Fresh Peach Ice Cream

I brainstormed a lot of ways to dress up this ice cream. Perhaps by adding some fresh ginger, or cookie crumbs to make it peach cobbler ice cream, I could make my ice cream more interesting and to keep it from being buried by the hundreds of thousands of hits that come up when you Google "peach ice cream."

But in the end, I decided to keep it simple, and just let the very basic ingredients of this ice cream to shine through.

So here it is, fresh peach ice cream without any of the bells and whistles I usually add. This ice cream really lets the peaches shine through, so be sure to only use sweet, juicy peaches you would want to eat on their own

It's the quintessential summer dessert; there's really no substitute for making your own creamy custard and stirring in fresh, juicy peaches.

We can get most fruits year round now, we hardly think about their seasons (For the longest time, I thought that grapes grew during the winter, before I figured out that we imported them from Chile.) But that trick we pull with so many fruits doesn't really work for peaches. Out-of-season ones are mushy, grainy, and tasteless. Peaches remain a summer fruit; there's something fleeting about them, their brief appearance at farmer's markets and in our desserts as we scramble to use as many of them as we can before they go out of season.

This ice cream capitalizes on their short-lived nature, packing as much of their flavor as possible in a single scoop, a single spoonful. It's a flash of summer, sweet and fragrant, to be savored slowly before it melts and slips away.

-Caroline

Fresh Peach Ice Cream

Yields about 1 quart | Click here for the printer-friendly recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup sugar, divided
4 egg yolks
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
6 ripe yellow peaches
pinch of cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions

1. Pour the heavy cream and milk into a saucepan and heat until it just begins to simmer.
2. Whisk together the egg yolks and ½ cup sugar. Slowly pour the hot cream into the eggs, whisking constantly.
3. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly. Cook until until the custard thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
4. Take the saucepan off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Let it cool completely, then refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
5. Peel the peaches and cut them into small cubes.
6. Place the peaches in a pot over low heat. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar, the cinnamon, and the lemon juice.
7. Cook for 5 - 10 minutes, or until the peaches have released their juices. Taste, and add more sugar if needed. Let cool completely, then refrigerate for several hours.
8. Stir in the peach mixture to the custard. Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.
9. Freeze the ice cream for several hours, until it is firmer.

Strawberry and Peach Cornmeal Coffee Cake

I first started baking in middle school by following recipes from Kraft magazine, recipes shamelessly calling for Miracle Whip, Philadelphia brand cream cheese, Velveeta (heaven forbid you try to use real non-Kraft cheese), Bakers chocolate. (This was before they started charging for the magazine. Are they really trying to make people pay for what amounts to 60 glossy pages of Kraft advertising convincing them to go out and buy even more Kraft products? And who would actually buy it..?)

That being said, Kraft did teach me a lot. I baked my first cheesecake with one of their recipes, learned to cook lunch for myself, and borrowed heavily from them for my first recipe on this blog.

One of the first things I baked (and one of their more blatant self-promoting recipes) was this strawberry peach crisp. The recipe wasn't bad; it was easy and tasted okay. It also made very little sense; it made you go out and buy Post Honey Bunches and Oats (the almond one, mind) for the topping, yet also had you go through the process of making a traditional crumble topping, cutting in a tiny bit of butter in a minuscule amount of flour, sugar and cinnamon to create a tiny amount of streusel that got lost in all the cereal. 

This coffee cake is a more sophisticated, less fake version of that crisp,  playing off the same flavors of peach, strawberry, cinnamon, and cornflakes. It's about as easy, tastes way better, and is a great summer version of traditional coffee cake. The yogurt in this recipe gives the cake a nice dense crumb, and the cornmeal gives it a little more texture than normal coffee cake. 

It's great for breakfast (I think the cornmeal and fruit makes it seem extra acceptable to eat this cake for breakfast) or a snack, warm from the oven or chilled in the fridge.

But for God's sake, find something to serve it with besides Cool Whip.

-Caroline

Peach and Strawberry Cornmeal Coffee Cake

Click here for the printer-friendly recipe. | Yields: One 13x9 inch cake

Ingredients
For the Streusel Topping
1 cup flour
½ cup granulated or light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, softened

For the Cake:
1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
⅔ cup cornmeal
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, softened
⅔ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons milk
3-4 medium peaches, peeled and cubed
2 cups fresh strawberries, diced

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Make the streusel topping. Mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the butter, and use your fingers or a pastry cutter to rub the butter into the flour mixture.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla extract.

Whisk in the yogurt and milk.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Fold in the chopped fruit. 

Pour the batter into a greased 13x9 inch pan.

Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Roasted Rhubarb Scones

Let's talk about the super thrilling topic of grocery shopping for a bit: as in, shopping for baking supplies at school is usually a pain. The closest grocer store is one subway stop away--which, okay, isn't that far, but it still involves getting on the T or walking for 20 minutes--definitely more inconvenient than what we Mid-westerners are used to. The other two options closer to campus are CVS and Broadway, a fancy health food store.

