Category Archives: Ice Cream

Chocolate Malts

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Chocolate MaltsI have a bit of a chocolate malt problem. I get serious cravings for them once or twice a month, and totally lose my mind until I wind up getting one at a diner or the Shake Shack by my apartment.

The trick to ordering chocolate malts is to always, always ask for extra malt. There’s nothing more dissatisfying than ordering a malt and ending up with something indistinguishable from a regular chocolate milkshake…not that there’s anything wrong with regular chocolate milkshakes. Except that they’re not chocolate malts!

Chocolate MaltsAnyway…I bought myself a blender last week and decided it was high time I start making malts at home. Even though I knew the gist of the recipe (ice cream, malted milk powder, and milk), I looked online to check out proportions. I saw many recipes that used chocolate ice cream as the base, and that was my plan too, until I ran across a method from Sweet Moses, an old-fashioned soda fountain in Cleveland, Ohio.

Sweet Moses uses vanilla ice cream as its base, flavoring the malt with chocolate syrup. The measurements and proportions in the article are a little on the vague side, so I picked up all the necessary ingredients and spent a night testing chocolate malts until I got the recipe just right. <–Yes, it was as awesome as it sounds.

Below is the recipe for the absolute best chocolate malt I have ever had. And I’ve had a lot of chocolate malts–two per month for eight years, so I’m sort of an expert (or something). My recipe is rich and chocolaty with a pronounced malt flavor, and perfect for eating with a spoon or a straw (or both!). 

The secret here is all in the ingredients. There are only four of them, so make sure they’re good quality.

Chocolate MaltsChocolate Malts

  • Use whole milk. Don’t go for skim or even 2%. It just won’t taste right without the fat content in whole milk. Remember that this is an indulgence, not an everyday thing. Live a little.
  • There are two major brands of malted milk powder: Carnation and Horlicks. I prefer Carnation, but buy whichever you like.
  • As with the malted milk powder, buy whichever chocolate syrup you enjoy most. I am partial to the richer dutch process cocoa flavor of Hershey’s Special Dark.
  • Buy high-quality vanilla ice cream. As with the milk, resist trying to lower the fat content here. Again, this is a treat, not an everyday food. Using really good ingredients and treating them well will ensure a good chocolate malt. Trying to lower the calorie count will just disappoint you in the flavor department, and quite possibly send you to Shake Shack to order a $6 chocolate malt with extra malt. Make it the right way at home, and save your $6 for something else 😊

Chocolate MaltsAs for the mixing, blend together the milk, chocolate syrup, and malted milk powder. Then add the vanilla ice cream and alternate pulsing it together in your blender and stirring with a long spoon. This will keep the malt thick enough that you could eat it with a spoon, but thin enough that it can be sipped through a straw. If you want a thicker malt, add more ice cream. For a thinner malt, add more milk. Top it with whipped cream and extra chocolate syrup, or enjoy it as-is.

This is your chocolate malt. Make it exactly the way you like it.

Chocolate Malts
Chocolate Malts
adapted from Sweet Moses
makes about 2.5 cups, or 2-3 small milkshakes

1/3 cup whole milk
6 tablespoons malted milk powder
6 tablespoons chocolate syrup
1 pint (2 cups) vanilla ice cream

For Serving:
lightly-sweetened whipped cream
chocolate syrup

Combine milk, malted milk powder, and chocolate syrup in a high-powered blender. Pulse to combine. Add vanilla ice cream, and alternately pulse and mix by hand with a long spoon until combined and thick. Add more ice cream for a thicker shake, or more milk for a thinner one.

Divide into two or three small glasses. Serve with whipped cream and additional chocolate syrup, if desired.

Brown Butter Blondie Ice Cream Sandwiches

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  I spent all day trying to come up with a fun way to introduce today’s recipe, but it doesn’t need any fanfare. I mean, how could I possibly go on and on about what I’ve been doing this week when we have Brown Butter Blondie Ice Cream Sandwiches to discuss?!

That’s right. Brown Butter. Blondie. Ice Cream. Sandwiches. 

