TBB: Praline Pecan Meringue Ice-Cream Sandwiches

I made half recipe as I wasn't sure if meringue will last in this climate here..  In fact, I was half hearted about making this recipe..seeing it requires 300g of pecan nuts..that's a lot of pecan nuts and it's expensive here. What if I don't like them and it will mean $22 down the drain..! 

Fate had it that I developed sore throat, along with headache, slight fever yesterday. I could only think of things like ice-pops, ice-cream, ice-kachang..  you get the idea.  And since my husband complained the other day that my ice-cream maker has been in cold-storage for a long time, I decided to make rum & raisin ice-cream because it is my daughter's favorite flavor, and I can't make chocolate anything because chocolate is 'heaty' and at times like this, is one of the food I have to avoid eating.  

After making the custard base for ice-cream, I realised I have leftover white and I might as well make the meringue.. half recipe would be enough for a test batch.. 

So I began toasting the pecan nuts..

And whisk the egg whites & brown sugar. I heated it up a bit hoping to get rid of the moisture so it will be not be soft later on... so I think.. 

chopped all pecans.. no need to leave 1/2 batch of whole pecans..since only half recipe. 

Whipped for 5 mins until it turn pale white.. 

At this point..very sticky meringue.. maybe I over-beat..

Scoop and drop and flatten with spatula.. but I think I didn't flatten enough...cos you can see why later..

Tada! Meringue cookies all baked ..

I baked at low temp 130c for 30mins.  

Very dry and crispy now.  Happiness..that they didn't collapse and I was so tempted to eat one but my helper reminded me not to as they are even numbers now... *dang*..lol!

Next churn the custard into ice-cream

After 30mins later... ice-cream! Still need to rest in freezer first.. 

Now..top with meringue cookie on top and enjoy! 

No bottom cookie cos too fluffy already..LOL! 

Even though I messed up the meringue and made them into some mini pavlova looked-alike.. but they taste amazing with ice-cream. The crisp, light and airy texture - pairs so well with ice-cream. Loving it. Next time I have to remember to really make flatten them down. 

Thumbs Up!  Everyone loved it. My husband said this is such a good idea... ya.. I told him this is not my idea but Rose's idea. LOL! And even though I messed up her original idea, they are still delicious. 

PS: I'm glad I made half portion because right after making these I was sick for 2 weeks and they are still in containers - nobody ate them...(because I was out of action and didn't 'prepare/assemble' it for them..seems like they cannot do it themselves..)! I tried to eat one last night on it's own but it's very sweet without ice-cream. So still better with ice-cream.  No longer as chewy in centre as before but still good. :)  

David Lebovitz's White Chocolate Ice Cream

White chocolate ice-cream recipe ...yup..from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. It's really really good!! I highly recommend anyone who loves to make ice-cream get a copy of his book..(btw, i am not promoting his book for him, but it is a very good book imo)..but i have made 3 ice-cream recipes from this book of his and got fantastic results! All 3 ice-cream i made from his recipes has very smooth & creamy finish, imo better than store bought ice-cream. Normally i am not a fan of white chocolate but for this, i am totally bowled over. Amazing.

I have no time to type out the recipe, but you can find a version of David Lebovitz's white chocolate ice-cream in dinneranddessert.com.

I didn't use Valrhorna white chocolate, just ordinary Cadbury's Dream and i have such great result. Just wondering if i should try it again with Valrhorna white chocolate.

[Note : May 14]:  I finally did another batch of ice-cream with Valrhorna white chocolate. With Cadbury's Dream, you can't really taste the white chocolate but more creamy and vanilla.  With Valrhorna, the chocolate melted easily (yes, the Cadbury's Dream took a long time to melt!) and the ice-cream tasted more white-chocolatey flavor, ie, you can taste the white chocolate in the ice-cream.  So my verdict: both equally yummy but with different taste, so largely depends on what you like. 

Coffee Ice Cream

My daughter (aka my part-time photog) requested for coffee ice-cream - her favorite. So i prowled through my books for what i think is the best coffee ice-cream. Easy to make and great tasting. Since i had good results with David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop for my earlier chocolate ice-cream, i decided to use his coffee ice-cream recipe.

The recipe and steps of how to make is shown by Simply Recipes. However she uses decaf coffee beans. I never thought of the caffeine issues though....what was in my mind was using the best aromatic coffee beans. After looking around, I settled for Starbucks espresso coffee beans (i wanted to use Lavazza but i can't find in the supermarket i was at).

I have to say that the ice cream taste great! I'm not a coffee drinker but i have to say the coffee ice-cream is extremely fragrant, velvety smooth and yummy! I'm not exaggerating when i say this coffee ice-cream is really good! I really have to say that David Lebovitz's recipes are absolutely great! Seriously..i am thinking of getting more of his books except that some of them are out of print and thus expensive..right now in my mind, i am thinking of ordering his Book of Chocolate from amazon...perhaps i'll wait for his new book which is suppose to be out soon..and order it together. :)

Chocolate Ice-Cream

Made this batch of chocolate ice-cream before i left for melbourne last week but was too busy to blog about it. I tried a scoop before i left and left the balance of ice-cream to my 'photog' and told her to take photos for me. Upon my return, that's the best she took..(i have to say the presentation is kinna off and she didn't scoop it properly..cos she said she wanted to take photos quickly and eat before the ice-cream melts..lol!) And yes, you guessed it correctly, no more ice-cream left when i returned..hahahahaha...all gone! Can't blame her, the weather has been extremely hot & humid recently!

This recipe from David Lebovitz's book - The Perfect Scoop. I have to say it is absolutely delicious and the texture of ice-cream is extremely smooth as well. Very yummy!! Recipe and steps of how to make the ice-cream can be seen here on userealbutter.com

Trust me, it is really good!..:) Oh..i added the white chocolate chips on my own - when you are making your own ice-cream there is nothing to stop you from putting whatever you want in there! :D

Strawberry Ice Cream

No photos cos photog busy eating ice-cream and didn't want to take any photos. LOL!

Recipe taken from Nigella Lawson. Really good. Also made strawberry sauce from the strawberry puree. 

Now i have a lot of egg whites left, i wonder if i should bake an angle cake.
Finally a not great photo by my photog...

Vanilla Ice-cream

Vanilla Ice-cream recipe from Nigella Lawson. I am a great fan of her shows. Because she is not a professional chef, i admire her ability to concoct recipes up on her own.

While doing the custard for this, i thought i overcooked my custard and was greatly disappointed in the beginning but later it turned out well after the freezing. :)) My photog said my ice-cream taste great! Sooo i am very happy! :D

Oh yes, this is also the first time i used vanilla pods!! (the black dots - vanilla seeds!)

White Chocolate Ice-cream

Made my first home-made ice-cream. Not bad..everything turned out well.:D Except white chocolate is not my fave though, but ok la..the texture etc is ok - just like ice-cream.