away-- skip this step. Just put some plastic wrap over the mixture so that it's touching it (won't form a skin that way) and refrigerate overnight, and make the ice cream tomorrow.

When you are ready, pour into your ice cream maker and follow the maker's directions until the ice cream is ready (about 25-30 minutes for most brands).

Scoop out and either eat soft-serve right away, or, pack it into an airtight container, and freeze at least 4 hours until firm.

I would totally have a picture of the finished product for you... but I forgot, and then we (and friends) ate it all.  I'll make it again soon though!

Dreaming of Frozen Yogurt

I'm on an ice cream making roll... well, not so much ice cream now, but frozen yogurt.  And maybe not a roll... maybe more like a.... umm... brioche? Can't think of baking now, I have frozen treats to tell you about!

First, some history-- last year, when I bought my Whynter Sno ice cream maker, I bought an ice cream recipe book.  Naturally, it was full of sugar, and almost every recipe called for creating a custard with the eggs and milk/cream. UGH.  So not me, ya know?

About the exact same time, a beloved friend came to visit, and brought an ice cream recipe book for me as a hostess gift! Coincidence? No such thing! The universe clearly wanted me to make ice cream! 

Now this book was no ordinary book.  Nay nay.  My friend lives in Ohio, and this book was from Jeni's Splendid Ice creams (book here, website for ice cream here).  Jeni's is currently only available in Ohio, 2 stores in Nashville, and if you are lucky enough to live in the US, there is overnight home delivery (swoon). 

I looked over the recipes, thought it was interesting that she didn't use eggs (my kinda ice cream), but still had lots of stuff I don't usually use: sugar, cornstarch, corn syrup.  Everything has a reason, mostly texture and mouth-feel.  But still, for the way I was eating at the time, too many carbs for sure.

This year, I decided to crack the books open again.  I'm focusing mostly on calories right now, so a bit higher carb count in a treat isn't going to rock my world.

And I remembered- Jeni's doesn't use eggs, and since I really am not a fan of the whole egg/milk tempering thing (soooo easy to make gross scrambled eggs), I got out my molecular gastronomy thinking cap, and am now working to convert her awesome recipes to lower calorie, lower sugar, but just as delicious versions.

That Said...

Here is the result of my first attempt.  Roasted Rhubarb Frozen Yogurt.

I'll admit, I think I could further adapt this recipe-- I could use guar/xanthan gums (maybe even konjac powder) in place of the corn starch.  I could also reduce calories further by tweaking the xylitol and isomalt ratios.  I'll keep working on that. 

But the current result is pretty good!

Note: this recipe involves advanced prep.  You'll want to make the roasted rhubarb and the drained yogurt the night before.

Ingredients:

    Rhubarb compote:
1 lb. fresh or frozen rhubarb, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/3c Splenda or granular sweetener of your choice (nutritional info will vary based on what you use)

Frozen yogurt Base:
1 quart (I used the 650ml container) plain fat-free yogurt (could use low-fat, will change your nutritional values of course)-- drained 6-8hrs or overnight. More below.

1.5 c. whole milk

2 T. cornstarch

2 oz. (4T) fat free cream cheese, softened (could use regular, will change your nutritional values of course)

1/2 c. heavy cream

2/3 c. xylitol

1/4 c. isomalt syrup, or light corn syrup (nutritional values are for isomalt, using corn syrup will change these of course)

 

Advanced preparations:

 

1) roast the rhubarb: set the oven to 300 degrees, combine rhubarb and sweetener in a 8x11 glass plate or ceramic baking dish, stir to mix well.  Bake for about 40-45 minutes, stirring every 15 min or so, until the rhubarb is soft and falling apart a bit, but still nice and pink.

 

You will use 3/4 c. for the recipe.  Let all of it cool, covered, in the fridge until ready to use.  Leftovers are great with strawberries, or as a sauce on other ice cream, etc.

 

2) Drain the yogurt:  OK, I think you could just use 1.25c of fat free Greek yogurt, and not do the whole draining thing.  But the original recipe called for draining regular yogurt, so this is how to do that:  line a sieve with 2 layers of cheesecloth (or, frankly, paper towels) and fit over a bowl so that there's good space between the bottom of the sieve and the bottom of the bowl.  Pour in the yogurt (the whole container) and let it drain for 6-8 hrs, or over night, in the fridge (leaving it out won't do anything bad, but then you have a bit more of a "cheese" and that's not what we want here...).  Dump out the liquid- there will be a lot!

