Cheesecake Ice Cream

Have you had Rebecca’s strawberry cheesecake frozen yogurt? No? Well, you’re missing out. It is GOOD. It is so good that it’s inspirational, i.e. “I’ll make cheesecake ice cream too!” That thought lingered in my head next to ideas of what else I could swirl in* besides strawberry coulis until, as luck would have it, we had leftover spiced chocolate sauce in the fridge. That did it — I was on a mission. My goal was two-fold: Make ice cream that tasted like cheesecake and do it with what I had on hand.

First, I thought I would just swap the yogurt for sour cream. Then I planned to swap the milk for half-and-half (since I had some in the fridge left over from making dulce de leche ice cream). Then I thought, You know, I’d like to add some eggs. I started looking up other recipes for guidance and found several with promise. I jotted down the ingredients and got to cookin’.

This ice cream tastes just like cheesecake. JUST LIKE IT. We ate it with the spiced chocolate syrup and decided that wasn’t a good combination. Bill said, “I like the chocolate sauce and I like the ice cream but I don’t like them together.” Yep, that’s how I felt too. I might try it with some Trader Joe’s lemon curd but, quite honestly, I like it plain just like I like my cheesecake.

********

Cheesecake Ice Cream

8 oz. Neufchâtel cheese (or cream cheese, I suppose)
16 oz. light sour cream (or regular sour cream, I suppose)
1 c. half-and-half
3 egg yolks
1¼ c. sugar
2 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1. Scald the half-and-half in a saucepan over medium heat.

2. Beat together thoroughly the Neufchâtel cheese, egg yolks, and sugar.

3. Add some of the hot half-and-half to the Neufchâtel mixture a small amount at a time with stirring to temper the eggs. Reduce heat to low.

4. Add the slightly warmed Neufchâtel mixture to the saucepan and return to low heat. Heat gently with constant stirring for ~10 minutes. Delight in the smell of cheesecake-y custard but resist the urge to dip your finger in — it’s HOT!

5. Strain the custard mixture into a bowl and stir in the sour cream. Once incorporated, mix in the vanilla extract.

6. Chill in the fridge for several hours. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Harden in the freezer for several more hours. Serve with your choice of topping.

NOTE: This ice cream is scoop-able consistency right out of the freezer.

SPACE

*I decided not to swirl in anything after all. I wanted to give plain cheesecake ice cream a go at least once, plus each member of the household could customize his/her serving with a desired amount of chocolate sauce.

Mexican-Inspired Side Dish

My sister-in-law had a fancy new paver patio installed recently and we all enjoyed it by having her host the family’s Labor Day get-together. She chose a Mexican-themed menu and this is what I came up with as part of our contribution.

I grilled some corn-on-the-cob similar to this method…except I did it by memory and therefore not at all like this really. I removed the tough outer husks and the silk ahead of time, plus I cooked the corn on low instead of high. I thought It goes on a high flame, doesn’t it? but I was too chicken to scorch it. It did get a smoky, grilled flavor that everyone enjoyed but I bet it would’ve been juicier had I the cojones to cook it hot and fast.

I served the corn with a compound butter that I winged based on inspiration from the spices in this rib rub recipe. I wanted it to have a lot of flavor but not too much heat, plus some saltiness since people like that with sweet corn. It was a big hit.

********

Patio Party Compound Butter

1 stick unsalted butter @ room temperature (8 Tbsp., 1/4 lb.)
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground Ancho chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Mix the salt and spices into the soft butter. Transfer to a container appropriate for serving. Serve with grilled corn-on-the-cob.

I also contemplated sweet paprika + chipotle chili powder in place of the smoked paprika + Ancho chili powder. I bet that would be good, too. I chose Ancho chili powder instead of ground Cayenne pepper because I didn’t want too much heat, but I think that would be a suitable substitute if heat is what you’re after.

Mexican-Inspired Ice Cream Dessert

My sister-in-law had a fancy new paver patio installed recently and we all enjoyed it by having her host the family’s Labor Day get-together. She chose a Mexican-themed menu and this is what I came up with as part of our contribution.

Inspired by two recipes I found online, I came up with a version of dulce de leche ice cream using my standard half-and-half + egg yolks method. Then, at the last minute, I decided to make a chocolate sauce from the Spiced Dreams cookbook (with a slight modification). We ate scoops of ice cream with the chocolate sauced drizzled on top and it was wonderful — the dark chocolate is a nice match for the sweet ice cream and the spices are just enough. You could hear people making the yummy sound over and over.

********

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

3 c. half & half
15 oz. dulce de leche (AKA milk caramel spread)
1/4 c. sugar
5 egg yolks
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Warm 2 cups of the half & half in a saucepan over medium heat.

2. Whisk eggs yolks and sugar together.

3. Temper the egg yolks with some of the the warmed half & half. Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the tempered egg yolks back to the warmed half & half while whisking, and decrease the heat to low.

4. Return the saucepan to low heat and stir the mixture continuously until you get a smooth custard.

5. Strain the hot custard into a bowl that is set in an ice bath. Stir to facilitate cooling.

6. Mix remaining 1 cup half & half, dulce de leche, and vanilla extract in the blender.

7. Add the not-super-hot custard to the blender and mix it into the dulce de leche mixture.

8. Chill for several hours in the refrigerator. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Return it to the freezer for several more hours to harden.

********

Spiced Dark Chocolate Sauce

1 stick unsalted butter (8 Tbsp., 1/4 lb.)
1 c. sugar
1/2 unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. milk
4 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.

2. Add the sugar and whisk until the sugar starts to dissolve.

3. Add the cocoa powder, allspice, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk until smooth.

4. Increase the heat to medium and add the milk, whisking constantly, until the sauce comes to a rolling boil.

5. Decrease the heat to low and allow to cook for two minutes without stirring. Try not to stare at the mesmerizing bubbles while you should be chopping chocolate.

6. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate melts and the sauce is smooth. Notice how “sexy” is not an inappropriate adjective for how the sauce looks now.

7. Stir in the vanilla.

Serve the sauce warm or at room temperature over ice cream.