Beet Ice Cream with Orange Zest and Poppy Seeds

Eating beets has never been an attractive choice for me until now. I'll be honest: I made this ice cream for the color. That's all natural fuschia, my friends. Earthy and tart, beet ice cream is not your typical after-school special, but it's worth every spoonful (and the poppy seeds add a nice crunch!).

         

         

Last Week: Sweet Potato Ice Cream

Beet Ice Cream with Orange Zest and Poppy Seeds
adapted from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home

yields one generous quart

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
zest of 1 orange
3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup puréed roasted red beets (two medium-sized beets will get the job done)
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Directions:
For the roasted beets: Preheat oven to 450°F. Wrap the beets in a sheet of foil. Bake until very soft, about 1 hour. Let the beets cool slightly, then peel them while still warm. Cut into chunks and puree through a sieve.

For the ice cream: In a bowl, stir together 1/4 cup milk and the cornstarch; set slurry aside. In a saucepan, whisk together remaining milk and the cream, sugar, syrup, and salt; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add orange peel. Cook for 4 minutes; stir in slurry. Return to a boil and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Place cream cheese in a bowl and pour in 1/4 cup hot milk mixture; whisk until smooth. Then whisk in remaining milk mixture; stir in beets. Pour mixture into a plastic bag; seal, and submerge in a bowl of ice water until chilled, about 30 minutes.

Pour mixture into an ice cream maker; add poppy seeds; process according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer ice cream to a storage container and freeze until set, about 4 hours.

Enjoy.
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Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I never, ever have to take another planetary science class. ever. Celebration Pie.

          

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

yields one 9" pie with top and bottom crusts.

Ingredients:
Crust
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons ice cold water

Filling
2 cups fresh, diced strawberries
2 cups diced rhubarb
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange zest

Assembly
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon coarse, sanding sugar

Directions:
For the crust: In a food processors, pulse the butter, flour, and salt until it resembles a coarse meal. With the processor on, slowly add the ice water and vinegar until the dough begins to hold together. Press the dough into a rough ball, then transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough a few times until smooth. Divide dough into 2 balls, one slightly larger than the other, and flatten each slightly to make a flat disk. Wrap disks individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

For the filling: Toss all filling ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside.

For the pie: Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll the larger disk of dough out on a lightly floured surface into an 11" round, then fit it into a 9" glass pie plate. Transfer filling to pastry bottom. Scatter the 3 tablespoons of butter in small pieces over the fruit filling. Roll the remaining disk of dough out on the lightly floured surface into a 10" round, then cover the pie, fold edges of dough under, and crimp edges. Brush top crust with milk and melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake until pastry is deep golden (cover edges of crust with foil if browning too quickly), 60–70 minutes. Set pie aside to cool for several hours before serving.

Enjoy.
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Profiteroles with Blackberry Mascarpone, Chocolate, and Pistachio

Happy New Year! Let us hope 2012 brings happiness to us all. I rung in the new year with these little fellows: flaky profiteroles filled with blackberry mascarpone, dipped in chocolate, and sprinkled with pistachio. I love the colors and the flavors in this dessert. I hope that you'll give them a try sometime this year. Take care, and best wishes and blessings!

Profiteroles

adapted from La Fuji Mama

yields four dozen mini profiteroles

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Bring the water to a boil in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the butter.  When the butter has melted, add the flour mixture all at once and stir vigorously.  Cook and stir until the mixture forms a ball that doesn’t separate. Remove from the heat and cool slightly (about 1 minute).  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each one until the dough is smooth.

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough about 2-inches apart onto a lined baking sheet.  Or transfer the batter to a pastry bag with a round tip and pipe circles about 2-inches in diameter and about 1-inch apart onto lined baking sheets.  Bake the puffs for about 30 minutes until they are golden brown and puffy.  If the puffs are medium-size, bake for about 25 minutes, and if the puffs are mini-size, bake for about 20 minutes.  Remove the cream puffs from the oven and cool on a cooling rack.

Blackberry Mascarpone

Ingredients:

2 cups blackberries

1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

2 tablespoons orange juice 

1/4 cup sugar

16 ounces mascarpone, at room temperature

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions:

Place blackberries, orange zest, orange juice, and sugar in a saucepan over low heat. Mash blackberries as they cook down. Leave on low for 15 minutes.

Strain blackberry mixture through a fine mesh sieve. Let cool.

With an electric mixer on low speed, combine mascarpone, confectioners' sugar, and the blackberry mixture until combined.

Assembly

Melt 8 ounces of chocolate on a double broiler. Grind 1/4 cup shelled pistachios into a fine powder.

Pipe blackberry mascarpone into the profiteroles. Dip tops of profiteroles in melted chocolate and immediately sprinkle with pistachios. Let chocolate cool and harden. Can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

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