Matcha Ice Cream 綠茶雪糕

Summer seems never end in Southern California. Mid Autumn Festival is over but it still has a few weeks before official Fall (Sept 23) arrives. This Asian flavor matcha ice cream is refreshing and full of green tea flavor. It greatly helps to relieve some summer heat.

Mango Ice Cream 芒果雪糕

Many of you would probably think fresh mango is the best choice to use in homemade mango ice cream. But contrary to that thought, freeze dried mango is a better option. Fresh fruits are best to enjoy when they are ripe and juicy. However, when they are used to make ice cream, the juice is your enemy. The more juicy it is, the worse it is to make ice cream. That may be the reason why watermelon is rarely used in ice cream even though it maybe good in making sorbet. Juice will turn into ice and make ice cream icy instead of creamy.

Lychee Ice Cream 茘枝雪糕

There are so many summer fruits that are suitable for making desserts that I sometimes have a hard time deciding what to use... However, recently I came across frozen lychee puree in a restaurant supply store and could not resist buying some. Although it is quite expensive, this kind of ingredient is hard to find elsewhere.

Imported from France, the puree contains 91% lychee and 9% invert sugar. But what is invert sugar? Essentially it is table sugar sucrose (disaccharide) that has been heated with an acid, usually cream of tartar. It then breaks down into glucose and fructose (monosaccharide), which will remain in liquid form. Invert sugar is widely used in the world of bakery and confectionery. It improves texture and, as a natural preservative, helps to extend shelf life. It is great in making ice cream because it keeps crystallization under control and gives a smoother consistency. (Click here for more information)

Since lychee puree is low in pulp and high in water content, it needs to be cooked with the milk and cream for the extra water to evaporate. Otherwise, the ice cream will have an excess of ice crystals.

Ginger Ice Cream, Again 薑汁雪糕,捲土重來

If you are one of my friends who have tried the black sesame ice cream and raved about it, you would scream about this new ginger ice cream. My previous black sesame ice cream recipe is easy and simple with no cooking involved yet is creamy and easy to scoop. This recipe involves a little bit of cooking and more ingredients. This little extra effort is worth it; it results in minimal ice crystal formation, and therefore creamier and silkier ice cream.

Black Sesame Ice Cream 黑芝麻雪糕

What a way to enjoy dessert the healthy way--whole grain ice cream! Store-bought black sesame ice cream can never come close to this homemade version. The aroma of the freshly toasted sesame is what makes it distinct. Dessert usually appeals to us with presentation, color or other arrangements. But this ice cream's wonderful aroma is amazingly tempting and appetizing. I almost could not wait for it to harden before digging into it.
This recipe is not custard based (no egg yolk) therefore it does not involve any cooking. How easy and simple can it get!

Ginger Ice Cream 薑汁雪糕

Another "R" rated dessert that is grade "A!" Ever since I made the Lemon Chiffon Cake with Ginger Mousse, I fell in love with making desserts with ginger. Out of the numerous varieties and flavors of ice cream in the market, I have never tried ice cream with ginger. It is a rare flavor. But it is very refreshing, bright, crisp and at the same time spicy, sweet and creamy. The refreshing taste just lingers in the throat after eating.

Chocolate Gelato 朱古力雪糕

My family admits to being addicted to chocolate. We are also addicted to homemade gelato ever since we bought the ice cream machine a while ago. I don't think we would go back to supermarket grade ice cream if we were given the choice. This chocolate gelato is so rich and full of chocolate that it satisfies the chocoholics at home. By doing it at home, we can select the finest ingredients and no other additives !!

Strawberry Gelato 士多啤梨雪糕

What is the difference between ice cream and gelato? I guess it depends on who you ask! For a kid, it makes no difference at all. In a hot summer day, who cares?

French Vanilla Bean Ice Cream 雲呢哪籽雪糕

There are a few items that we never run out of in our household: flour, chocolate and ice cream. I make bread at least once a week so I have to make sure that I have fresh flour. For chocolate...it has a lot of uses. It can be eaten plainly as candy or to be used in making cakes or other desserts. And for ice cream, my freezer always has at least a carton or two in stock. I had tried making ice cream without a machine but the result was not very satisfactory. It had a lot of ice crystals. My kids complained that the ice cream was crunchy.