The start of draining the yogurt. There's a bit of liquid there at the bottom

You will have about 1.25 c. of thickened yogurt.  I used all of it in the recipe.  This is also really tasty for dips, but that's another post for another time...

 

3) Isomalt syrup:  if you don't want to use corn syrup (and I didn't), then make isomalt syrup.  Isomalt is a sugar substitute, used in sugar-free hard candies and other things all the time.  Lots of interesting properties, and it's a bit lower in calories than xylitol. 

To make a mock-light-corn syrup, simply heat 3 parts isomalt to 1 part water.  Just heat until everything is melted.
You can refrigerate whatever you don't use, but don't freak out, it will fully crystallize again in the fridge.  It will melt again when heated.  It's ok. I promise.  Use 1/4c of syrup for this recipe.

 

To make the frozen yogurt once the prep is done:

Measure out the 1.5 c. of whole milk.  In a small bowl, measure out about 3T of the milk, and the 2T of cornstarch, and mix into a slurry.  Set aside.

 

Mix the rest of the milk, and the cream, xylitol, and isomalt (or corn) syrup in a 4 quart pot.  This is critical, because this will bubble quite a bit and you don't want it boiling over.

The milk/cream/sweetener boiling. It puffed up even more when I stirred it.

Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and cook for 4 minutes.

Remove from heat, and whisk in the milk/cornstarch slurry.

Bring back to the heat, stirring, for 1 more minute.  It will be quite thick, like sweetened evaporated milk.

After adding the cornstarch/milk slurry and boiling for 1 minute more. Very thick.

Remove from heat.

In a big bowl, measure out the fat-free cream cheese, and whisk a bit to make sure it's soft. 
Slowly, in small additions, mix in the hot milk mixture and ensure it's all smooth, until it's all incorporated and smooth.

Next, add the 1.25 c. of drained yogurt and the 3/4 c. of cold roasted rhubarb.
Chill the bowl inside another bowl with ice and water, or cover and put in the fridge until cooled.  Ice water will work a bit faster, if that's what you want.

Cooled mixture ready to go into the ice cream maker

Once the mixture is cool, it will be VERY thick.  Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's direction, but keep an eye on it. 
Mine finished waaaay early, b/c the rhubarb froze and the whole thing got thick and hard to stir.

Transfer to a container for the freezer, and let it set up for a couple of hours at least.

Finished product. Tart and sweet and made with my very own rhubarb from the garden!

 

So there you have it.  The base is still a work in progress for me, but as it is, it's very, very good.  Not too hard, no eggs to deal with, scientifically sound (the reason you boil the milk with sweeteners it to evaporate some of the liquid, so your ice crystals will be fewer, and smaller. And you also create a sweetener syrup, which is better than dry crystals mingling about).  You could use this base for other things, instead of the full heavy cream/milk base. Tangier.

 

Excellent taste and texture (that scoop there in that picture? I ate that!).

 

Oh, and no math! Just chemistry ;-)

 

Nutrition info:

For the recipe, as posted (i.e if you make changes, you have to figure your own stuff out)

 

8 healthy servings (I bet you can get 10 smaller ones... but let's say 8):

 

215 calories

7g fat

31g carbs total (19g are fiber, incl some of the sweeteners. 12g net carbs, if you count that way)

3g protein

23% of your day's calcium

6% of vitamin A

6% of Ribovlavin (B2)

Product Corner: Ice cream makers

It's ice cream season in my house (betcha couldn't tell!) and I wanted to talk about ice cream makers, since I think the topic can seem a little daunting if you've not delved into making ice cream before.

The long and short of it is, there are 2 basic kinds of ice cream makers (not counting the old-fashioned kind that required rock salt and a front porch to churn on...): the kind with the cooler-lined cannister that you freeze, and the kind that has it's own cooling unit (condenser...sort of like your air conditioner) built right in.

Most ice cream recipe books will say that either is fine, and they're not wrong... mostly.

