Orange Sherbet and Lime Ice Cream

Summer is winding down, some of the local schools are already in session, but in Southern California our hot weather is really just beginning. Late August thru mid September are some of our hottest days so there is still plenty of time to enjoy a cool, fruity treat. If we are lucky we will have warm weather until late October and we can continue swimming and eating on the patio almost until Halloween. This Orange Sherbet comes from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook and the Lime Ice Cream is from the blog  La Casserole Carree. Vibi has a beautiful blog and I knew that this ice cream would make it to the freezer in record time, since we had a bag full of limes just waiting to be squeezed and zested.

Orange Sherbet

The America's Test Kitchen Family cookbook

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups fresh orange juice

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoon Triple Sec or vodka

2/3 cup heavy cream

1. In a  bowl add sugar, salt and orange zest. Rub with your fingers to release the oils in the zest.  Your sugar with be moist and orange colored. Add the orange juice, lemon juice and triple Sec and stir until sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

2.In a second chilled bowl whip the cream to soft peaks. While whisking constantly, pour the chilled juice mixture down the side of the bowl into the whipped cream. Once the juice is completely incorporated into the cream transfer the mixture to your ice cream machine and churn according to manufacturer's instructions.

printable recipe

 

All ice cream is welcome around here, especially the ones made with fresh fruit juice. The sherbet was just like all those 50-50 bars that we ate as kids and who can resist the fresh orange/sweet vanilla combo? The lime ice cream quickly became a new favorite, with its perfect balance of sweet, tart, and citrus flavors. The zest is the most flavorful part of these fruits, and that one simple addition makes such a huge flavor impact without adding more ingredients or more work, so don't skip that part! These both have just a few simple ingredients and are a tasty way to cool down as we head into some of our warmest days yet.

Lime Ice Cream

adapted from La Casserole Carree

2 large eggs

⅔ cup sugar

Zest of 2 limes, finely chopped

1 cup whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

⅓ cup freshly squeezed lime juice

In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat eggs, sugar and lime zest until pale and thick, about 5 minutes.

Add milk and cream, beat until well mixed. Transfer the mixture to a heavy saucepan and cook on medium heat to 170 °, stirring regularly.

Remove from heat and let cool .

Add lime juice, mix well. (My mixture looked a little curdled so I pureed it with my immersion blender.)

Transfer the mixture to a clean bowl, cover and refrigerate until well chilled
When properly cooled, pour into ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions.

printable recipe

Dig in!

Ice Cream Sandwich

The dog days of summer are the time when memories are made. School is out, the kids are free to run and play, and whenever we look back on that stretch of scorching days (or weeks, sometimes) we always remember the things we did trying to stay cool- running through the sprinklers, spending days at the beach, hours in the pool, and eating every kind of popsicle, ice cream and frozen fruit imaginable. Although we haven't had weeks of 100 degree weather here, it is still hot enough to devour our favorite homemade ice cream treats. This time around we made ice cream sandwiches. We used Dorie Greenspan's Carmel Crunch Bars as a buttery brown sugar base for vanilla ice cream.

The tasty shortbread cookie is flavored with espresso, chocolate, and bits of rich toffee, and becomes the perfect portable (and edible) container for our favorite vanilla ice cream. Since there are usually only three of us at home, I halve most recipes, but this time I made the whole thing, and was glad I did. I made a bunch of mini sandwiches and it was nice to have a pre-made stash of cold treats in the freezer that we could snack on for the week. I know we will be making these again this summer, trying lots of other combinations of cookie and ice cream!

Carmel Crunch Bars

Baking:from my home to yours- Dorie Greenspan

Bars

1 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 sticks unsalted butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 ounces bittersweet or milk chocolate, finely chopped

Topping:

6 ounces bittersweet or milk chocolate, finely copped

3/4 cup Heath Toffee Bits

Prepare pan: butter a 9x13 pan, line with foil, butter foil. Pre heat oven to 375degrees F.

Whisk together flour, espresso powder, salt and cinnamon.

In a mixer bowl  beat butter for 3 minutes until smooth.  Add sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, until the mixture is light and creamy. Beat in the vanilla. Add dry ingredients, and mix until they just disappear into the batter. Add chopped chocolate and mix quickly just to incorporate.

Scrape the dough into your prepared pan and smooth into a thin even layer.  Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the base is bubbly. Remove pan from oven and turn off the oven.

Scatter the chopped chocolate evenly over the top of the  hot base and pop the pan back into the oven for 2-3 minutes, until the chocolate is soft. Remove from oven and immediately spread the chocolate over the bars using an offset spatula. Sprinkle the toffee bits over the chocolate and press them down lightly with your fingertips. Cool to room temperature.

Using the foil edges lift the bars from the pan and place on a cutting board and cut into desired sizes. We made our sandwiches about 2x4

For ice cream bars: Line a 9x13 pan with foil.  Spread and even layer of your favorite ice cream over the bottom of the pan.  Place in freezer and chill until firm. Using the foil liner lift the ice cream sheet from the pan and cut to match the dimensions of your crunch bars. Layer ice cream between two crunch bars. place bars on a rimmed cookie sheet and return to the freezer until firm.

printable recipe

Stay cool and enjoy the rest of your summer.