This week's Iron Craft challenge was a Valentine. It could be print, fabric, really anything. The definition was broad and included food.
Now I am on the chocolate ice creams in my Perfect Scoop project (though I haven't blogged about any of the ice creams yet, my bad), and I love to cook. My choice for this week was clear.
Ice Cream.
Sandwiches.
Now, I know a lot of people think it is too cold for ice cream, but what it is really too cold for is to walk around outside eating ice cream. Inside, next to a warm fire or snuggled up next to your companion (be that a significant other, cat, dog or other), it is perfectly fine to have a scoop of ice cream for dessert.
A scoop of ice cream alone does not a challenge make.
On the other hand, component desserts can range from pretty simple (the basic ice cream sandwich of 2 cookies and some ice cream is a fair example) to hugely complex. Some of my favorite examples of component desserts come from Cannelle et Vanille, an awesome food blog if you like French and Basque-style cooking.
My component dessert are heart shaped ice cream sandwiches made from blondies, homemade chocolate ice cream, chocolate ganache, and decorations piped from a mixture of white chocolate, heavy cream and butter (I could have skipped the butter) with some Wilton cake colors and pearl powder.
Step 1: Make ice cream base.
I used the French style Chocolate ice cream from the Perfect Scoop. Custard-based ice creams are very rich, and are pretty easy to scoop. This, of course, would be faster if I just bought ice cream and let it soften. Also, it doesn't need to be chocolate. It was just the next recipe in the list.
Step 2: Make Blondies.
I used the Chocolate Chunk Blondie recipe from King Arthur Flour. It was a good fit, because it used melted butter and I had to pull out butter from the freezer for this.
I used a mixture of about 3 ounces of belgium dark chocolate chips and 3 ounces of Scharffen Berger 99% unsweetened chocolate, which I chunked up and mixed in. The result is a bar that is a little lighter on the chocolate than called for, but when you hit the chocolate it is very strong and rich.
I let the blondies cool in the refrigerator overnight. (I also make the ice cream the same time I made the blondies, so it was in the freezer too).
Step 3: Cut hearts.
There are a number of ways to go about this. If I had been thinking, I would have just cut a shape out of cardboard as a template. Instead I tried to use a plastic cookie cutter. The blondies are stronger than cookies with a bit more oomph to the crust (both top and bottom) than either cookies or cake. When I realized that the cookie cutter did not have the power I needed, I took a paring knife and cut around the cookie cutter and carefully pushed the heart shape out. I then used the paring knife to trim the hearts and split them in two. If using a thinner cookie or brownie base, then you probably could get away without splitting them in two.
Step 4: Fill with chocolate.
I used a butter knife to spread chocolate ice cream on the flat side of the blondie. The ice cream was fairly soft even after a night in the freezer. If you are using store bought ice cream, I would let it sit out for 20 minutes or so before spreading the ice cream. Top with the second half of the blondie and shove back in the freezer to prevent scary meltage.
While it is in the freezer, you can move onto making the ganache.
Step 5: Making ganache
Chocolate Ganache
1/3 cup heavy cream, with extra to adjust thickness
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into chunks (I used Bakers)
Heat the heavy cream till it bubbles. Add chocolate and turn off the heat. I let it sit for a minute or two and then stirred it till smooth. I then thinned it out to an easier spreading consistency. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
Step 6: Applying ganache.
I put a sheet of wax paper under a cookie sheet and carefully placed the ice cream sandwiches on top. I spooned the ganache over the top and then used a pastry brush to apply chocolate to the sides of the ice cream sandwich. You need to work fast or the heat of the ganache will start to melt the ice cream. Put back in freezer when done.
Step 7: Decorate.
Now, you don't need to be an artist for this. I could have used dragees, but instead I melted 4 ounces of bar white chocolate with about a tablespoon of heavy cream and a pat of butter. I added a small amount of violet and pink Wilton icing gels and a small amount of pearl powder for frostings. Once it was mixed, I put it into a frosting bag with a coupler and a number 3 tip to pipe my outline and words. I then changed to my smallest star tip and with a sheet of waxed paper I piped some flower-like shapes and put the sandwiches in the freezer and the flower shapes in the fridge to firm up. I applied them to the side of the ice cream cakes with some of the white chocolate mixture. Once you are done decorating, save them in the freezer until serving.
Voila! Tasty ice cream sandwiches for Valentine's Day!
Something sweet to share with your valentine!
