Blueberry & Chocolate Icecream Profiteroles

The weather on the weekend was so beauuuutttiiifull ... it just reminded me how much I missed summer and how much I hate winter! So to make the summery feeling last I decided to make some icecream!!! ...more specifically profiteroles filled with icecream!! (Just like the Beard PaPa icecream puffs I had in Japan last summer... OMG! *faints with delight*)

The icecream recipe I used was based on the Chocolate icecream recipe in David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop, except, instead of using normal chocolate as it calls for in the recipe, I decided to substitute with Lindts' Excellence range: Blueberry Intense. I'm not usually a chocolate block eater but boy this block of chocolate is ... wonderful!! The blueberry flavour really comes through the rich darkish chocolate with some almonds for texture and crunch. It's good.

Blueberry & Chocolate Icecream Profiteroles

1 quantity of Blueberry & Chocolate Icecream
1 Quantity of Profiteroles
200g Lindt Blueberry Intense Chocolate
1 punnet fresh blueberries (Optional)

Blueberry & Chocolate Icecream

2 cups (500ml) heavy cream
3 tbsp unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
140g Lindt Blueberry Intense chocolate
250ml whole milk
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks

Warm half of the cream with the cocoa powder in a saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend in the cocoa. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer at a low boil for 30 sec, whisking continuously.

Remove from heat, add chocolate and stir until smooth. Then stir in the remaining cream. Pour this mixture into a large bowl scraping saucepan as thoroughly as possible.

Next warm the milk, sugar and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly.

Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and stir constantly over a medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until it thickens and coats the back of the spatula.

Next, strain this custard over the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Place in an ice bath and keep stirring until cooled, then thoroughly chill in the fridge.

When the mixture is chilled, use your icecream maker to churn into icecream. (To use the icecream maker, follow the manufacturer's instructions)

Profiteroles
80g butter
1 cup water
1 cup plain flour
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 225oC. Line baking tray with baking paper.

Melt butter with water on medium high heat in a saucepan, stirring continuously.

Next, add flour to the butter mixture mixing continuously with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to medium and when the mixture forms a ball and comes away from the side of the pot, remove from heat.

Transfer the dough to an electric mixer and beat once or twice on high to release some of the heat. Next beat in eggs one at a time until the dough is smooth and shiny.

Pipe or spoon dollops approx 2-3 cm in diameter 5 cm apart and bake for 20 mins. Reduce heat to 180oC and further bake for 30-40 mins until the profiteroles are brown and hollow when tapped. (If you are making larger profiteroles then you might need to lengthen the baking time accordingly).

To Assemble

Let profiteroles cool, then cut in half with a sharp knife.

Melt the chcocolate (again I used a microwave, but use a bain marie if you don't know your microwave well), set aside.

Spoon a scoop (or 2) of icecream into one half of the profiterole then top with the other half. Drizzle melted chocolate over the top and serve with fresh blueberries.

Bon Appétit ♥

Minty Royals

Have any of you guys ever tried Royals from Arnotts? A biscuit base topped with fluffy marshmallow & covered in chocolate... well you should coz they're absolutely gorgeous!!

Since I'm always in the mood for a challenge, I decided not only to replicate these little chocolate goodies but I also attempted to make marshmallow for the very first time!! I thought it would be really difficult and didn't really know where to start to be honest but after scrounging around the web a little it was easy enough for me to find a recipe from the Martha Stewart website.

Without further ado, I present you with my rendition of the Royal...

Minty Royals
1 quantity marshmallow
1/3 quantity of the biscuit base
100g Lindt Mint Intense
Coloured sugar (Optional)

Marshmallow
2 1/2 tsp gelatin
1/3 cup cold water (gelatin)
1/4 cup water (syrup)
1 cup sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over the water and let stand until the gelatin softens (should be about 5 mins)

In a small saucepan, combine the other quantity of water with sugar and stir on medium-high heat until all the sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring once the sugar is dissolved (otherwise it'll crystallize into a sugary mass instead of being a nice thick syrup). Brush the sides of the pan down with cold water to dissolve any sugar crystals which might have splattered up onto the sides. Boil the sugar until it reaches the soft ball stage (115^oC). Remove syrup from heat.

