Tuesday, September 02, 2014

Almond Orange Chocolate Ice Cream - Vegan MoFo 2014 Day 2


I'm a big fan of the orange-chocolate combination. When I started making vegan chocolates at home many years ago, one of the first things I tried was to put dried orange peel powder in the melted chocolate and I fell in love with the way the flavours melded together.

Recently a friend of ours brought us a box of gourmet chocolate covered candied orange peels. One bite and I knew I just *had* to try my hand at making them.

So I made orange peel candy at Carrots. Thanks to Mohan who expertly sliced the peels into strips of just the right thickness for me, the end result was fantastic! But by the time the candy had cooled down, I'd decided to put them into an ice cream instead of dipping them in tempered chocolate.

And so we come to today's recipe...

Almond Orange Chocolate Ice Cream

Almond Orange Chocolate Ice Cream

100 g Almonds
50 g Soymilk Powder
300 g Pure Orange Juice (juice of about 3 oranges with no water added)
30 g Cocoa Powder
100 g Sugar
550 g water
Pinch of Salt
200 g Chopped Candied Orange Peels (recipe follows)

- Grind the almonds and sugar into a fine powder
- Add the soymilk powder, cocoa powder and salt
- Add a little water at a time and blend into a creamy paste
- Blend in the remaining water

- If you have an ice cream maker, turn this mixture into ice cream according to the machine's instructions and stir in the candied orange peels

- If you don't have an ice cream maker then transfer the mixture to an airtight container and freeze for 8-10 hours
- Re-blend the mixture
- Stir in the candied orange peels and refreeze for 8-10 hours

- Scoop and enjoy! :)

Almond Orange Chocolate Ice Cream

For the Candied Orange Peels:

Peel of 3 Oranges
220 g Sugar
220 g Water

- Slice oranges into thin strips
- Place sugar and water in a *heavy bottomed* saucepan
- Heat until sugar has dissolved
- Stir in the orange peels and cook on a medium flame, stirring once in a while
- The peels should be ready in about 15-20 minutes
- Transfer to a plate immediately
- After they've cooled slightly, gently separate them
- Cool completely and store in an airtight container

Monday, September 01, 2014

Vanilla Tahini Ice Cream - Vegan MoFo 2014 Day 1


Vegan MoFo 2014 Banner

Woot!!! Vegan Month of Food 2014 has begun! :)

This is my 4th time participating in MoFo. Even though there's a lot going on in my life this time around, I couldn't help but sign up for the event yet again because I've really enjoyed it each and every year! Blogging on an almost daily basis is one part of the excitement, but also visiting the various participating blogs, drooling over the delicious foods and interacting with my fellow MoFo-ers is a truly delightful experience.

For Vegan MoFo 2013 I had chosen a Raw Foods theme. I created and shared a bunch of video tutorials using an app called HowDo and they were a big hit. Unfortunately HowDo closed. :( I'm going to miss that app terribly this year. But once the Vlogging bug has bitten, it's hard to let go. So I plan to shoot at least a few YouTube videos through MoFo this time around.

My theme for this time is ICE CREAMS!!! :D I'm expanding that to include other frozen desserts too so there's a lot more variety.

Vanilla Tahini Ice Cream

Today's recipe is a Vanilla Tahini Ice Cream. I made it at Carrots as soon as I signed up for MoFo. Everyone who tried it absolutely loved it. So now our bakery chef Kanchan makes it often. :)

This ice cream does not require an ice cream maker (but if you have one then feel free to use it). It melts quickly and has a light, soothing feel to it. The roasted sesame and pure vanilla flavours go together beautifully.

I've used Merry Whip (commercially available non-dairy whipping cream) in this ice cream. But if you'd like to avoid this, you could use whipped coconut cream in it if you like. However, it might takeaway from the flavour a bit.

I've also used whole vanilla pods as the flavouring because I can't stand the artificial vanilla essence that's available locally. Besides, we don't use any artificial colours or flavours at Carrots so I couldn't have used it in this recipe anyways.

Getting good, pure vanilla extract that's vegan isn't easy here. But if you have the patience and inclination, you could make your own extract at home by putting chopped vanilla beans into rum or vodka for about 6 months. I have tried this at home (again, not at Carrots because we're an alcohol-free restaurant) but compared to that, I am in *love* with the depth of flavour and texture that whole vanilla beans give. So I recommend using them.

Vanilla Tahini Ice Cream

Vanilla Tahini Ice Cream

40 g Cashews
20 g Toasted Sesame Seeds
150 g Commercial Vegan Whipped Cream (Rich's or Merry Whip)
1.5 pods Whole Vanilla Beans
200 g Sugar
1 litre Water

- Grind cashews, sesame seeds and broken vanilla pods into a fine powder
- Add a little water at a time and blend into a creamy paste
- Add the remaining water, sugar and whipped cream and blend well
- Freeze in an airtight box for 8-10 hours
- Re-blend this icy mixture
- Freeze again for 8-10 hours
- Scoop and enjoy! :)

Vanilla Tahini Ice Cream

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Pan Baked Hazelnut Mocha Crunch Cookies aka Tava Biskut and Vegan MoFo 2014


Howdie howdie howdie! Hope all you awesome people are doing great!!! :)

I miss you all and I've been wanting to blog for a long time now. But as I've mentioned in my previous posts, I've been super duper busy ever since I became the Countess of Cuisine and Jollification at Carrots - the bestest, wonderfulest place to work ever!

I did something a few weeks ago in one moment of sheer madness...I signed up for Vegan MoFo!!! *gasp* Now as September is around the bend (tomorrow, to be precise), I'm beginning to freak out just a teeny tiny bit. I should probably be freaking out a lot more, but I think I'm still in denial. :P

What's more, I signed up for a theme. A verrrrry specific theme (thanks to hubby's bright idea *grumble grumble*)...Ice Creams! And guess how many new ice cream recipes I have ready and under my belt? Exactly ONE! *gaaaah*

So my master plan is keep making new ice creams and other frozen desserts on an almost daily basis. I'll make many of these at home yes, but also plenty at the restaurant, because that's where I have all my minions to help out. :D

Bangalore peeps, whenever you visit Carrots, remember to ask about the "special edition ice cream made by Susmitha". If you're lucky, some of the recipes you see on the blog here through September might just be available on the menu the day you visit. :)

Now on to today's recipe - Pan Baked Hazelnut Mocha Crunch Cookies, which I lovingly refer to as Tava Biskut. :D

Pan Baked Hazelnut Mocha Crunch Cookies aka Tava Biskut

These cookies can be baked in an oven at 200C/400F for 20 minutes, but they're special because they can be quickly made on a pan too. :)

Hazelnut Mocha Crunch Cookies

140 g / 1 C Hazelnuts
110 g / 1 C Quick Cooking Oats
5 g / 1/2 t Salt
140 g / 1/2 C Sugar
2 g / 1 t Instant Coffee Powder
10 g / 2 T Cocoa Powder
5 g / 1 T Flax Seed Powder
3 T Water

- Grind hazelnuts to a buttery consistency in a dry grinder jar and transfer to a mixing bowl
- Grind oats to a coarse meal and add to hazelnut butter
- Mix in the remaining ingredients with your hands
- Shape into flat cookies
- Cook on a pan on medium heat for a few minutes, press gently with a flat spoon
- Flip and cook the other side while gently pressing down again
- Cool on a rack
- Store in an airtight box
- Enjoy! :)