Here's the real scoop (ha ha! see what I did there?):

Cannister-type ice cream makers require you to freeze an inner liner, that looks like an ice bucket, until it's good and solid-- usually 24-48hrs before you use it.  Then, the other part of the machine will turn the frozen cannister, and there will be a paddle-like scraper/agitator attachment that will turn, churn, and aerate the mix as it freezes.  You usually can only use the cannister once, before you need to re-freeze it (I've tried making 2 batches in a row, and it didn't work in mine). 
Some of these are stand alone models (Cuisinart makes a very trusty one) and some are sold as an attachment for your stand mixer (samples of each below).

I used a Cuisinart version for years, and it was ok.  Good.  Definitely better than trying to, say, freeze ice cube trays of cream and then blend them-- that's just nuts.

This is the newest model of the trusty Cuisinart ice cream/yogurt maker. Mine's a bit older but basically the same.

The issue at hand is, how quickly the mixture freezes, which controls the size of the ice crystals, and the amount of air that gets mixed in.  Smaller crystals means a smoother ice cream, and some air, but not too much, will make the ice cream seem dense and lush, whereas too much air will make the ice cream seem fluffy and weird (the amount of air is call overrun, and is the difference between premium and non-premium ice cream you buy at the grocery store).  You want some air, but not a foamy mess.

So, the cannister style ice cream maker takes longer to freeze the ice cream (and you really need to start with VERY cold mix, so that you don't waste precious time of the cannister melting), and I found there to be a lot of inconsistency-- as you poured out a rather soupy soft-serve consistency ice cream, you would still have to really scrape the sides (risking scratching the "non-stick coating" on the surface) and there, the ice cream was rock hard.  Mixing everything quickly in a container and throwing it in the freezer for several hours, you would get a pretty good product in the end.  But I was stressed out and wanted the process to be easier and better.

After about 6 years of using my cannister-style, I invested last year in a not-too-expensive-if-you're-really-going-to-use-it-a-lot model of self-cooling ice cream maker.  It got good reviews all over, and I'm really happy with it (it's does beep weirdly, but maybe mine just got bumped in transit... works fine though).

This is my current model. Whynter (and others) make bigger, more expensive models, but this one works just great.

The difference for me is: I don't have to perfectly chill my ingredients first (I'm not putting hot liquid in it, but from-the-fridge-to-the-blender-to-the-machine works just fine); it also creates firmer ice cream right off the bat.  I can stop it early, get the soupy soft-serve (which my husband actually likes...) or I can let it run longer, because there's no cannister that will melt and stop my progress.  And, I can make as many batches as I want in a day, or day after day.  Lastly, I don't have to give up precious room in my freezer for the cannister-- that room is MUCH better used by additional flavors of homemade ice cream!

So-- if you're just dabbing your toe in the ice cream pool (ooooooh... a pool of ice cream... with ice cream sandwiches as the floaties in the pool... yummmm), then by all means, pick up the cannister type, and see if you like making ice cream, if your family eats enough of it, and if it winds up on the yard sale table within a year or two.

If you're really committed, then I can definitely recommend you find yourself a model with a built in cooler (Whynter makes the above model and a bigger one, and Cuisinart makes a similarly priced model as well).

Happy Freezing!

By Request: Sugar-free Salted Caramel Ice Cream

My first request!

My friend F. asked if I could figure out a lower carb, lower calorie (because that's how I roll) salted caramel ice cream.  Since I love taking on a challenge, I of course immediately set about researching how to create this for her.

Problem # 1: not all sugar substitutes will caramelize. I can now list all the ones that won't, and there are some sugar substitutes that I didn't want to use in this recipe: maltitol, because it is one of the worst offenders in terms of "gastric distress" that can be caused by sugar substitutes, and erythritol, because I find even a small amount makes ice cream crumbly.

I *did* find that you can caramelize xylitol, which is great, because I use it to help with the texture of my sugar-free ice creams anyway.  The trick, it seems, is to add a tiny bit of an interfering agent, via an invert sugar, like corn syrup (you could use honey, though this isn't truly an invert sugar, but does contain it. It might make it taste a bit like honey though).
This is to prevent the creation of crystals in the caramel (an issue with caramel based on sugar, and I didn't want to chance it with the xylitol experiment). One teaspoon of corn syrup (which is not quite the same as "high-fructose corn syrup," which is much more processed) in the entire recipe will be quite distributed and the nutritional and blood sugar effects should not be pronounced, but will ensure that the caramel comes out properly.

