This is a very simple recipe for cookies and cream ice-cream. Mix and freeze! It is very important all your ingredients be cold to start with if you want to churn it on the day. If you have time, mix the ingredients (see recipe) and churn it the next day. I didn’t invent this cookies and cream ice-cream recipe, it comes from “Chew Out Loud“, here adapted for metric measures.
Note that I use an ice cream machine for making my ice-cream.
Makes about a one litre container.
Ingredients
250 ml (1 cup) whole milk
150 g (3/4 cup) of caster sugar
500 mL of thickened cream (2 cups)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped Oreos
Note: this is quite sweet, you can reduce the sugar to 100 or 120g if you prefer it a little less sweet (I wouldn’tgo lower)
Method:
In a large bowl combine together with a whisk, the milk, the cream, the vanilla and the sugar. Mexi well. Check the vanilla level for taste, adding a little bit if desired.
If you have been using cold dairy ingredients, you can churn it straight away, else, allow it to cool down overnight in the fridge and churn the following day.
Once churned (use your machine instruction), roughly cut the Oreos into small pieces (5 mm to 1 cm) and while transferring to the ice-cream container, mix the Oreos through. Make sure to keep a few of the broken cookies for the top!
You did read properly “Chocolate Mousses” with a “s” at the end. Yeah!!!
This means we get to speak about a few versions of this hero dish. There is no single recipe for chocolate mousse, the recipe to use depends on the application: is it to be served on its own? or is it to use as a layer in a cake?
I have also ventured into the word of raw and vegan people by trying the raw chocolate mousse in which avocados are used to create the body of the mousse. I even tried the water chocolate mousse from Heston Blumenthal, which was a lot of fun!
The classic French Chocolate Mousse
Use: dessert in individual portions or in a large bowl to share.
Ingredients: good dark chocolate and eggs ONLY (no sugar, no cream).
Accessibility: super easy to make and always a winner. Needs to be done in advance
I love this one, for me it is “the chocolate mousse”. Mum used to make a large bowl of it for the family and guests.
Use: in proper cooking, it is used as part of a layered cake but you will find it as a stand alone recipe if you google chocolate mousse in Australia (and probably most anglophone countries). When I am served such a mousse in a cafe or restaurant, it is for me a massive let down (and I won’t eat it, not a fan) and generally says much of the restaurant. However, in a layered cake, where it is associated with some more complex flavours, these mousse has its place.
Ingredients: cream whipped and mixed with chocolate powder, cocoa and sugar or at best cooking chocolate.
Accessibility: super easy. Should be done earlier.
The mixed version
I happen to make recently (not for the first time) a mousse which we really like. It is quite strong and is often served with some fruity notes and a crunchy element. This mousse is decadent! It is yummy and you must stop yourself to avoid cleaning off the bowl!
Use: As an element of a dessert. Likened to little chocolate pots desserts. The texture is silky and shiny!
Accessibility: super easy. Can be eaten straight away.
I tried the avocado chocolate mousse in order to know what it is all about. I purchased some raw cacao and was lucky enough to do my grocery when there was a special on avocados!
The concept is very simple: put the avocado flesh in the food processor with some raw cocoa and some liquid sweetener and whizz! You can add a little drop of water to reach the desired consistency.
I tried three versions of it:
raw cacao
dutch cocoa
good dark chocolate
The recipe is HERE. I pushed it and made some raw tarts (see photo).
Result: the fruity flavours of the cocoa, or maybe the avocado are really the novelty for me. If you don’t use enough cocoa, the avocado taste comes through which is not great. All together, it has a very earthy smell and flavour which is not for everybody. As for the tarts, the texture is very crumbly (just nuts, oil and sweetener), which is no surprise as there are no binder. Both the avo mousse and tarts were not a success in our household.
The Water chocolate mousse (Heston Blumenthal)
I had to try it. I saw it on television and just the idea of it grasped my curiosity.