Pour the syrup into the gelatin and hand whisk to dissolve the gelatin into the syrup.

Next, beat the mixture using the whisk attachment until soft peaks form (should look like meringue).

Use immediately by either pouring into a greased tray or transfer into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle (nozzle size depends on how big you want your marshmallows!)

Biscuit Base
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Sift the flour, baking powder & salt into a bowl.

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until just combined. Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap and place the dough into the centre. Shape dough into a log and wrap with the plastic.

Chill in the fridge until dough is nice and firm (about 4 hours) or you can cheat like me and put it in the freezer for about 30 mins. (The dough can be made in advance and left in the freezer for 3-4 weeks. For convenience, divide the dough into smaller portions and wrap individually before freezing. To use, remove plastic wrap and place in microwave for about 10-20 sec to defrost. NB do not over microwave or it'll become too soft to roll.)

Once chilled, roll out as much of the dough as you need between 2 sheets of baking paper and cut into any which shape or size you want.

Bake at 180^oC for about 10-15 mins until golden brown.

To Assemble

Allow the freshly baked biscuit bases to cool on a cooling rack, then pipe enough marshmallow to cover the rounded discs. Let the marshmallows set, about 30 mins (they will still be quite sticky when touched but pulls back when stretched).

Melt the chocolate (I usually do this in the microwave using a DRY ceramic bowl for 10-20 sec at a time ...or you could be more professional and use a bain marie)

Next place another tray underneath the cooling rack lined with baking paper (this will catch the chocolate that dribbles off the cookies)

Cover the marshmallow cookies with the chocolate and sprinkle with sugar (if using). Let the chocolate set.

Bon Appétit! ♥

Almond & Pistachio Schookies

A few years back I made a massive batch of these as one of the dowry gifts given to the 'male' family as part of my Aunts wedding. There must have been at least a hundred of these, all piled up high to form a pyramid. It was awesome fun and so yummy, been a while since I've made them so I decided to revisit and give it a twist by chucking some pistachios into the picture.

What is a 'schookie' you might ask? Well, its sort of a cross between shortbread & a cookie hence the name 'schookie'! These little babies are based on the little cookies that you get along with your sweet bean 'soups' at the end of dinner in a Chinese restaurant, traditionally, they're usually just almond flavoured.

These schookies look like dense little cookies but actually, they melt into the mouth with every bite. They're so easy and quick to make, ideal for baking in advance. Just store in an air tight container and serve with tea or coffee to impress friends and family when they come around to visit. Also, the schookies are not very sweet either which is perfect for those fussy older Asian women (like my mum) who complain about sweets being too sweet.

Almond & Pistachio Schookies

Makes 45 small schookies

100 g Almond Meal
100g roasted & chopped Pistachios
1 cup icing sugar
3 cups Plain Flour
1 cup Vegetable oil
1 egg
45 whole unsalted pistachios (optional)

Preheat oven at 150^oC & line baking tray with baking paper.

Sift the almond meal, flour & icing sugar into a bowl. Mix in the pistachios. (NB: I couldn't find ready chopped & roasted pistachios at my local Woolies, so what I did was dry roasted whole unsalted pistachios either in the oven or over a medium heat skillet and chopped them up myself.)

Gradually mix in the oil. The mixture should look quite dry and have a breadcrumby kind of texture.

Next, spoon about half a tablespoon (you can make them as large or small as you want so just use this as a guideline) of the mixture into your palm and roll into a ball & place onto the baking tray. Gently push down to flatten the base of the ball so it doesn't roll around. Repeat with the remaining.

Whisk egg lightly and brush over the tops of the balls. Optional: Push the whole pistachios into the middle of each ball.

Bake for 20-30 mins or until golden brown all over. Store in an airtight container, lasts for about 2-3 weeks.

Bon Appétit ♥