Y’all. These are so good. I mean, how couldn’t they be? Ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate chip brown butter blondies? Sign me up!

This recipe is made with the same base I used for the Chocolate Chip-Pecan Brown Butter Blondies I made earlier this summer. I left out the pecans here, but that’s the only adjustment I made. I might also suggest using mini chocolate chips instead of the standard size, only because big chunks of frozen chocolate are a little hard to bite through. Not that I had any problem putting away two of these yesterday afternoon.

Anyway…for the ice cream sandwiches, you’ll need to make two batches of those chocolaty, brown-buttery blondies. Once they’re baked, stash them in the freezer for a half hour or so, until they’re a little cooler than room temperature. 

  Once your blondies are cool, scoop ice cream onto one batch and then use a spatula to smooth it into an even layer. Top the ice cream layer with the other batch of blondies, pressing down slightly to make sure everything is adhered together. Freeze the assembled ice cream sandwiches for at least two hours before slicing and serving.

These Brown Butter Blondie Ice Cream Sandwiches are my new favorite summer treat! The blondies are a little crunchy from being frozen, but still retain their signature chew. And the ice cream…I mean, hello. Ice cream and caramelly, chocolate chip-studded blondies are a match made in heaven. Sure, they’re a little messy to eat, but what good ice cream sandwich isn’t?! 

 Brown Butter Blondie Ice Cream Sandwiches
makes 16-25 ice cream sandwiches

1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups light or dark brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (or 1 2/3 cups mini chocolate chips)
2-3 cups (1-1 1/2 pints) ice cream of choice

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease two 9-inch square baking dishes with butter. Line with parchment, leaving a little overhang for removal, and butter again. Set aside.

Brown the butter. Place butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Let butter melt. Butter will bubble and crackle as the water content evaporates. Swirl the pan frequently for 5-7 minutes, keeping an eye on the color. When the solids are turning brown and the butter is nutty and fragrant, remove the pot from the heat and immediately pour the brown butter into a large mixing bowl.

Add brown sugar to the brown butter and stir to combine (it will be thick and look like wet sand). Whisk in egg and vanilla. Use a silicone spatula to stir in flour and salt, scraping down the bowl as needed. Fold in chocolate chips.

Divide batter evenly among prepared pans and bake for 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Let blondies cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before placing them in the freezer for 30 minutes, until cool. Thaw ice cream just so that its scoopable.

Remove one pan from the freezer. Leaving the blondies in the parchment-lined pan, drop ice cream in scoops over the top, and then use a spatula to smooth it into one even layer. Remove the other pan from the freezer. Use the parchment to lift the un-topped blondies from the pan. Remove parchment. Place Blondies over the ice cream layer. Press down slightly to make sure everything is adhered. Cover the pan in foil and freeze at least two hours.

When everything is frozen, remove pan from freezer. Remove foil, and use parchment to lift ice cream-filled blondies onto a cutting board. Use a sharp chef’s knife to remove any ice cream that may have squished out the sides. Slice into 16-25 sandwiches. Place ice cream sandwiches in an airtight container, using wax paper between layers to prevent sticking.

Ice cream sandwiches will keep in the freezer for up to three months.

Friday Favorites

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I love anniversaries. Yes, I’m one of those people. If something happened once and warrants commemorating for any reason, I’m the one planning the party.

April 22nd is a big day for me. Today is my parents’ 33rd wedding anniversary, and I have another anniversary going on, too. It’s Earth Day. Heck, it’s my dog’s half-birthday 😜

All of that is great, but I’m writing today because this little blog began exactly six months ago!

Yes, I know six months does not technically constitute an anniversary, but for me, it means a lot. I talked about starting a food blog for six years before actually clicking “Publish.” Since October 22, 2015, I’ve posted 75 recipes. SEVENTY FIVE. Just…how?

I so appreciate all of you who have taken the time to read my posts, leave comments, follow me on social media, and make the recipes! Every time someone tells me they made something from my blog and enjoyed it, it brings me immeasurable joy. The idea that anyone would ever make and like a recipe that I created blows my mind. So, thank you.

And now that I’m done being sappy, let’s celebrate! Here are six of my favorite recipes from the archives to bring you into Spring! 

