Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

My stars!

I love, love, love this one. If you're looking for a recipe for heavenly ice cream, I urge you to try this one.

I must say, I am not overly fond of cheesecake. For example if we're dining out I'll usually choose anything other than cheesecake if there is a choice.

I don't dislike it, in fact I have a killer recipe for cheesecake that I've been making for years ~ but it's just not my favorite dessert. So I was really surprised that I LOVE this ice cream, as it's reminiscent of a delightful, not-too-sweet raspberry cheese cake.





The ingredient list is short ~
a little cream cheese whole milk cream sugar raspberry puree  (I used frozen, unsweetened raspberries, pressed through a sieve)

Once you make it, you won't need a written recipe!
Now my mind is spinning, and I'm thinking of all of the other fruit purees that could be used in place of the raspberries... YUM!




I'm usually a "one scoop", or at the most "two scoop" ice cream girl --- but not with this ice cream. :)

I'm thinking graham cracker sprinkles might be a good finishing touch if you want to carry the cheesecake theme, but absolutely not necessary.

I hope you'll give it a go.  And if you try it with another pureed fruit, please let me know!

To get a printable copy of the recipe click HERE to go to my recipe page.

Thanks for stopping by, and for any comments you would like to share.

Have a delicious day!
~Mari


I'm sharing on Foodie Friday
and 
Pink Saturday !
http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Lavender Week Wrap-Up with the Novel Bakers

For the final day of Lavender Week with the Novel Bakers

I'm going to take you from Breakfast/Tea, then skip to the

evening meal, and throw in a few options for dessert

at the end. 

I hope you enjoy!

I made quick, Strawberry-Blueberry and 

Lavender Infused refrigerator jam as an accompaniment

to the warm homemade biscuits

for our tea . . .

The jam is fresh, made with strawberries and blueberries

from the garden, I like that you can control the amount

of sweetener. We prefer ours not too sweet ~

and it cooks up in just a few minutes.

~*~*~*~*~



And for dinner, I just had to make this luscious

Grilled Chicken Breast with a lovely and different

Lavender-Honey Marinade, which my friend Monique 
recently posted on her blog.
(Click to Link.)

Oh my. 
Do yourself a favor. Make THIS!

It's a winner. I followed Monique's variation on

the original recipe exactly and I wouldn't change

a thing about it. It's heavenly.

The light sauce goes really well with the tiny potatoes,

as Monique served it. And because the garden is

prolific with cucumbers right now, I sliced a few and

anointed them with a drizzle of the vinaigrette style

sauce as well. Borage blossoms compliment cucumbers

very nicely, as they have a very mild cuke-like taste.

Yummy! A keeper that I'll definitely make again.

~*~*~*~*~

On to the dessert (or two...)

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream, infused with Lavender

essence.

It is one of the EASIEST ice cream recipes I know of.

 Condensed milk, heavy cream (warmed with

a bit of lavender, then strained and chilled.)

Put that mix in your ice cream maker to begin the freezing process, 
then about 10 to 15 minutes before the ice cream is

solidified, add the chunks of fresh strawberries

along with a splash of vanilla, and continue with

the freezing process.

I like to offer a drizzle of Lavender Syrup at the table so

anyone who wants it can add a bit to bump up the

lavender flavor.

I happen to like it just as it is. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

If you don't want to serve the Lavender Palmiers (pictured above

with the ice cream), you might like to substitute these

lavender cookies:

Delicate, and gently flavored with lavender ~

I think it's best to make these when the lavender blossoms

are at their peak.

Fresh blossoms are milder, and texturally more appealing than

dried flowers in this recipe.

If you look closely, maybe you can see . . .

~ the tiny specks of green in the cookies ~ this recipe

includes a small amount of minced lavender leaves to

the cookie dough.

Not overwhelming at all, just a faint nuance of

lavender ~ I think these would be so pretty served

at a summer tea or bridal or baby shower.


~*~*~*~*~

I had much fun with the topic of lavender, it pushed

me to try recipes I probably would not have otherwise,

and we were pleasantly surprised at my house at what

a versatile herb lavender is.

Sending out a big THANK YOU to our organizer, Jain @ a quiet life blog,

and my companion Novel Bakers, Mary @ Home is Where the Boat Is.

Michael @ Rattlebridge Farm and our special guest this week ~

Pam @ Sidewalk Shoes, it was fun having you join in Pam!

And a big thank you to my followers, whether

you comment or not ~ I appreciate the time you take

to come see what's going on here on my blog.


xo ~mari

Lavender Week with the Novel Bakers ~ A Bonus Post . . .

Since we at the Novel Bakers are posting about Lavender this week, I thought I would share two older posts that I did some time ago using lavender.


The first is the Lavender Blossom Martini you can find the original post HERE.




~*~*~*~*~

And then one of my ALL-TIME favorite recipes  for homemade ice cream ~ Lavender-Blueberry, which the Novel Baker organizer ~ Jain @ a quiet life blog introduced us to a few years ago. 
Oh my, it's a fabulous recipe and I'm quite sure you'll love it too.
You can add less lavender if you're not sure you'll like it, or add more if you know you love it!  
Lavender-Blueberry Ice Cream





See you back here Wednesday with some all new (for me) Lavender Recipes with the Novel Bakers.



Happy Tuesday, friends!
xo~mari

Clementine Ice (Granita)

First, my apologies to all who are buried in snow as this frozen treat is probably not something you're dreaming of right now...

But the last of the Clementines needed to be eaten, so I utilized them this way.  

Photo credit: kqed. Click image to link

These sweet, juicy jewels are at their peak during the winter here.  Easy to peel, usually nearly seedless and just the right size for a snack or a healthy dessert ~ it's no wonder they are so popular.

Photo credit: V&A Images. Fritware bowl (c.1530)

click image to learn more.

And they look beautiful on display. I love to place a pile of them in an antique Blue & White Bowl, not as old as this one, but similar.

The recipe came from Sunset Publishers' "Food Processor Cook Book" (1978).   I tweaked the original recipe a bit by substituting Clementines for the oranges, and reduced the sweetener to make it more appealing for the way we eat now. 

The method is simple ~ steep finely grated rind from the citrus in a simple syrup (a combination of water and the sweetener of your choice).  I used Agave syrup.

Allow the favored simple syrup mixture to cool ~ then stir in the freshly squeezed Clementine juice. I add a teaspoon or two of fresh lemon juice to kick-up the flavor a bit.

The mixture is poured into a flat, shallow container, covered and allowed to freeze by placing it in the freezer (no need for an ice cream/sorbet maker.) 

Once the mixture begins to freeze it is scraped occasionally with a fork, breaking up the ice crystals ~ as when making a granita.  As the mixture becomes evenly frozen, scrape again and serve immediately or store, covered in the freezer until ready to serve.

Easy and relatively healthy, too!

If you would like a printable copy of the recipe you'll find it on my recipe blog by clicking HERE.

Thank you for stopping by today!