The method is easy, you bring to the boil the water and pour it over your chocolate previously chopped in small pieces. Now start whisking and don’t stop! The whisking will integrate air bubbles while the temperature decreases. Eventually it reaches a crystallisation point. That point is reached all of a sudden. You get some warning as you see and feel the mix thicken, just then, it sets, if you go to far (like I did the first time) you get like a dirt texture which can actually be great for some specific desserts set up.
start whisking
Inserting bubbles
Done!
Water chocolate mousse. It hardens the minute is is made, to serve immediately.
Tips:
If you went too far, you can reheat the mousse a little , it will liquefy again, Start whisking again!
You can use a large bowl of ice to bring the temperature down quicker but remove it as soon as the mix starts to change a bit
The mix will be very liquid at first, then will become like cream, then thickened cream. Stop there.
Recipe and video HERE. Feel free to reduce the proportions, I used half of that.
This chicken liver pate needs to be made at least ½ day before use, it keeps quite well for a couple of weeks in the fridge.
Many recipes have only chicken livers in them, I like to add some pork mince as it softens a bit the taste of the chicken livers. You could also use chicken mince. The weight ratio in pork/chicken mince is between 1/5 to 1/4 of the paté.
This method requires cooking each ingredient one by one, then blending them together, there is no lengthy cooking as you may find for some other patés and terrines.
You need to choose before making the paté which flavour you will give your paté, if any. I may add good quality Port (Porto) or a drop of whiskey. My favourite is adding different types of peppers (green, black and red).
If you only have a small food processor, I suggest using half the size of this recipe.
You will find livers at the butcher, ask the butcher, livers are often kept at the back.
The recipe below makes 5-6 jars of paté (150-160 g each + butter topping).
Ingredients:
500 g of chicken livers
250 g of pork/chicken mince maximum, 150 g minimum
1 medium onion
About 200 g of butter
1/2 glass of water
Salt
Pepper, black as a minimum ground and whole. I also use red pepper bays on top. The pepper paté has whole (not grounded) green pepper (35g – that would depend where your source the pepper from) and one generous tablespoon of black peppercorn inside.
Optional – A bit of port, fortified wine, whiskey or strong alcohol (not required if opting for strong pepper option)
A few leaves of parsley or red pepper for the topping
Method:
1/. Prepare the livers by removing all the small nerves or skins, make sure to keep the livers whole as much as possible.
2/. Cut the onion in small cubes or small slices, melt 50 g of butter in the fry pan and cook gently the onion until melted down, transfer to the food processor.
3/. Cook the mince in the frypan until well cooked, season to taste (salt and ground black pepper), then transfer into the food processor.
3/. In the frypan, add another 80-100 g of butter, when the butter is melted, add the livers, season (salt and black pepper) to your taste. Be careful with the salt, it will appear saltier when cooled down. Cook the livers until just pink in the middle (cut one open to check). You will need to turn the livers half way (a couple of minutes) and remove earlier the smaller pieces from the frypan. There should be no more blood but it should not be overcooked. Once cooked, transfer to the food processor, including all the butter of the frypan. Add the whole pepper to the blender is using making the pepper version.
4/. Whizz the food processor until you reach a very fine structure, add the alcohol at this stage if using. Add half of the water at his stage. If the paste is thick and does not mix well, you can add a bit more of the water or a drop more alcohol (do not add too much though) or add some melted butter, one teaspoon at the time. This is also the time where you can adjust your seasoning before a last short whizz (so they are not fully broken down).
5/. Transfer the chicken liver pate to containers (plastic boxes or ceramics bowls). With a spatula or the back of a spoon, ensure the mix is spread evenly and flat at the top. Melt the remaining butter and cover each surface with it. This will prevent oxidation. Add the red pepper or parsley leaves (for decoration).
The chicken liver pate will keep in the fridge for two weeks.
I happen to make recently (not for the first time) a mousse which we really like. It is quite strong and is often served with some fruity notes and a crunchy element. This mousse is decadent! It is yummy and you must stop yourself to avoid cleaning off the bowl!