Xylitol caramelization test (with a bit of cream)

So I ran a test with a small amount of xylitol and a drop of syrup (and some cream), and came out with perfect caramel. JOY!
We can proceed

Problem #2: finding a good salted caramel ice cream base recipe. 
I scoured the internet, and found a highly rated recipe that would be a good base for my changes.
The reviewers suggested the recipe could benefit from a couple of tweaks: a bit more salt, and some found it very rich.
I'm incorporating changes into my version to address these comments: decreasing the cream a bit, increasing the sea salt amount, and using liquid sucralose (aka Splenda) to replace some of the extra sugar, if its needed (note: I don't think it is).  The bulk of the sweetness will come from xylitol, which will be caramelized.  The rest would just be to taste.

Warning: making caramel is like making napalm in your kitchen. 
This stuff will cause permanent skin damage if it gets on you. TAKE PRECAUTIONS.
Wear long sleeves and long pants and good, closed-toe shoes. 
Baby-gate the animals and children OUT of the kitchen area. 
Have baking soda and a big pot lid, and an empty sink available.
Also-- it smokes. A LOT.  So open some windows and turn on the vent in advance.

So, with all that out of the way, here we go!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. heavy whipping cream.

3/4 cup xylitol

1 teaspoon corn syrup or very mild flavored honey, or agave syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon sea salt (could add another 1/4 tsp if you like it very salty)
1/4 c. additional heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons glycerine

2 tablespoons vodka

(I thought it was sweet enough with just the xylitol called for, but if you think you need more sweetness, have 1/4 cup splenda (bulk, or the equivalent in liquid sweetener) standing by)

Directions:

First-- prepare for the hot caramel situation.  Block off the kitchen, get your safety gear, open the windows, turn on the vent.  Prepare mentally.  Don't answer the phone.  And you CAN take the pot off the heat now and then to check on it.  Go slow.
Have your 1.25 c. of heavy cream ready and standing by.

Next, in a very clean, very large pot, place the xylitol and the teaspoon of syrup (or honey or agave, whatever you are using).  Heat over medium until everything melts-- you can stir it with a very clean fork or spatula to get everything melted.

Once melted, you'll just swirl.  You'll start to see the color change slowly.  There will be some smoke.  It will smell like it's burning, because it is, that's the point.

Sometimes it might bubble a little bit, sometimes not. 

IT IS FREAKY HOT so be VERY CAREFUL.

Here is everything for the caramel, prepared:

 

Xylitol and syrup are melted.  Now the swirling starts

Very faint color change, to a very very pale yellow

Now a pale gold, and the smoking has started

More like a light honey color

Getting deeper, like an amber, and a lot more smoke

Darker amber - this is where I decided to stop and pulled it off the heat.  This took about 10 minutes or so, but depends on your stove, so just stand there and keep an eye on it and swirl.

Next, off the heat but still very very very hot, I add the cream 1 1/4c. cream

This is why you have to use a much bigger pot than you would think-- LOOK at the bubbles!

Once it calms down, you can stir in the vanilla and sea salt, and let it cool to room temperature, and go on with the recipe.

Once you've calmed down, you should make the custard.  Yes, I'm going to do the whole custard thing for this recipe, maybe it'll become a regular occurrence (or not).

So-- bring the milk and the remaining cream just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally.

In a medium bowl on the side, lightly beat the eggs, then add half of hot milk mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour back into saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (a heat-proof spatula will be fine too), until custard coats back of spoon and registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer (do not let boil or stop stirring- yuckiest scrambled eggs ever).

Remove from heat and pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, then stir in cooled caramel mixture. Add in the glycerine and vodka (these help with texture and scoopability in sugar-free ice creams). Taste the mixture (the eggs are cooked at this point) and sweeten if needed,using extra Splenda or liquid sweetener, to taste.  Keep in mind cold foods taste less sweet than warm ones, so err on the side of a bit sweeter. I didn't think it needed any extra, and after it froze, I thought it was  perfect. 

Chill custard, stirring occasionally, until very cold (especially if you are using a canister-style ice cream maker).
Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to maker's directions (it will still be quite soft), then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to firm up, 2 hours at least, more if you can keep your hands off it.

Here it is, quite soft after not-quite 2hrs in the freezer- I actually added another 1/2 scoop to the serving.