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies are crunchy, buttery little cookies with all the flavors of a great chocolate chip cookie. They are super simple to make, and absolutely perfect with coffee or tea. I highly recommend using them for ice cream sandwiches 😊 

Spring is here, and that means we have four months of fantastic seasonal fruit ahead of us. More importantly, it means there will be pie! Make sure to use my Cream Cheese Pie Dough–it couldn’t be easier, and it makes the flakiest crust I’ve ever had. 

My grandmother’s Buttermilk Biscuits are one of my best memories of my childhood. Her recipe went with her when she passed many years ago, but I know she’d love mine. These biscuits are the perfect easy breakfast, and they are wonderful with a bowl of soup at dinner. 

It’s the beginning of picnic season, so you’ll need food that’s easy to make, transport, and share with your friends and family. My favorite thing to bring to an outdoor get-together? My Restaurant-Style Salsa! It takes just five minutes to whip up, and it puts prepared salsas to shame. 

And what’s warm weather without ice cream? No-Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream doesn’t require an ice cream maker, and is the creamiest, dreamiest ice cream I’ve made so far! And those little bits of edible cookie dough are everything. 

Springtime just demands carrot cake. But taking the time to make a whole layer cake when the weather is just begging for you to go outside is torture! Save yourself some time and make these Carrot Cake Blondies! They’re every bit as good as traditional carrot cake, and half the work!

Have you made any of these recipes? Let me know in the comments section below, or on Instagram @e2bakesbrooklyn!

Enjoy your weekend 😊

No-Churn Banana Pudding Ice Cream

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 Last week, I posted some seriously good homemade vanilla wafers. They’re an everyday kind of cookie that isn’t full of “stuff” and doesn’t involve a ton of work or even a chill, but always hit the spot. They’re absolute perfection by themselves with a big cup of tea (I’m currently obsessed with this one). 

But since I posted those sweet little wafers last week, I have been absolutely surrounded by baked goods–Winning Hearts and Minds Cake, Carrot Cake Blondies, a chocolate-peanut butter cake, some huge ice cream sandwiches at The Meatball Shop, yesterday’s Katharine Hepburn Brownies…

Let’s just say that I have eaten a lot of sugar and the vanilla wafers have been unfairly neglected. Until now. 

Here, they are paired with their BFF, bananas, and folded into ultra-creamy no-churn vanilla ice cream. The wafers get soft like the cookie crumbles in classic cookies & cream ice cream. The ice cream is super smooth and creamy, thanks to the magic no-churn formula of sweetened condensed milk and freshly whipped cream. And all of it is perfumed with more vanilla and mashed ripe bananas. 

   It’s like the best banana pudding you’ve ever had. But scoopable. And if you want to pile it into a waffle cone and top it with a spoonful of lightly-sweetened whipped cream, well, you should. It would be amazing.

No-Churn Banana Pudding Ice Cream is perfect for any parties or cook-outs you have coming up this spring and summer! It would be adorable in ice cream sandwiches, or as an ice cream cake <—definitely doing that!

But, of course, it’s just as good in a bowl when you’re on the couch watching Netflix 😊

Looking for more no-churn ice cream? Check out my No-Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream!

No-Churn Banana Pudding Ice Cream
makes about 8 cups

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream, cold
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup crushed vanilla wafers (homemade or store-bought)

In a large mixing bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract. Set aside.

In a separate large bowl, use an electric mixer (or a whisk) to whip heavy cream to stiff peaks. Fold whipped cream into sweetened condensed milk mixture just until combined. Fold in mashed bananas, followed by crushed vanilla wafers.

Transfer ice cream into a 9×5″ loaf pan, or other 8 cup vessel. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the ice cream. Cover plastic wrap with aluminum foil. Freeze ice cream for 6 hours or overnight, until completely frozen. Scoop and enjoy!

No-Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream

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 I know. I know! Who makes ice cream in February?!

But I have three very good reasons:

1. It’s been in the fifties and sixties multiple times since last weekend’s deep freeze. In NYC, that’s practically June.
2. Until last week, I hadn’t had a freezer bigger than a shoe box in three years. I had to have something to put in it!
3. I wanted ice cream. 