I would go to Broadway this year whenever I needed groceries for baking but was too lazy to actually make my ways to Shaws. That's where I found this rhubarb a few weeks ago, sitting in a cardboard box next to the way over-priced blueberries and raspberries. I had planned to make these scones with strawberries, but the rhubarb was a much cheaper option, and the sight of this seasonal reddish celery thing made me happy. It seemed like a promising sign of summer.

While a lot of recipes recommend making scones by grating in frozen butter or using a pastry cutter, I always make scones with my hands. I don't think it causes the butter to melt too much much if you work quickly, and I like to actually feel the texture of the dough with my hands. I think it's one of the reasons I like making scones so much.

Anyways, this scone recipe isn't too different from the others I've posted here; I lightened up the texture a bit with the cake flour and buttermilk, but kept it pretty similar to the original. Don't skip out on roasting the rhubarb: I don't think just throwing in raw rhubarb lets them cook long enough or become sweet enough to be really good. Also, make sure the rhubarb is thoroughly chilled before adding it to the dough! Chilled dough makes fluffier scones.

Apologies for the inconsistent posts for the past couple of weeks. Monica and I have both been in crazy final exam / move-out mode. I actually made these a week or two ago right after finals ended when I was supposed to be packing up my baking equipment rather than making things with them. Alas. The travails of summer storage.

Enjoy, all!
Caroline

Roasted Rhubarb Scones

Click here for the printer-friendly recipe. | Yields: 12 scones

Ingredients
For the Roasted Rhubarb
1 pound rhubarb (about 4 to 5 stalks), washed and chopped into ½-inch pieces
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Softened butter, for greasing

For the Dough
2 cups flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
8 tablespoons butter, cold
½ cup buttermilk, cold
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For assembly
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup raw sugar (granulated sugar can be substituted)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Roast the rhubarb. In a large bowl, mix together the rhubarb, sugar, and lemon zest.

Thoroughly grease an oven-proof pan with butter, and pour the rhubarb into the pan. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until the rhubarb is tender. Let cool thoroughly, then refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.

Cut the butter into ½-inch cubes. Make sure it remains cold. Add the butter to the dry ingredients.

Using a pastry cutter, a fork, or your hands, cut the butter into the flour. It’s okay if a few lumps remain. Work quickly so that the butter doesn't melt.

In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until barely combined.

Mix in the rhubarb, including the juices, until it is incorporated. Be careful while stirring since the rhubarb is very soft. Do not over-mix.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Shape the dough into a 6 inch x 8 inch rectangle. Cut the dough into 6 rectangles, and then cut each of the rectangles in half to form 12 triangles.

Brush the scones with the beaten egg and sprinkle raw sugar on top. Bake the scones for 15-18 minutes, or until the edges have turned golden. Let cool slightly, and serve with whipped cream or yogurt.

Apple and Berry Galettes

Spring has finally come to Boston; it came slowly and tentatively, but I think I can safely say it is actually here. Precipitation no longer carries the chance of being snow. It's windy and still chilly, but the wind has finally lost its bite. I've gotten used to it still being light outside after I finish my dinner, and I love waking up to sunlight streaming through my windows (well, on the three days of the week when it actually is sunny).

Of course though, Boston couldn't go into spring without a bit of mockery; it also happens to be final exam season. I'm taking a break from working on a Spanish paper right now to do this post (As you might guess, it's not going as fast as it should be...hence the posting two days late).

Anyways, I made these galettes on a spring day a week or two ago for a brunch with designers at the newspaper. There's nothing particularly remarkable about them--I mean, they're delicious, but they're not creative or innovative or particularly unique.

But that's okay, because that wasn't what I was looking for. I like that it's humble and simple, letting the few basic ingredients shine through, making it a perfect treat to enjoy on a sunny, slightly cold, very busy, cheerfully spring-like Sunday afternoon.

Enjoy!

Caroline

Apple and Berry Galettes

Click here for the printable recipe.
Yields: 4 Galettes | Adapted from The Candid Appetite

Ingredients
For the Crust
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, cold and cubed
½ cup buttermilk, very cold

For the Fruit Filling
1 cup berries, such as strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries
4-5 medium apples, cored and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
2 teaspoon lemon juice, divided
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Assembly
1 egg
1 tablespoon buttermilk
¼ cup raw sugar, for sprinkling (granulated can be substituted)

Directions
Make the crust. Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cubed butter, and either with your hands or in a food processor (NOT with your hands IN the food processor!), work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Mix in the buttermilk 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time, adding just enough so that the dough comes together. It should be very crumbly.

Gather the dough together and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight.

Mix together the apples, 1 tablespoon of flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and the cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the berries, 1 tablespoon of flour, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Place one piece of the dough between two pieces of wax paper or plastic wrap. Roll the dough into about a 10-inch circle.

Take off the top piece of wax paper, and lay the circle on a greased baking sheet. Peel off the other piece of paper. Arrange about ¼ of the apple slices on top of the dough. Add about ¼ cup of berries. Fold the dough around the fruit.

Repeat for the other 3 pieces of dough.

Refrigerate the galettes for at least 30 minutes before baking.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Whisk together the egg and buttermilk, and brush the mixture over the crust of the galettes. Sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 and bake for another 15 - 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Let cool and enjoy!