Verdict:
Since I don't eat this flavor often, or really, at all, this was new for me.  I thought it was  A-MAZING!!!  I might try to get the caramel a bit deeper in color (but given the smoke, maybe not) and maybe a pinch more salt.  But overall, YUM!
 


Nutritional Info:
Assuming 8 nice size servings:
304 calories
20g of fat (12 saturated, 6 monounsaturated, 1 polyunsaturated)
147mg cholesterol
302mg sodium
128mg potassium
23g carbohydrate
18g fiber (counting the xylitol here as well)  So 5g net carbs for people who count those.
5g protein
9% of your day's calcium
16% of your vitamin A
12% of your B2 (riboflavin)

Full props for the sites I used for my research:
http://www.foodiefiasco.com/almost-calorie-free-caramel/
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/01/why-and-when-to-use-or-not-use-c/
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Salted-Caramel-Ice-Cream-354517

Dreaming of Ice cream

In my quest to make the perfect sugar free ice cream (because really, I just want to enjoy it, and if I can save some calories and even one gray hair from worrying about that, then I will). 

I've found several references about how to make one of my favorite flavors, Cherry Garcia (mad props to Ben & Jerry for creating this masterpiece years ago) (is there really any *bad* flavor of ice cream? Isn't it like pizza and sex? I digress...) and I'm going to attempt it today.

Here are my tweaks to make this slightly lighter in calories, by cutting some sugar out, and reversing the proportion of milk and cream.  Also, I never make an actual cooked custard first, because I'm really impatient. Sigh.

Ingredients:

1/4c, rounded, dark chocolate chips or shavings. 
(You can make your own sugar-free dark chocolate by melting some unsweet chocolate with a bit of heavy cream, adding some sweetener, and pouring onto a piece of aluminum foil on a tray. Let that freeze up, and break into chips.  It will work in ice cream, but will melt a bit at room temp.)

1/4c, rounded, cherries.  The references I've seen say to use fresh Bing, but I'm going to try some canned (in syrup) ones.  Easier to get year-round.  Ensure they are pitted and chopped a bit.

 

pinch of salt

 

1tsp vanilla

Soren's lower cal, lower carb ice cream base (2c whole milk, 1c heavy whipping cream, 2 large eggs (or powdered lecithin), 2T glycerin, 2T vodka, 1/4 xylitol, extra sweetener to taste)

Directions:
Chill the chocolate and cherries. You'll add these almost at the end.
You *can* make a custard from the dairy and eggs and sweetener, and then chill that.  I don't bother, but maybe I'll try this again some time.
Anyway, combine the ice cream base, vanilla, and salt in a blender and get it good and blended.
Pour into your ice cream maker and freeze according to maker's directions, 20-30 minutes or so.

Just before it's done, mix in the chocolate and cherries and let it mix for another few minutes. Or, if you always miss the end, like I do, scoop out the ice cream into it's final container, mix in the chocolate and cherries by hand, and jam it in the freezer super quick!

Let it freeze for a while (like 2hrs or overnight) before serving, to let the flavors blend and everything set up a bit.

Finished product, though it needs to set. But I'm impatient. I did add extra cherries and chocolate, partly because hubby shredded a lot of chocolate, and because I thought it needed more cherries!

Tasting note: I think I'll try this with fresh cherries, but first, I'll taste it after it sets up for a day... I'm not getting a lot of cherry flavor right now, 1hr out of the churn. 

Hey! No math this time!

ETA: Nutritional Info

My lower-cal lower-sugar ice cream base makes 8 servings, and has this info:

205 cals per serving (not counting mix-ins) (1640 calories for the whole base recipe)
14g fat (9g saturated, 4g monounsaturate, 1g polyunsaturated)
102mg cholesterol
59mg sodium
132mg potassium
10g total carbohydrates
6g fiber (so that's 4g net grams, if you count those-- we are subtracting fiber and the polyol as well here)
4g protein
10% of your daily calcium
12% of your vitamin A
11% of your B2 (riboflavin).

Add to this, your values from the chocolate and cherries, depending how much you used

the brand of 85% chocolate I used:
1.4oz = 230 calories, 15 g carb (6g fiber)
1c of cherries (recipe calls for less): 135 calories, 34.5g carbs, 3.8g fiber