But what kind of ice cream? My two favorite flavors are Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Mint Chocolate Chip. I hadn’t been able to keep either at home for so long, making that decision just seemed impossible. 

But what about a combination of the two? A rich vanilla-mint ice cream stuffed to the gills with bits of edible mint chocolate chip cookie dough? And no-churn (because I don’t have an ice cream machine)? That would do the trick. And so, I got to work.

This ice cream is so easy, it’s stupid. Anybody could make it. The most difficult part is being patient for six hours while it sets in the freezer. The base is made entirely of sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream, a combination that sounds like it shouldn’t work at all, but it totally does. The sweetened condensed milk (you guessed it!) sweetens the base, and since it’s condensed, it keeps ice crystals from forming while the ice cream is freezing. It also adds a little richness. The heavy cream is whipped and then folded into the sweetened condensed milk. This makes everything super creamy and light-textured, and ensures that the ice cream is scoopable. Add a little vanilla and freeze it, and you have some fantastic homemade vanilla ice cream.  But we’re not after vanilla ice cream today. No, this is first-ice-cream-in-three-years ice cream. This is exciting ice cream!

 Okay, maybe I’m being a little over-enthusiastic.

In this recipe, the sweetened condensed milk is flavored with vanilla and just a bit of peppermint extract. The whipped cream is folded in, followed by 1/2 cup of miniature chocolate chips. Then comes the best part: little pieces of eggless edible cookie dough flavored with a bit more peppermint and filled with more miniature chocolate chips. I dyed mine green to go with the mint chocolate chip theme (and because I think it’s cute), but food coloring is optional. Freeze it in a loaf pan, and scoop away!

So, who cares if it’s February? And who needs an ice cream machine? With this No-Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream, the answer is “nobody.” 

 No-Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
makes about 8 cups

Edible Cookie Dough:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons milk of choice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract*
3-5 drops liquid green food coloring, optional
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour*
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

Ice Cream:
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (not fat free)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract*
2 cups heavy cream, cold
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

Put a 9×5″ loaf pan* in the freezer to chill.

Make the edible cookie dough. In a medium mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy. Add milk, vanilla and peppermint extracts, and food coloring, and beat together until completely combined. Add in flour and salt. Mix until combined, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add mini chocolate chips and mix until well-dispersed. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Line a pan with wax paper. Remove dough from refrigerator. Scoop dough by the 1/2 teaspoon and roll into balls. Place rolled dough into wax paper-lined pan. Dough balls may touch–this is okay. Once all dough has been scooped and rolled, place full pan in freezer for an additional 15-30 minutes.

Prepare the no-churn ice cream. Pour sweetened condensed milk into the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Whisk in vanilla and peppermint extracts. Set aside.

In a separate mixing bowl, beat cream with an electric mixer until it holds billowy peaks, about three minutes. Slowly fold whipped cream into sweetened condensed milk, being careful not to deflate it too much or overmix. Fold in miniature chocolate chips.

Remove the frozen loaf pan and the dough balls from the freezer. Spread half the sweetened condensed milk mixture in the loaf pan. Top with half the dough balls. Spread the second half of the sweetened condensed milk mixture on top, followed by the remaining dough balls. Use a table knife to stir the cookie dough balls around. Cover the pan with two layers of plastic wrap, pressing it onto the surface of the ice cream. Wrap covered pan with aluminum foil. Chill six hours or overnight before scooping.

No-Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream keeps well covered in the freezer for about two weeks.

Notes:

1. Make sure you are using peppermint extract. Mint extract is not the same thing.
2. If you have concerns about eating raw flour, I suggest microwaving the flour for one minute, then letting it come back to room temperature before mixing.
3. Do not be tempted to use more than 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract in the ice cream base (or the cookie dough for that matter). Peppermint extract is very potent, and can easily make things taste like toothpaste if too much is added.
4. If you’d rather not use your loaf pan for this recipe, you may use another container with an 8 cup capacity. I recommend a glass Tupperware.